Help 8 week old kitten positive Fiv

Hi! I have been doing lots of internet reading and it seems there is so much different information about kittens testing positive for Fiv I was hoping for some advice here. My husband a police officer rescued an 8 week old kitten from a storm drain. Before bringing her home we took her to a vet because we also have a five year old cat. At the vet they did a snap test and Felv was negative but the vet said the Fiv had a slight positive. He said it was ok for the kitten to be around my other cat as long as they do not bite each other enough to draw blood. The vet wants the kitten to come back in three weeks for another blood test.

We have been reading mixed things about how it is ok for Fiv+ and Fiv- to live together. I am more concerned with how likely my kitten will end up with full blown Fiv and be seriously ill. The information I have read about this varies so much from most kittens do not end up with Fiv even with a positive test because it is the mothers antibodies or the kitten will get ill and not survive. Please any advice would be appreciated!

I don't know much about it, but below is a thread I found through a search on this forum.

Do a search for FIV on this forum and you'll find lots of reading. Some folks like Momofmany have more knowledge than I do for sure.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...&highlight=FIV

Thanks for your reply. I did search the forum and I found lots of information. It is so hard to really understand this disease in kittens because it seems to be a newer disease and I am finding lots of different opinions on Fiv even on vet websites. I am so upset over this and I guess the tough thing is I have to wait at least six months to know for sure if she really has Fiv. This site is great and I know people here will understand!

My dear Fred was FIV+ and lived to be 18 years old. We do not know how or when he contracted the disease. He was not a biter, and never passed it to the other cats. He never exhibited any signs of illness until shortly before he went to the Bridge, and the vet said they could have simply been old age.
I wish you the best possible outcome with your kitten. Bless you and your husband for caring for him.

Thanks Krazy Kat for your kind words. Did you ever treat Fred for the illness in any way including diet? I know how devastating it is to loose a cherished pet we lost our 20 year old cat Dee Dee a year ago. We have a five year old cat Max my husband also rescued at work, a person threw a box of eight kittens out of the window of their car two died and we found homes for the rest. When my husband found Mindy the new kitten we brought her to the vet before bringing her home to make sure she was healthy. The vet stressed that Max and Mindy could live together without sharing the FIV but I can't help but feel nervous. Thanks Kat for sharing your story especially of your cats living together without sharing the disease it helps put my mind at ease.

maxmommy, I'm so glad you posted. I just got home from the vet with a similar story and have been feeling everything you wrote about. It was comforting. My experience wasn't what you would call pleasant at the vet though. Having recently moved I had to find a new location. (I should start by saying we adopted a 8 week old little girl, and have a 3 yo boy at home). So the after the first test they came in and said she tested positive for everything, and wanted to do another test. Just like that, not inconclusive, positive for EVERYTHING. Whatever that meant.

Then they came back and said FIV +. My mind had already been racing between test time after the first results. Then as she's telling me my only options are to find her a home with another + cat or alone, or euthanize her. As she is telling me this she is laughing at the fact that she was stumbling over the word "antibody". I was just dumbfounded that she was laughing while she was delivering this news to me with tears starting to roll down my cheeks. There was no "well maybe"...or about the 6 months. I hate to say this, and I may be way off, but I got the impression this lady thought the world needed one less FIV+ cat and since she was "only 8 weeks".

So I came home and called the woman who I adopted Maggie from. She had tamed the mother, a stray, and then mommy brought baby a few days later. Just to let her know that Mommy was probably positive since she was keeping her, and that she might be getting baby back. She told me when I picked her up that at any time for any reason she would take her. With both of us crying we started reading, and she called her vet and her vet actually asked her questions. Like when baby stopped nursing, which was the day we picked her up, 5 days ago. (I was unaware of that) and the vet said baby would still have all antibodies! So needless to say her vet made us both feel better about the situation.

She's become such a little part of the family in such a short period of time, and her and Boomhauer have already bonded. I'm a little panicked that they've been sharing water dishes but by the sounds of it, it takes a little more than that. I'm still a little nervous.
Luckily we have an empty spare bedroom so Maggie has her own room, and I'm going to put a Kibosh on the water sharing, but I can't imagine saying goodbye to this little thing that 5 days ago hissed when you went to pick her up, to now runs up to you, purrs, and sleeps on you! I just wanted to thank you for posting your story, and to everyone else who responded because you have given me hope. Please keep in touch with how things turn out for you! We have to be hopeful!

I don't have experience with FIV but know you will find lots of support here. Your experience at the vet sounds horrible. I'm so sorry this person was so insensitive.

Just wanted to offer some reassurance about your situation. I've fostered two FIV+ cats and know a number of people who have both FIV+ and negative cats. Since FIV can't be spread through casual contact (ie sharing food/water bowls and litter boxes), their cats live together without being separated and it's not an issue. When I fostered, the FIV+ cats had contact with my own (after gradual introduction) as any foster would. The cats are now 4 and 7-years-old and in perfect health. Everyone I know with an FIV+ currently or who has had one in the past, has had that cat for many years with no health problems and most have lived long, happy, healthy lives.

Good luck to you and your kitten!

Hi Maggie, I am sorry to hear you are going through the same with your kitty. I feel so lucky because I had no idea what FIV was and my vet was so calm about it that it made me feel better. My vet was even telling me about one of the other vets has FIV+ and FIV- kitties that live together and never has had a problem. I am still hopeful that the kitten will test negative at some point but either way she is part of the family and she can live a very long and healthy life. If you do a search in yahoo groups for FIV cats there are a couple of groups there, I joined one and found it to be quite helpful for accurate information. I think the big problem with FIV is it is often confused with Felv so there is a lot of wrong information on the internet. Good luck with your kitty!
Jenn

to be combo tested (FIV & FLV) my vet had to sedate her because she was very uncooperative. He said to me, "if the test is positive for FLV, I would suggest euthanasia due to the fact it has such a poor outcome. But I would not suggest it if she is FIV positive." Cats can live a full life with this. Just keep utd on shots and have regular well visits to keep anything from cropping up. It is not a death sentence. Hopefully, you will have your little friend with you for many years.

Thank you for all your support. Jenn hope you and the new little one are doing well! I had the opportuninty to visit my regular vet in my hometown, he's so wonderful, and I got a bit of the reassurance that you were able to receive the first time. I have a feeling they are both going to be just fine!!

Mags was just about 8 weeks when we brought her home. My vet said it's not really worth it to test kittens at this age because it's very rare, not impossible, but rare that kittens are actually carriers of FIV. He said it's usually the Toms, and then when they impregnate the females. The lovely lady who took in Maggy and her mommy, was keeping momma and after telling her about our experience, she had the mother tested. Unfortunately Momma was positive. I don't even like to use "unfortunate" because it's not as unfortunate as I was led to believe!

So I'm going to have maggie tested again when I have her spade. I'm wondering now if the test was misred or unclear, because of the antibodies from mom maybe starting to leave her? But they NEVER should have suggested euthanisation!

I want to thank you for writing, and I'm so glad I found this forum at that time. It's always comforting to know you are not the only one! Having known nothing about FIV before, I feel much better now!

Jessie

Hi Jessie, I am glad your vet gave you correct infomation and I too hope your kitty will be just fine! I am bringing my kitten back to the vet for her second round of shots this week and my vet said we could test her again but I think I will do the same and wait for her to be spade to give it a little more time for the antibodies to hopefully be out of her system. Please keep me posted on Maggie and I will do the same. I to am glad to have found this forum it has helped so much! Thanks again, Jenn