Joe, Louis and Tina ended up at Hamilton Animal Control after their owner passed away.  When they arrived at HAC, they were quite matted, so staff shaved the mats out as best they could. Seemed that none of the cats had been brushed for some time, and poor Joe is so fat that he can’t reach his back to groom himself, so he had the worst matting of the three.
Joe mostly just needed to lose some weight. He seems in fair health otherwise. We had his blood tested as well, just to be on the safe side because he is so big. Thankfully, Joe isn’t diabetic, but he blood came back positive for FIV. We tested him again, and it came back negative for FIV. (!) We had his blood sent for a specific (and very expensive!) test to know 100% whether he is FIV positive or not, and it came back negative. Yay!
Either way, FIV is not the worst diagnoses for a cat. FIV positive cats can live long healthy lives, and they can live with FIV negative cats without spreading the virus. Click here for lots of info on the subject.

Unfortunately, Joe ended up by himself after his “siblings” both went through serious health issues and had to be humanely euthanized because of them. We tried everything we could for Tina and Louis, but their quality of life was past the point of return and we didn’t want them to suffer any longer.

So, Joe is now looking for a forever home with another cat to be friends with as he misses his brother and sister. He has other cats in his foster home that is now getting to know, and it seems to be going well so far.

Here’s a note from Joe’s foster home:

“Definitely a sidekick – in fact, Joe is a little bit of a catdog!! Wherever I go, he is soon to follow. His skittishness is all but gone and he likes nothing more than pets, belly rubs, being brushed and playing with his toys. It’s very rare that Joe is not purring – even when he’s just sitting around. He is such a gentle cat and seems like a genuinely happy cat – in fact, it almost seems like he is smiling. He has not shown any aggression, whatsoever, with either humans or his fellow felines. When Joe first arrived, he would slink around, low to the ground, hissing at everything (out of fear) and running as fast as he could into the nearest carrier. Little by little, he became more trusting and now bounds around with his tail held high and hamming it up for attention. His carrier has long since been replaced with a big comfy pet bed. He will sometimes go under the (human) bed, but happily comes running when called. Joe is still a little overweight, but is on a diet and has been gradually losing the appropriate amount of weight. It shows in how he walks and grooms himself.”

We’re so happy to report that Joe’s foster home became his forever home! Yay Joe!