Saving FeLV+ Cats

A letter from the founder & Executive Director, Jonathan Rosenberg

 

In seventeen years of Tabby’s Place history, it has been gratifying to work with you to give the neediest cats not only a life, but a future filled with love.

But, over the years, we have been unable to help cats from the most hopeless situation: infection with the feline leukemia virus, FeLV.

  • This limitation has been heartbreaking, but not surprising. FeLV is a confusing condition that is challenging to manage. The more we study the disease, the less we seem to understand:
  • Some cats succumb to the disease in months, while others live a normal lifespan.
  • The virus can be transmitted via casual contact, which means proper housing is
    crucial.
  • It appears some cats can eliminate the virus after infection, while others become persistently infected. Yet others remain in limbo: not infected, but not uninfected.

Caring properly for FeLV+ cats requires flexible space, easily reconfigurable to accommodate changing situations. This has made it infeasible for us to save these exceptionally needy cats, becoming a source of heartache at the sanctuary for cats from “hopeless situations.”

 

But that is about to be ancient history.  Thanks to one extraordinary gift, we will are beginning a significant expansion that will provide the quantity and type of space required for these most desperate cats: Quinn’s Corner.

 

For 17 years, helping FeLV+ cats was just a dream. Now, it’s about to come true. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming the cats who need us most.

 

Jonathan Rosenberg