Introducing Shadow

[ruthcatrin]

So, after much frustration of trying to find a rescue who'd talk to me dispite having an intact dog, I discovered that the National Siberian Rescue doesn't give a flying f*ck if I have an intact dog (she litterally didn't understand my question, I had to explain).

The end result of that discovery came home with us today.

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This is Shadow. He's a 5yr old Blue Point Siberian.

He's less than thrilled with everyone at the moment, the 3.5hr drive home didn't help, but he comes from a house that contained multiple cats and a Great Pyr so once he figures out we're not the devil I expect he'll settle in just fine!

 

[AKBull]

What kinda mastiff is that??



Grats on the new kit eh!

 

[Smart_Family]

Yay! He's cute!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Yes he is! Weighs about 14lbs too, very not small!

 

[2nd Chance]

congratulations on your new family member!
very small for a mastiff indeed lol
14lb wow, reminds you why large dogs are called large doesnt it.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Lol, yah, in comparison to Apollo he's still tiny!

 

[CeeCee]

Oh congrats! He's beautiful. Did you decide that you didn't have enough fur in your house so you decided to add a long haired cat?

 

[ruthcatrin]

All the better to be buried in fluff! Lol.

Actually I wanted a large laid back cat, who's already dog savvy and NOT a kitten. Though there are a variety of mixed breeds that might fit that description, the Maine Coon, Siberian, and Noewegian Forest cats are genetically likely to fit at least part of that description, so I was keeping an eye out for ose breeds in general.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Trouble and Shadow were playing footsie under the door last night, no hissing or anything, right before I went to bed. And this morning Trouble is sitting outside the bathroom where Shadow is secluded and crying! I'm not going to allow them to interact (other than the footsie) till he clears his vet check later today, but its a good sign!

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

He is gorgeous and wait til he get a load of Apollo and all that fur, he will feel right at home!

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

PS...my first cats name was Shadow, she was a Russian Blue

 

[thelady_v2010]

Awww, what a beautiful cat!

 

[ruthcatrin]

My parents had a cat named Shadow when I was a teen (infact he only just passed away a few years ago), and although he was a shelter kitten so we don't know for sure, we think he might have been part Russian Blue. His head was the right shape, and he was that incredibly lovely shade of silver-blue....

 

[ruthcatrin]

Awww, what a beautiful cat!

He is lovely! His coat needs some work, one of the reasons he was being rehomed was that his former owner was no longer up to managing the demands of a large number of long-thick coated cats. He's got a couple small mats I'm going to have to trim, and he needs a good brushing. But I'm holding off a bit till he's a bit more comfortable with me.

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Wow, pretty kitty Congrats Ruth on finding a rescue that didn't mind your doggy's bits.

 

[kbuchanan66]

Why do all Himalayan, Siberian and Siamese cats looked pissed off all the time? Lol He is darling. I hope everything goes well for you Ruth.

 

[angelbears]

Sure is cute! congrats to you and him.

 

[ruthcatrin]

*sigh*

I have possible bad news.

Shadow's "new kitty" vet apointment was today. He was (very) overdue for his rabies booster, and hadn't seen a vet in 4 years, so I wanted that done before I really introduced him to Trouble.

He tested "faint positive" on TWO snap tests for FIV. So we are sending off blood for additional testing (called the Western Blot test), to confirm positive.

Now, I DO know of households where they have both FIV positive AND negative cats. Its not REALLY highly contagious, the most common vector is via a bite, though its recommended that the cats be fed seperately just in case. It also means possible large vet bills when it comes to end of life care.

So I have found an FIV cats support group, and have joined asking for some "been there done that" experience....

 

[cinnamon roll]

Oh Ruth I am so sorry to hear that!! Did they not test him when he was in the rescue?

 

[ruthcatrin]

TECHNICALLY, he was never actually in custody of the rescue.

The National Siberian rescue runs a rescue the way I think ALL rescues should be, and among other things, WHEN POSSIBLE, they prefer to keep the cat in its current home till a new one is found. So he was actually still in the home of his breeder, who for various reasons was no longer able to care for a large number of cats. She DID warn me that they'd not seen a vet for almost 4 years. HOWEVER, FIV was fairly low concern as its mostly an issue with outdoor cats, and she's ALWAYS kept her's indoors. Unfortunetly if the Blot test comes back positive it means that at least one of her other cats is likely positive as well.....