Alabama has been adopted by her foster home! Yay!

We rescued Clarence and Alabama from Oakville Humane Society.

Clarence was 3 weeks old and had a severe bite wound when he came into Oakville Humane Society, and Alabama was a skinny orphaned kitten who came into the shelter alone. Shelter staff decided to put them together, because a single kitten is a lonely kitten! They became the best of friends in their foster home.
Clarence’s bite wound healed with treatment. Later xrays showed that Clarence is missing the head of his femur on his left leg, but the vet didn’t think he would need any surgery or treatment because he can get around perfectly…albeit with a bit of a limp.
Unfortunately, while they were still with OHS, both Clarence and Alabama tested positive for Feline leukemia virus (FeLV).
Contrary to what its name implies, feline leukemia is not just a type of blood cancer (although feline leukemia infection is associated with blood cancer and other types of cancers). Feline leukemia is a viral infection in cats that is spread through the secretions of infected cats and can set up shop in almost any organ in a cat’s body. No medication can eliminate FeLV, so most treatments are aimed at managing the symptoms and complications as the disease progresses. Some infected cats ultimately die from the disease, but many others can live long, comfortable lives with it, as Clarence and Alabama are doing so far. Without the results from the blood tests, you’d never know anything was wrong with them at all!

Sadly, this FeLV diagnosis meant they could not return to the shelter from their foster home to be put up for adoption because FeLV is contagious from cat to cat. With as many cats as OHS cares for, they just couldn’t take the risk having two FeLV kittens in their shelter.
OHS staff reached out to us for help, and we just happened to have a foster home who has a resident cat who also has FeLV, and they agreed to foster Clarence and Alabama!

Over the next few months, Clarence was in and out of the vet with various illnesses. Sadly, his health took a turn for the worst in early March. He was suffering and no amount of treatment could help him. After much discussion with his foster mom and the vet, it was decided that the best thing for Clarence would be to let him go. It was a very sad day for everyone. But especially for Alabama, since her best friend wasn’t coming home.
Thankfully, Alabama had made friends with the two other cats and the dog in her foster home, so she had some comfort there. Alabama’s foster mom decided that the best place for her to be would be with her and the other pets, and she officially adopted Alabama! Yay!