A friend is leaving tomorrow morning to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays with his family in UK, and I accompanied him to Villa Sri Kuching at Taman Melawati to board his pets for three weeks.
While I was there, I saw a rather poor condition cat in one of the boarding rooms. It is a very pretty cat with a sad face and poor coat condition. The poor condition the cat is in struck me, and I asked O.L., who helps run the boarding service with her mum and sister, about it.
It was a sad tale. The poor kitty was abandoned by her owner when the vet diagnosed her as possibly Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) positive. It seems that the owner isn't interested to ask the vet to do a second test to confirm it (read note below). He just simply abandoned her without another thought.
It was initially shy, but after spending some time with it, it got over its shyness and its sweet nature was revealed. But it still has the characteristics of a traumatised cat.....
The still-traumatised kitty
I am so angry and sad. I'm angry at the owner, and I'd happily throttle him if I see him or her. I feel so, so sorry for the kitty. Even if she is indeed FIV positive, it does not mean a death sentence. With proper diet and veterinary management, FIV cats can survive for many years.
It is so heart-breaking to be thrown out just because you have an illness. It is so incredibly selfish and cruel to throw this kitty out to live its last few years feeling abandoned and unloved. There should be a law to punish this type of people. :`(
Note: Cats that have been vaccinated for FIV will test positive for FIV even though they're not infected. You may read more about FIV in the articles below:
1) What is FIV?
2) FIV in Cats
