Billy is a handsome, robust, brown tabby, and one of the friendliest cats at Thundering Paws.

Billy

He came to us from a volunteer with Shadow Cats. She trapped him in Thrall, Texas. When she realized he was very friendly, she put out "Found" posters in the neighborhood, and at the only store in Thrall. The only call she got was from a man who said he would shoot him or any other strays that came into his yard. Meanwhile, because Billy was staying in her house, and she has many other cats, she had him tested for FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) and FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus).

Billy's test results were positive for FIV. It's a slow-acting virus that can, over several years, cause a gradual decline in the immune system, making the cat more vulnerable to a variety of infections. It is not curable. On the other hand, many cats with the virus live long, healthy lives with no symptoms. Billy shows no signs of illness.

It's possible that Billy's FIV test was a false positive. We are considering whether to try a more expensive test.

The virus is normally transmitted by a deep bite wound from an infected cat. That's why free-roaming, unaltered males, who tend to get in fights, are the ones who usually get FIV. Humans don't get FIV, only cats do. Even people that have been bitten by an FIV-positive cat or accidentally injected with the virus (in a laboratory) have not gotten the disease.

At Thundering Paws, we've had three other cats that tested positive for FIV, and all of them were stray or feral males, unneutered when trapped. Two of them, Fabio and Vincent, are calm and very friendly like Billy. Fabio is an exceptionally cuddly cat, and has been adopted by our friend Melinda. She also took in Billy for a short time. Billy was happy, but Fabio wanted to remain an only cat, so Billy is back at Thundering Paws. Vincent was with us for one day, before transfer to another sanctuary. At that time he was tattered from recent fights, but had charming manners.

Vincent

Both Billy and Vincent are available for adoption. Contact us to make an appointment to see Billy, or to ask about Vincent.

Marilyn got out and ran away, the afternoon of Sunday January 11th, after I inadvertently left a door open. She was gone for more than a week.

Marilyn

I believed she would stay nearby. That's what the "experts" say: an indoor cat that gets out, often goes into hiding very close to home. I once found a missing cat in a dark culvert 100 feet from its home. The confidence that Marilyn was nearby was a strong motivation to keep trying to get her back.

That first Sunday night, we searched the property, and left food and water out. Often, an escaped cat doesn't respond to a familiar voice, but we called for her anyway.

We searched again Monday morning. That week we kept food and water out: 3 food stations and 5 water stations. We searched the properties of the nearest neighbors, with their permission. I felt that her most likely hiding place would be under a house or other building. One house had a small gap, so that a cat could crawl under, but it was impossible to see all of the space underneath, and calling produced no response.

Volunteer Dave H. came over and sat outside for several hours with an open can of tuna, hoping that she would make an appearance. He'd used that technique successfully to recover a friend's cat.

We posted pictures of Marilyn around the neighborhood, with our phone number, and talked to neighbors.

I read several websites for expert advice: lostapet.org, petrescue.com, fetch-my-pet.com, meowhoo.com, tabbytracker.com, and especially catsinthebag.org. This reaffirmed my belief that Marilyn was probably nearby.

We considered hiring a team with a search-and-rescue dog (doggonedetectives.com) to track down Marilyn. The team would attempt to follow a scent trail. We decided it wouldn't work in this case: we didn't have anything with just Marilyn's scent, and there are neighborhood cats who frequently travel through our yard.

Driving back after dark Saturday night, we finally had a glimpse of Marilyn: just her tail end as she left the driveway. We stayed out Sunday night, hoping to see her again. We heard a Great Horned Owl, very near the house. Great Horned Owls are potential predators of outdoor cats.

In my next blog entry, I will explain how we finally got Marilyn back home. So check back in a couple of days, or contact us if you've lost a cat and want to know right away.

The days are quiet for most of the kitties here at Thundering Paws. Occasionally someone needs to go out for a checkup or other medical attention, and on weekends there are a few candidates for adoption who go out to Petsmart.

But for the most part, they hang around, lounging on the cat trees, and wait for someone to come over and choose them for a new home. Would you like to come over and meet them?

Fill out our online adoption form to start the process. We'll arrange a time that's convenient for you to meet these or our many other adoptable cats.

Jeremy

Betsy

Dreyfus

Cats do not see the world the same way that you and I do. Their vision is adapted to night hunting, so they have a much better ability to see in dim light than we do. They are also adapted to detect even the slightest motion, in order to spot prey.

A cat's eye has a reflective layer behind the retina, not present in human eyes, that bounces light back. You've probably seen a cat's eye shining in dim light, a result of this reflection.

Alex, very reflective

Cats can see some colors, especially purples, blues, and greens, but not as intensely as humans see colors.

Jade, eyes like gemstones

Certain gemstones with a particularly beautiful and reflective property are said to have "chatoyancy," a word derived from a French verb meaning "to shimmer like cats' eyes."