Hello - Another Newbie

Hi Everyone! I just found this site a few days ago, and I love it! By way of introduction, I am a life-long animal lover/cat owner and I currently have 1 indoor-only cat named Fiona. Recently a stray started coming around and living under our porch, so of course I began feeding him. He was really in bad shape, all dirty and matted, so I took him to the vet. He got the mats shaved off, ears cleaned, nails trimmed, but we also found out he is FIV positive. I don't have any experience with that but the vet said we should keep him separated from our indoor kitty, which is not going to be easy. He has overcome his initial fear and shyness and now wants to stay in the house with us full time (as opposed to just in the basement). I am looking for advice on what to do with him, our indoor kitty has not been at all happy about his presence so far (they swat and hiss at each other under the basement door). I really want to keep him, I'm going to have him neutered next week, but I don't want to do anything to put Fiona at risk. Here's a couple photos of him, does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks in advance!

Looking forward to getting to know you all. Best wishes,
Andrea
PS We're planning on giving him a bath this weekend - wish us luck!

Welcome to TCS!

Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina

y Milky

te saludan!!!........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!... )
poor girl... thank to God you find her and you take care of her, God Bless you my friend,....
My unique advyce is, when we take to Catulina, (she was feral) I arranged with my vet to take care of her by 2 weeks in his place, so the Vet bath her, quit the fleas and ticks and begin to put the vacciness required before to go at home to present to her to Milky........It was a bit expensive, but this way you can have the security that fiona doesn´t get any illness.....
God bless you for take care of this poor soul...

See you on the forums!

Hi ! youre kittie is so cute, but wheres a pic of fiona? sorry ive got no info on FIV

Hi and welcome to TCS!

What a gorgeous kitty. Bless you for rescuing him.

Here's a link to some good information about FIV.

http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimal...ats/catfiv.pdf

Since FIV is a relatively new disease many vets are misinformed about it. The reality is that since it's spread through deep bite wounds, it's perfectly safe for FIV+ and FIV negative cats to live together as long as they get along well together. I know quite a few people who have both FIV+ and FIV- cats and it's not an issue. I've fostered two FIV+ cats in the past year, and didn't hesitate to let them have contact with my own kitties.

Unfortunately, many people have misconceptions FIV, so cats that test positive are often euthanized or are difficult to place. It's a shame, because many cats with FIV, show no signs of being ill and live long, healthy lives. I hope you decide to adopt this sweet cat. He's a lucky boy that you rescued him!

Also here's a helpful link with information on introducing cats:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67321

I didn't have a pic of Fiona at work when I posted this message yesterday, but now I'm home, so here she is:

The plot thickens (or not!) with our newcomer, he has developed a case of bloody diarrhea - yuck, it smells soooo bad, poor baby. I suspect he might have worms from living under our porch. Not sure what to do for him, as the vet is closed till Tuesday and the emergency hospital charges $95 just for the exam, with any tests, medicines, etc, extra. We just don't have that kind of money right now. He doesn't seem sick except for the poo problem. I think I will take the advice above and post a question on the health board. Thanks for the warm welcome, hope to see you all around the boards.
Best wishes,
Andrea

Poor baby! Doesn't sound like he has an owner with all that goin on, I hope he is ok and finds his furrever home thanks to you Also, Fiona is so pretty

Welcome and congrats. You have taken on quite a handful. Both your cats are beautiful. I am sure when your new one gets healthy and you learn more about FIV living you will all get along great. Having one cat is great, but having more than one is fantastic.

Hello & Welcome to the Cat Site!

Fiona is a darling girl Can't wait to see more photos of her!
Bless your heart for caring for the stray kitty!! Good luck with him

Best Wishes! Enjoy the forums