Shadow: a Voice for Feral Cats

When we first saw him a couple of months after he and two siblings had been born on a neighbor's patio, we knew that Shadow was living proof that a litter of cats can have two fathers. Although his mama was also a gray and white shorthair, this charcoal cat was clearly the offspring of her liaison with an exotic breed like a Russian blue. His feral brother and sister were black and white, with medium-length hair.

Outside cats have been around for about 10,000 years, according to Alley Cat Allies. A true feral cat is one that has been born outdoors, either to a feral parent or to a domesticated cat that has been abandoned. Rescue volunteers such as my husband and I debate whether ferals can be successfully adopted after they're young kittens. We have several in our home who were.

The Renegade

The three kittens were born on or about April 1, 2008. Their mama was trapped, spayed and released to care for her kittens on a hot July day. Since there was no foster care available for the little ones, the neighbor agreed to start feeding them and try to keep them in his yard. About a month later, mama cat with kittens arrived twice a day to eat with the other outside feral cats at the back door of our townhouse. The neighbor's family had stopped feeding them.

In the fall, we were able to trap and neuter the kittens. Button, the female, was attacked a few months later, underwent several surgeries and was eventually adopted. Accent, a male, entered our household a few weeks later, our last and clingiest cat. Mama Soot elected to remain feral, as did Shadow.

For two years, we tried to get Shadow to come into the house. Sadly, cats are often adopted because of their looks. He remained a prime candidate even though no longer a kitten.

Because other feral cats who ate behind the house kept chasing him away, Shadow began eating with the cats at the front door. Even though he recognized his name, the storm door scared him. In January and February of 2010, several snow storms paralyzed the Washington, DC area.

When Shadow appeared at the front door just before the last storm, I bent down to entice him to come into the house. He reneged, and I ended up having knee surgery the following month due to my efforts.

Out of the Cold

The night of January 22, 2011, it was 6 degrees F outdoors. My husband called up to me that Shadow was at the back door, pawing to come in, which really surprised us. A quick conversation followed as to what to do.

After some intense maneuvering to get our other cats out of the way, we opened the patio door, and in he came, warily. Note: no one but an experienced cat rescuer should ever allow a feral cat inside if uncertain as to whether the cat can be picked up.

Shadow quickly went into our spare, "triage" bedroom, which is only 8' x 9' and filled with furniture and boxes of files. He had his own litter box, rake, food and water. He was scared. The other cats weren't permitted to socialize with him. The door remained shut.

The idea was to put Shadow on the fast track to socialization with humans to make him adoptable. A couple from our church expressed interest in him.

Shadow was a quick study. After a few days, he knew how to play with toys and would walk into my lap for his daily brushing. He purred. He was learning to bond.

We set his first vet appointment for February 7, a Monday. The preceding week, I took a specimen to the vet. He had round worms and giardia (as his brother had experienced) plus toxoplasmosis. Though a problem, all of these are fixable and not a bar to adoption. The cat looked and acted perfectly healthy.

The Diagnosis

The morning of his appointment, I crated him early and boarded him at the vet's so he could adjust. When I showed up for the 1:30 appointment, the vet intercepted me in the lobby to tell me that Shadow had tested positive for feline leukemia. He was running a fever. She then administered a different test. Shadow remained at the vet's pending the results.

On Tuesday afternoon, I got the call. The second test was positive. It appeared he wasn't just a carrier but that he had the disease. This changed everything.

There was no room at the inn for Shadow. Rescues who take animals with feline leukemia only accept cats already wormed and without complicating medical conditions. Since vets don't like to board them more than a day or two, there is usually no time to find an individual willing to accept them as an only cat and willing to spend hundreds of dollars to treat the other conditions Shadow had. And he could not return to us due to the other cats in the household.

Later that afternoon, my husband and I went to the vet's to be with Shadow as he was humanely euthanized. It was unlikely he knew we were there, as he had already received a drug that made him virtually unconscious due to the unpredictability of his behavior. We did not want him to die alone. Though he was only in our home for two weeks, his urn will sit beside those of adopted pets who spent almost all their lives with us.

Hopefully, this loving cat's legacy is to be a voice for all the feral cats for whom there is no room at the inn.

Sources:

http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=434

Personal experience as an animal rescue volunteer