My name is Gabriel!

Gabriel: 3 to 4 yr old, male, White Turkish Angora

Here’s Gabriel. He is as loving as he is beautiful. Yes, he is gorgeous, & Yes, he is outrageously friendly to strangers, to everyone. When he meets someone new, he likes to flip on his back and wave his feet in the air. He watches to make sure you are watching how adorable he is. He is a happy boy. He doesn’t really like my camera and tends to look super serious when I bring it out. Don’t be fooled. He is a nut.

The first email I saw about him had in the subject line: “Cat desperately needs help.” A young woman who recently moved to town found him in her yard. He was hungry and weak and rubbed against her legs, pleading for help. She fed him and gave him water. He was so affectionate that she wanted to keep him, but she could not afford to get him vet care and neutering. An outreach program of the Palo Alto Humane Society helped and paid for him to be neutered, wormed, and vaccinated for rabies. He gained weight quickly and soon showed himself to be a very healthy cat. This woman was renting a room in a home and her landlord threatened to evict her if she didn’t get rid of him. Many folks tried with no luck to find someone who would foster him. It is kitten season and rescues are overwhelmed with kittens. The young woman was very worried she would have to put him back out on the street.

It was about then that Purebreds Plus came into the story. Horrified at the idea of his being put out on the street again, I offered to take him in. I had no idea what a loving, cuddly boy I was getting, and I was very happily surprised to meet him. He arrived looking good with his blue eyes, pink nose, and pure white fur. And I knew he would soon look better. Angoras, like most cats, grow their thickest, most glorious coats in the winter and shed them in the summer to stay cool. I knew Gabriel’s coat was seasonably thin. The poor diet and part starvation of his past months had also adversely affected his coat. His new high quality diet is already improving the soft texture of his fur. Also, he had fleas and he is allergic to them, a situation called flea allergy dermatitis. He had been scratching off his fur in his effort to get relief. He did this especially thoroughly on his tail which, when he arrived, was a bit bare as a result. His new coat will grow in quickly.

Turkish Angora’s are known to be the “dogs” of the cat world. They play fetch. They wait by the door for you to come home. They play host when company comes to visit. They are known to be social kitties, very loyal, and close to their humans. They originally came from Turkey where to this day they are called “National Treasures” and, amazingly, all Turkish Angoras there are protected by the government.

So Gabriel was a kitty who had a hard beginning. He was put or left outside to fend for himself. His family probably moved away. “Oh, he will be fine; he knows this neighborhood.” is a common excuse for leaving a cat behind. Or did he get lost somehow? Someone had to have loved him in his early life and nurtured the super loving boy he is now.

However, whoever had him as a young cat did not get him neutered. Young un-neutered teenage male kitties are compelled by Mother Nature to try to procreate. Little girl kitties in heat, call out to them and leave their alluring perfume all over. Of course, older, stronger, streetwise alley cats respond to those same calls. The young teenage boy cats come to harm in fights with these more experienced fighting cats. Cats very seldom really fight each other, but they do in this situation and they end up with torn ears and serious lacerations and bite wounds. We know Gabriel was bitten deeply because one of those cats transmitted the FIV virus to him, and that is about the only way cats can get it. Gabriel is an FIV+ kitty. He has the Feline Immunological Virus. His immune system can be at times weaker than that of other kitties. I am always happy to help FIV+ cats and have fostered and adopted out 10 or 12 wonderful positive cats in the past years. Most of these cats were adopted by folks who had other non FIV cats.

30 yrs ago FIV was poorly understood and a FIV+ diagnosis generally equaled euthanasia. Now, more modern research resulting in a newer understanding of FIV has given us a much more positive outlook on this illness. They are saying now that 4% of the cats in the US are FIV+ and the vast majority of their owners do not even know that they are. When a cat is given a “combo test,” he is tested for Feline Leukemia (FeLV ) and FIV. The Leukemia is a serious diagnosis and I unfortunately will not foster those cats. But FIV+ is different. As more research results come in on FIV+ cats, it is now, in many circles, being viewed as not so very serious. It is a much weaker virus than HIV is for humans and is not transmittable to humans or dogs. The newest long term study from Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine found that FIV+ cats with proper care typically live as long as non FIV cats and it found that they do not infect their kitty housemates. This is the web link: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-health-vet-study-fiv-positive-cats-living-together

An FIV+ cat needs exactly what any cat needs--to be kept safe inside, to be fed high quality food, to be given lots of love, and to receive good vet care. All this is done to keep them happy and to keep their immune system strong. Life gives no guarantees and you could just as easily adopt a cat with a more serious problem like heart or kidney disease without knowing it. It is just that FIV is easy to test and you can know about it. If you are worried about Gabriel’s health, I suggest you read up on FIV yourself. You will find disagreement on the web. My sense is that we are in transition as the old ideas are falling away as new research gives us more information. Only recently has much serious research of any sort been done on cat illnesses. I am happy to say things are changing for the better for kitties.

Gabriel needs a home that will keep him inside for a second reason. Since he is white, his pink ears will get sunburned, and he could get skin cancer from too much sun. Sometime blue eyed kitties are deaf . Not Gabriel; his hearing is fine. He is just a strikingly beautiful, blue eyed boy.

So here is Gabriel. He is quite the treasure. Some family will be so lucky to have his company. He is cat friendly. I don’t know how he is with dogs. He is probably fine with gentle children. He is quite a confident boy. He just wants love and to have a family he can take care of. He is a wonderful cat.

Gabriel eats wet and dry food and is litterbox perfect.

His foster mom is Harriet in Santa Cruz.

Contact Harriet at (831) 336-2983 or email toharrietjane@comcast.net if you have questions, or send an Adoption Application. If you are unable to reach Harriet by phone or email, email us at Info@purebredsplus.org.
________________________________________
NOTE: We prefer families with children bring them to the adoption appointment. Why? This allows interaction between the children and the cat. This helps ensure they will be a good fit for each other. A mismatch between a child and a cat is not in anyone’s best interest!