A sad morning. After determining Gray Socks had no known owner, I picked him up and put him in a carrier this morning. I took him to Dr. Valeri to see about getting him neutered. The first thing I have Dr. Valeri do is an FIV test. Unfortunately, the test came back FIV positive for Gray Socks, so a little later today, Dr. Valeri will do the right thing and put him down. This tears both of us up. Nice cats, seemingly healthy, who, if they lived isolated in a home could be allowed to live until their health deteriorated (and there are medications to prolong this now), but for outdoor strays and ferals, it’s a death sentence, because they will continue infecting other cats.

I’m sorry Gray Socks. Thank you for being such a sweetheart for us today.