Fiv+

I was hoping I wouldn't have to post this. I was hoping the Snap test was a false positive, but it wasn't. We got the WB results today and Wendel is FIV+.

This showed up at his vet appointment on Wednesday and that's why I didn't have any updates on him. Mike and I were both in shock because we only had him tested by accident. (Mike forgot and told them to run the same tests we did on Sybil when we first brought her in) I did read up on it quite a bit and since none of our cats are prone to injuring one another, we're still keeping the big lug. Our vet is supportive of us keeping him and talked a little about what to look out for, as well as assuring us he can live a long happy life as long as we keep an eye on his health.

So, from anyone who has experience with FIV+ cats and FIV- cats in the same household, I'd love any thoughts, suggestions or shared experiences.

Integration so far isn't going bad. Sybil and Wendel are kind of friends and Freya just hisses at him, so nothing awful.

I'm so sorry this is the way things turned out - but everything happens for a reason, doesn't it? If your DH hadn't automatically asked for the test, unexplained things might have started happening with your baby at some point in the future. Despite the (initial) fear, disappointment, and shock, you're in a position now to learn, and be prepared.

I am SO GLAD you're keeping him! He found the right home.

We were really worried about Chumley, because outside, he was so aggressive, he chased the ferals away from the feeder. I mean they did NOT come to eat - and it took three days of him being not outside for them to come back. We did super slow introductions with him living next door in a trailer - and we'd bring him over here for just a little while at a time - not even to introduce the cats so much as to let him smell everything here, and leave his scent behind.

As it turns out, he isn't the least bit aggressive, the poor boy was just hungry.

Our Spooky is very hissy about new kitties - and she's still hissing at Chumley (who's been here full time since July). By sometime next summer she should accept that he's not going anywhere and isn't any threat.

Billy is our most cat-friendly cat, and he went to be buddies right away. Chumley grooms and grooms and grooms him - loves to clean his ears - and Billy LOVES it, and just basks and purrs during all the attention.

Sometime in ... September? October? Shelly decided he didn't like Chumley. Chum happened to be "using" all of Shel's normal places to hang out (not that Shel can be in all of them at once ) - and Billy was now Chumley's friend, not so much Shels... and - well - we're not really sure what happened, because Shelly is normally our ambassador kitty! We did everything we know to do - give Shelly more attention, use positive reinforcement for non-negative behavior - but he started getting aggressive towards Chumley. And Chumley was getting more comfortable, so instead of just running, he started standing his ground.

We got worried Shel would push Chumley too far, and we know he was a very "bitey" cat. We contacted an animal communicator. You can laugh or not, but she learned things from her communication with the kitties that she could not have otherwise known. And it worked. Not overnight - but over a couple of readings (a couple of weeks). We had Shel's reading done first. We still had a few incidents after that, but he really did seem less... stressed. We then had Chumley's reading done, and she "told" Chumley about Shelly's issues, and she found out from Chumley that he wasn't challenging Shel and didn't want to cause trouble, and he just wanted Shelly to be happy... and she then told Shelly that.

And Chumley, on his own, moved from where he'd been hanging out to a totally different place in the RV - an area where Shel never really hung out much before. (He was hanging out in what used to be the dining area, but is now cat trees and the window seat, and moved to the front on the opposite side).

Shel still keeps an eye on him - but there haven't been any further incidents, and we often find Shelly sleeping somewhere next to Chumley now.

So, after that long story... it sounds to me like things are going really well!

Did you realize that if a cat was ever vaccinated for FIV that any subsequent test will show a positive reading? Do you enough about Wendel's background to rule out that he would have ever received that vaccine?

I had a very honest vet tell me once that before the FIV test, it was estimated that a lot of multi-cat households were living with the disease without anyone knowing about it, and those cats lived a normal life span. Once the test came about, it became a death sentence for many cats because people were afraid of a disease that many people confuse with FeLV.

I'm very glad to hear you are working through this with Wendel and not giving up on him.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Did you realize that if a cat was ever vaccinated for FIV that any subsequent test will show a positive reading? Do you enough about Wendel's background to rule out that he would have ever received that vaccine?

Click to expand...

