Ailing cats give meaning to patients' lives
FOSTER PROGRAM: Surrey feline shelter places 46 animals with HIV/AIDS sufferers
BY LORA GRINDLAY STAFF REPORTER THE PROVINCE August 17, 2006

In the only program of its kind in Canada, a Surrey cat shelter is pairing up HIV-positive people with cats carrying the feline equivalent of the potentially deadly virus.
Forgotten Felines cat shelter has matched 46 cats with the feline immunodeficiency virus with people living with HIV or AIDS since starting its AIDS program four years ago. The shelter's Penny March identifies the FIV cats through $32 blood tests she runs on every stray, abused, wild and abandoned cat that comes into the shelter.
The virus - which, like HIV, attacks and weakens a cat's immune system - is contagious between cats through deep bite wounds so March keeps her 15 FIV-positive animals separate from the 300-odd cats she houses. Not only do the cats enrich the lives of their often depressed, isolated and ill foster parents, the program has taught March lessons she never thought she'd learn. "I was really ignorant because I'd never really met anyone with HIV before, or AIDS," said March. "I did it for my cats but now I love some of these guys. They are just beautiful people." She has learned that she is blessed. "I've got guys in the program who have been HIV positive for close to 12 years and they are living with a death sentence," she said. "We think we have problems? We don't. These people have to take a kazillion pills a day just to be able to function and they never know when that hammer is going to come down to nail them into their coffins."
Once a month March delivers food and litter to the cats, who are technically still owned by the shelter and fostered out to the caretakers. The program was born out of the shelter's no-kill policy and after March received requests for cats from people on disability pensions who couldn't afford the $135 adoption fee. "We just had all these beautiful cats sitting here that people aren't going to adopt because they are carrying a virus and people want perfect pets," she said. "Most shelters put down the cats with diseases. It's hard enough to get homes for healthy cats than to get a home for a cat that's carrying a virus." She said a lot of the HIV or AIDSpositive people in the program don't have family support and "have really nothing to keep them going every day." "You give them the cat and all of a sudden you've got this little paw clawing your face in the morning saying, 'Excuse me, it's breakfast time," she said. "It gives them a purpose and everybody has to have that. It doesn't matter who you are."
FIV is a potentially fatal virus but many cats live long lives without any signs of illness. It's believed up to 14 per cent of the cat population is FIV positive. The virus cannot be transmitted to humans.
Forgotten Felines is always in need of donations. It can be contacted at 604-507-5583 or on the web at www.forgottenfelines.ca.
lgrindlay@png.canwest.com