Our sweet boy Ben has a not-so-small problem: He has FIV, the feline version of HIV.
We adopted Ben from a rescue society, who told us that Ben had passed all of his medical tests with flying colors. When we later took him in for some much-needed dental work, our vet realized that he actually was a pretty sick boy.
Like HIV, FIV won’t kill Ben. The cold that he catches and can’t shake off will kill him. As a result, the boy can’t ever go outside and at the first instance of watery eyes or sneezes, he gets loaded up with antibiotics.
You can imagine my alarm when a friend sent a link about the first known feline case of H1N1 flu. The Hayleys (including The Niece) aren’t planning on getting the H1N1 vaccine shot. Now I’m worried about what will happen if we catch it and give it to Ben.
I wonder if I should stock up on some protective gear?
