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3/23/09 [Red and Black]
Ming the cat may be infected with FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus); but, he doesn't let that stop him from living a life of relaxation, love and a little bit of modeling."We put him in a Russian fur hat, and he is just so tolerant and sweet that he just sat on the bed and let us dress him up and have a photo shoot taking pictures," owner Jennifer Roberts, a 21-year-old English major from Warner Robins, said. "He didn't even move and just sat there and purred."
According to Roberts, Ming's purr of approval isn't only reserved for his dashing Russian photos that adorn their mantle. It has been a regular sound around the house she shares with roommate Jessica Stewart, 21, since they adopted Ming about a month ago.
"If you are around him or in the next room, he will always want to be right next to you and loves for you to just sit and stroke his head and neck, and he will just purr and be really chill," Ming's co-owner and roommate Stewart, an international affairs and economics major from Alpharetta, said.
"Because he was found outside by Campus Cats, you would think he would be skittish and scared all of the time, but he is just the opposite and very appreciative of having a home and people to pet him and spend time with him."
But, having Ming casually lounge around the house and run to greet them when they come home is not the only surprising quirk the roommates have embraced since adopting Ming from Campus Cats in January.
"There is kind of a stigma around AIDS, and at first we were wondering if he was going to die in like a year, or be really expensive to take care of ... but after we learned more about it, we found out he is really just a normal cat," Roberts said.
"It doesn't have any effect on his life other than having to take some medication to keep his immune system healthy."
Ming's medication is added to his wet food every day on alternating weeks. According to Roberts, the only other effect the disease has on Ming is that he's not allowed to go outside. This restriction prevents Ming from spreading the disease to other cats.
"He can only spread the disease to other cats through deep bite wounds, but he cant make humans sick at all," Roberts said.
"We kind of picked him because he had FIV, but he is just so sweet. And I have had a lot of cats, and they will usually just give you an 'eat shit' look, but Ming will come when you call his name, and he is just so sweet."
Editor's Note: Each week, reporter Courtney Smith will profile a quirky pet that belongs to someone on campus. This is the third installment in the series. If you or someone you know has a unique pet you'd like the University to know about, e-mail Courtney Smith at c5s@uga.edu.
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