Jake came into my life October of 2004.  Our pitbull Turbo had passed away in Aug and we were still very much mourning him.  A client that had been going to Tommy’s vet clinic (on the east side) had found Jake in the street a year earlier and she was keeping him in her home, but in a cage because he was FIV+ and she had a few cats of her own in the house.  One day in Oct. Tommy came to me and asked me if I would mind him bringing this cat home and immediately I said of course not!!  So we picked up Jake from Tommy’s job and brought him home.  He had a URI at this time and was on antibiotics.  Tommy thought that Jake might be dying, and he wanted him to be able to live out his life in some ones home being loved and not in a cage. 

Its 3 years later and Jake is happy and loving life.  He was such a good boy when I brought Simone home from MCS, there was 1 hiss and that was it, after that they could always be found sleeping next to each other.  Recently I had my mom’s cat at my house for 2 weeks and Jake was so good with him, it was actually her cat hissing at Jake and then Jake would have a confused look on his face because all he was doing was being curious and friendly. 

Jake is FIV+ so he's not without his problems.  His disease causes diarrhea which I’ve gotten under control for the most part with a probiotic supplement and fiber capsules added to his food daily.  His mouth is a big problem; his disease causes really painful gingivitis and sometimes oral sores, so I have to perform dentals on him more often than any normal cat.  Not too long after we brought him home, his mouth really started to bother him and he stopped eating.  He wasn't acting sick or lethargic, and when I prepared his food I could tell that he was hungry, but when I put the food down for him, he'd run away from the bowl.  So I tried to feed him by hand and he ate for me so from then on my Tommy and I feed him by sitting him next to us on the couch and holding his bowl for him so he'll eat. 

I give him pain medication 3 times a week to keep him as comfortable as possible.  Our routine at bedtime is him laying next to my chest and kneading on my arm or face for 20 minutes, so I always make sure I keep his nails trimmed.  I'm so in love with him and so thankful to have his love everyday.