"Where Is My Chicken Soup?"

Ponzo was a relatively healthy-looking cat throughout the entire month of August. That is, until last Friday. By Saturday morning, Ponzo was running a slight fever, which meant his body was trying to fight the FIV, and I played nurse again. The good news is that the fever broke on Sunday, and Ponzo decided to eat on his own soon afterwards. After drinking some water, he inspected his four food bowls. Ignoring the bowl filled with dry catfood, Ponzo walked up to an empty bowl, which happened to be his designated chicken soup bowl. I did not have to be fluent in any feline dialect to understand Ponzo's disapproving gaze, questioning me, "Where is my chicken soup?"

This morning, Ponzo is waiting impatiently for his chicken soup, which I just took out of the freezer. He is doing much better, although he is not playing with any of his toys--yet.

On July 3, I was told that there is no way of predicting Ponzo's future: maybe he will be around for a couple more years, or maybe he will be gone by the end of this summer. In July, I had believed the latter, but then in the month of August, Ponzo seemed to be well on the road to recovery. Yes, I know there is no cure for FIV, which is why I believed he had been bitten by a black widow spider. The point I am trying to make is that Ponzo has a strong spirit, which gives me hope.

The Month of Ponzo

July was the month of Ponzo for me, because my life revolved around him. I was his nurse, dealing with his fevers and keeping him hydrated, while I fed him by hand most of the time. The vet's office had recommended Pedialyte, which I later learned could be frozen in ice cube trays, and so I bottle-fed him Pedialyte or store brands of pediatric electrolyte solutions, before discovering that I could make my own from a recipe I found on the internet. As far as food, Ponzo had a large menu selection, which included: dry catfood, assorted canned catfood, gravy catfood topping, a high-calorie food supplement gel, and homemade chicken broth/soup. Taurine and natural vitamin/mineral supplements were also included in Ponzo's meals. On his bad days, Ponzo would lick the food gel from my fingers. But on his good days, Ponzo would reject the gel and eat dry catfood on his own. Chicken broth, however, remained a favorite choice on both good and bad days.

I read everything I could find about FIV on the internet, and it gave me hope to read about FIV-infected cats who had gone on to live relatively healthy lives after getting infected. Was Ponzo in the initial phase of the illness, meaning he could recover and live for months or, dare I hope, years? I had no way of knowing, since he had been a feral cat. How had poor little Ponzo been exposed to FIV? Although possible, it is highly unlikely that the virus had been transmitted by Ponzo's mother before his birth. That leads me to suspect that sweet Ponzo, who steps aside for every cat, had been bitten by a bully FIV-infected cat.

Hope springs eternal.--Proverb

Chicken Soup

The proverb "feed a cold and starve a fever" automatically reminds me of chicken soup. Although Ponzo did not have a cold, he did seem to have an ongoing fever throughout almost the entire month of July. Therefore, using fresh sprigs of parsley as the only herb, I decided to make homemade chicken soup for Ponzo. I soon learned that Ponzo likes homemade chicken broth, cream of chicken soup (that is, pureed without using any milk), regular chicken soup, pureed chicken in broth, and cooked chicken, in that order. In short, the more liquid the better. I freeze whatever chicken soup cannot be used within a few days. I also find it very convenient to freeze chicken broth in ice cube trays, so that I can serve chicken broth to Ponzo upon his request. Daily.