Turbo is eager to come for pets if you call him.

Turbo was trapped as a homeless cat and came to Katie's Place. The big fellow huddled in his new-cat cage, a dark shape in the corner who watched us with a guarded gaze. Any question that he might be feral was soon answered when he proved gentle under our touch. Then his new-cat vet check revealed that he had FIV, the cost of fighting for survival on the streets. So he joined the cats in our FIV/FeLV room. Before long he was showing his true colours; Turbo is a love sponge! He must have had a home once because he hungers for attention. He is always among the cats who greet us when we arrive and he'll follow us hopefully in case we might give him some more pets. He's thrilled to have friends and a safe place to live after the precarious life of a homeless pet. Our vet estimated that he was only about two years old, so his time of being safe and loved must have been very short. His chances of finding a home are slim. Not only does he have FIV but he's a plain, black adult male, the hardest kind of cat to adopt out. But we've seen that he has a heart of solid gold and we'll do our best to make him feel loved.

In his videos below, Turbo basks in some attention from a volunteer.

Sept/08
Turbo is one of the dominant cats in his room. He's not mean spirited. It's just his personality. He's a furry little bulldozer. He craves affection and he glues himself to our side every time we go in. The less dominant cats feel intimidated and back off, leaving Turbo in the limelight. Turbo is unaware of this. He will reflexively swipe at anyone who gets too close. But his sole focus is his human friend and he beams up joyfully as he manoeuvres his head under a hand to get more pets. The only way to photograph him is to give in and pet him while holding the camera at arm's length with the other hand. He doesn't join the gang that piles into our laps en masse when we sit down. He doesn't seem to feel comfortable enough among them for that. He gets along with them well enough, but it's people that he adores.

Jan/09
Turbo handled the move to the new shelter with no problem. He approved of his new accommodations. He checked out the communal room and he checked out the porch. Very interesting, very nice. But he doesn't really mind where he lives as long as he gets visitors who want to pet him. He's had a few quiet days recently. When a gregarious fellow like Turbo is quiet, you want to take his temperature. But he's shown no other sign of ill health so maybe Turbo was actually just having some quiet days. Soon he was trying to assist a pair of volunteers who came in to clean some cats' ears, (never thinking that his own ears might be at risk for a cleaning). The cats squirmed and complained as their ears were swabbed. Turbo considered it all very entertaining and a pleasant diversion for an afternoon when nothing else was happening anyway.

Feb 22/09
Turbo is looking a bit thinner these days. We'll be watching him to make sure he doesn't take any turns for the worse. It's been a hard few months for these cats. The move to the new shelter was a major disruption in their lives. It may have been a good thing but, whether it's eustress or distress, stress makes the immune system work harder and these boys have fragile immune systems. Then there have been a lot of changes in the gang lately. We've had several adoptions (great for the guys who get to go home), so we've had room for several new FIV/FeLV+ cats. It all takes some getting used to as they jockey for position in the hierarchy and try to figure out who gets first pick on various nesting spots. We find ourselves medicating more of them for stuffed noses or sore gums. They've been cooped up indoors for one of the harshest winters we've had since 1964. It will be nice for them when warmer weather invites them outside more to sunbathe on their spacious new porch.

May/09
Turbo isn't quite as gregarious as he used to be. Perhaps when he bulldozed through the cats waiting to greet us so he could glue himself to our side, he was making up for lost time when he'd been homeless and lonely. We've seen them go through a phase of being desperate for attention and then eventually calm down, becoming less needy. For a while, we worried that Turbo might be under the weather. But, although he's not getting any younger, he's actually holding his own quite well. He spends his time sprawled on the couch or in the sun on the porch beside his feline pals. He's happy to see us but he's no longer frantic for our attention.

July 19/09
Poor old Turbo's had a rough time lately. The volunteers noticed early last week that he seemed unable to lift his tail and it was very sensitive to the touch. Our normally loving, easy-going fellow jumped and hissed at us when we touched it. He clearly wasn't a happy cat. Nothing looked wrong but we thought it might be broken or have an abscess. Off he went to the vet. The vet could not find any cause for Turbo's problem. There was nothing amiss on close examination. As a precaution, he went on antibiotics. The vet suspects it's most likely a soft tissue injury. (How a cat would strain his tail is a mystery.) To our relief, he seemed 99% better by Thursday. It was still a bit sensitive and we hope he'll soon be right back to his normal cheerful self.

July 21/09
We were delighted to arrive yesterday morning and be greeted by the old lively, happy Turbo, holding his tail proudly straight and tall. Turbo is apparently fine now!
 

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