Wendy, an FIV+ Cat

Ken Pope

Wendy was found as an adult living in terrible conditions in a house with 138 cats and 3 dogs. Many of the animals rescued from that house didn't make it. Despite having Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), a retrovirus similar in many ways to the human AIDS virus, Wendy survived.

The wonderful rescue group who saved her was able to provide her with a small space but not a real home. Though the group placed her photo and description on the internet and elsewhere, Wendy waited for over 3 years for her own home.

When we learned from the rescue group -- from whom we had adopted a tiny dog who needed heart surgery several years ago -- that Wendy, who was about 9 years old, had been without a home for so long, we decided to meet her. We fell in love and adopted her into the family of special-needs cats and dogs who live in our home.

Wendy was a wonderful presence in our home for 9 years.  She would jump into your lap if you were sitting down, would start bumping you for attention if you were walking, and about an hour after the lights went out each night came to snuggle in bed. Wendy developed osteosarcoma which spread.  However, with chemotherapy and radiation therapy from an excellent oncologist, Wendy had an addition 4 months of high quality life before she died.  We miss her terribly.

Here are some photos of Wendy and her friends...

Wendy cuddling with Danny, a little black cat who who has the calicivirus and survived pneumonia shortly after birth:

2 cats huddle together in a cat bed

Wendy enjoying an open window with her friend Dharma, a dog with an atypical seizure disorder:

Wendy the cat is sitting in an open window next to Dharma the dog.

Wendy spending time with Calypso, a blind cat:

Wendy the cat is on top of a "cat tree," right above another cat, Calypso.

Wendy with her pal, Emma, a blind and mostly deaf dog who'd been abused and who when she came to us had no fur and a body covered with sores:

a black & white cat sits happily next to a black dog

Goodbye, Wendy:

a black and white cat is on a mat looking at you



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