FIV Cat

I have a cat with FIV. He was staying with a friend for the past year. Found out he had been let outside all the time and he fought like crazy with the strays. He was negative before. Kept him in 2 weeks and then had him tested today. Positive.

Anyways, I need food and suppliment suggestions please.

Also, he has an absessed tooth. I completely forgot to ask the vet if that can still be taken care of, dentals and such, on a cat with FIV. Can they be put under sedation? He also has a chronic sneeze which the vet said is all part of it, but didn't seem too concerned about that. At what point to I worry? I think I might give them a call here in a little bit.

Thanks.

If your vet said the chronic sneeze wasnt too bad, I would wait for the sneezing to get worse or some other problem to occur before beinging him to the vet. As for the tooth, you should get him in asap for that. You can sedate an FIV cat just fine in most cases (unless some severe symptoms are present). Really the first step would be yelling at your 'friend' for letting your cat outside all the time and noticing the fighting but not keeping him inside afterward.

Chronic problems with teeth and gums are very common with cats with FIV, and yes, they can be put under anesthesia to treat. In fact, they should have dentals every six months, and you really should stay on top of ANY dental problems, especially gingivitis.

As to the chronic sneezing.... I'd get him on 500mg of L-lysine (NOW powder is great) for a week or two to see if that helps. 250mg daily is a maitenace dose to help prevent URIs and such. But no, just general "sneezing" is not a part of having FIV.

FIV is a very slow-acting virus, and it doesn't necessarily mean your kitty will have a lower quality or shorter life. It does mean he needs to be kept inside so as to reduce the risk of him getting sick with something, because FIV does impact their immune system and their ability to fight off illness. Any illness needs to be treated immediately and aggressively, often requiring longer use of antibiotics and stronger antibiotics.

If you want to find a vet trained in the use of alternative medicines, especially herbals, there are a combination of things that HAVE reduced the viral load in FIV cats to non-detectable levels. But they interact with each other and other meds, so their use really needs to be overseen by someone familiar with them.

Here is the therapy website: http://www.fivtherapy.com

And here is where you can search for a vet trained in alternative treatments: http://www.ahvma.org/