I did, actually. We asked his foster mom if he's received it, but she said no. It's not widely available here. I've not ruled it out, but even if he truly has FIV, I don't think it will be a problem. In reading one of the links LDG sent me, someone was quoted as saying the same thing about dozens of cats living with it. Heck, but for an accidental test, he would have been one of them.

I'm more comfortable with the decision everyday. He's playing with Sybil this morning and we've only had 2 hisses from Freya so far. He seems t want to live a normal cat's life so badly that i can't even think of taking that away from him because of an acronym that didn't even exist 15 years ago.

Interesting aside. Several times over the past few years the vet asked me if I was sure Cotton had been tested for FIV, because his immune responses were never as good as they should have been. He always took an extra round of antibiotics or stronger antibiotics. I presumes because he'd tested negative when he was first rescued that it couldn't be FIV, but over the last two days, I've wondered a bit.

I don't know if I wrote this to you in the PM with FIV info or not, but it should be out here in the public forum anyway.

If a cat was bitten by another cat with FIV and rescued inside of a month or two, it is entirely possible for them to test negative for FIV, and yet have the infection - it's just that FIV is such a slow-acting virus, it can take up to three months to build up a viral load "large" enough to be detected by the test.

Healthy cats CAN fight off the infection - it really just depends upon the state of health at the time of the bite by an infected cat.

So shelters bring in a cat that tests negative. That doesn't mean they don't have FIV. It just means the viral load wasn't large enough at the time of the test - but they still could have been recently infected. So as you're now learning - one negative FIV test doesn't mean a cat doesn't have FIV.

Even if they've been living inside only since rescue or adoption from a shelter - a test is still in order if the immune system isn't responding correctly.

I have a couple double positives in my crew, positive for both FIV and FeLV, and for some strange reason, they are my most healthy cats- maybe they cancel each other out? but honestly, it is quite difficult to pass the FIV virus unless they're mating or really getting into some hardcore, I'm going to kill you, fights. Thru your dealings with Cotton you know how to deal with a immuno-compromised kitty, and Wendel will be no different. If he becomes sick, go with stronger anti-biotics; I've learned that Clavamox really does nothing for my kitties so the vet has started prescribing Clindamyacin right off the bat, or giving them the Covena (sp?) shot and they've all had good results with that FIV and FeLV are both retro-viruses except I'd take FIV anyday

Well I was going to say everything already said (may have had the vaccine, may have been exposed recently so it didn't show up on the first test), but the bottom line is Wendel is yours and you all are his, and he is forever home.

And that is why he Chose you!

I'm sorry for the news - but, you and Wendel and Family will work this out, and after a few months - you'll be able to realize you're doing OK.

We adopted a stray, he brought along his "wife", and later, they had two kittens.
I was able to get him, and the feral mommy and her two kittens trapped, and then altered at a clinic - they didn't test for anything.

So, it wasn't until I had to take Gray to my regular vet that he got tested. Yes, he had the FIV. I haven't socialized the other 3 enough to get them to my vet for testing, but - it's possible that they might all have the virus, too - even thought they show no signs.

Gray shows no signs either - I just know that if something seems to be amiss health-wise, I need to get on it right away. For example, when ever I have to take him to the vet, he is so stressed out that he catches a cold when he comes home -- ugh - another virus that the other cats also caught - everyone was sneezing. I can't remember if he needed antibiotics the last time, but, I would have paid special attention to him because of the FIV.

Guess I mention all that just to say - I wouldn't know he was carrying the virus the way he acts, plays - etc., he's a happy cat - and, so are all of his family.

Belonging to this website is one of the best ways to get helpful encouragement as you experience this.

I'm sorry to hear that Wendel tested postive for FIV, but am thrilled that you're keeping him and working to integrate him into your household.

For what it's worth, I've fostered a number of FIV+ cats, all adult (unaltered at the time) males who likely contracted the disease via a bite wound from already infected cat. All but one, who was also FeLV+, had regular contact with mine during the time I fostered them. My most recent foster, Bridge, who was FIV+, was adopted last weekend.

Since none of my own cats are biters and not the type to provoke fights, and the FIV+ cats I've fostered have been real lovers, I had no reservations about introducing them. If I could add a fifth permanent cat, I wouldn't hesitate to adopt an FIV+ cat. Many people I know have positive and negative cats living together without issues.

Again, many thanks for caring for sweet Wendel. He's a lucky boy!