We have plenty of cats we need to get adopted, but here's one of the few kittens in Brooklyn we DON'T actually have in our house currently. This little girl's name is
Grey Eye Kitten, apparently following the fostering naming convention so you don't get too attached to the animal (see
Big Giant Head and
Littleface). The kitten's fosterperson found her near her Kensington home and just had to lend a hand.
Her person set up a
blog all about her, so head on over if you're in the market for a babycat. I, myself, prefer my cats
big and ugly but Cat Overpopulation means we can all find that special void-filler. GEK is about 6-8 weeks old, healthy but has tested a weak positive for FIV. However, this is by no means the end of the world; many kittens give false-positives for the Virus at this age; she'll have to be tested later on to confirm or deny the illness. so please don't let this stop you from considering adoption, it's almost a non-issue.
My experience has mostly been with street cats, feral and otherwise. In this arena, many groups actively denounce the act of FIV testing. Although this is in part due to the high cost of testing, it is also because it's not worth it for many other reasons. From
Alley Cat Allies:
Kittens that test positive are not necessarily infected. If a kitten tests positive, the test may be detecting antibodies passed from an infected mother to the kitten through colostrum (an antibody-rich fluid secreted by nursing mothers). Positive kittens under six months of age should be retested between eight to 12 months of age, when any antibodies obtained from the mother cat will have disappeared.
So in fact, GEK's positive test may literally mean nothing at all. Let's hope that's the case!
UPDATE: The kitten's been adopted! I am arranging to ship several of our cats to her house right now.
Labels: Adoption, Cats, kittens
hey - i found your blog a while back when looking for cat info in clinton hill... just wanted to send a note because i love your cats posts. you have a huge heart for doing all you do and i love it! GEK is adorable but damn, i wish i had a back yard with a wild world of strays that come and go. sounds so dreamy from this side of the fence. lol. keep up the good work!