Feline Leukemia

The World's Most Affectionate Cats

When some of us get sick, we become unbearable. We wave our Kleenexes around, looking for sympathy from strangers, dropping hints to friends that condolence cards would be welcome.

But cats, explains staffer Frank Monetti (pictured with his good pal Judah), are much better sports about illness than even less dramatic humans. Cats with feline leukemia, he says, neither require sympathy, nor desire it. For the most part, they consider themselves healthy and happy!

Frank, a former biker, came to work at Best Friends five years ago. He's worked in different areas of the sanctuary, but four years ago, he took over the special care of the cats at the Kitty Motel. They include kitties with neurological conditions (who live in the Incontinental Suite!) others with FIV, and two rooms for cats with feline leukemia.

Frank says that the Kitty Motel is by far his favorite place in all of the sanctuary. The reason? He finds that not only are these cats not depressing to be around, they are in fact the friendliest of all cats!

"They're the most affectionate," he explains, "Anyone who comes here will tell you that. The volunteers, the staff, anyone who comes here falls in love with them." And the feline leukemia cats are perhaps the friendliest of all. Why? Frank really isn't sure. But when we humans are sick, he points out, we tend to compare how we feel today to how we felt yesterday. Looking back in time and finding that we're worse off now than before worsens our mood. And then we look ahead to the future and ask, "How long before I'm better?" Again, if our predictions are dismal, we'll wind up adding sorrow to our list of ailments. And in the case of serious illness or injury, we may ask, "What would my life have looked like if this had never happened? How does it look now that it has?" and of course, the most torturous of thoughts: "Could this illness or injury have been avoided? How much happier would I be if I had done something differently?"

Cats don't engage in all the inner psychological banter that can exaggerate the depression of having an illness. Instead, says Frank, they simply adjust to how their lives are right now on this day, and remain in high spirits.

Many of the feline leukemia cats at Best Friends have been around a long time, and expect to keep going even longer! Frank says that the affection and attention they receive from visitors and volunteers, as well as from the staff is a large part of what keeps them healthy for so long. Of course, every now and then, one of the cats he cares for goes over the Rainbow Bridge, although in many cases it's as much from old age as from the illness! Other times, the leukemia takes them prematurely. But Frank says, "I don't feel sorry for them. They're just great cats."

And it sounds like these extraordinary cats really don't want anyone to feel sorry for them. They just want to enjoy today.

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