I hope someone can help me understand about my newly :adopted cat:

This morning I posted in the Forum I am a newbie.

I have 22 cats. I adopted a beautiful cat early this month. (Now 22 in the house). 

We took Benny to get neutered and had him tested and everything else they do. To my shock, Benny of ALL the cats we adopted is positive for aids. I am trying to understand this. Using the website etc... He has his own room. But I could not bear to leave him alone. Last week we adopted a female cat who also has aids. Her name is Lola.

If anyone can share information about cats with AIDS. I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Welcome to TCS!!!! Sorry about Benny and Lola. There are many kitties with FIV and we have a lot of information and will be able to offer you much support here on this forum. One member in particular, LDG, has expert advice and will come along soon and see your thread :nod: Here is an article I pulled up for you that was written by TCS. Many vibes coming your way for Lola and Benny. FIV is quite manageable and many FIV+ cat's live happily amongst their other housemates :nod: without any problems at all of exposure. It takes a very deep bite wound to transfer the disease. Much luck and I am sure other's will come along soon

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/fiv-in-cats

Aw, I'm so sorry Benny tested positive for FIV! But how sweet of you to adopt another FIV kitty for him. :heart3:

But the fact of the matter is that with FIV, the cats do not need to be separated! (once slow, proper, introductions are made). It is not contagious, other than through sex or deep tissue bite wounds.

Actually, just FYI, if a vet refers to it as "AIDS," that is a big red flag that they don't know much about the disease - and a lot of people and vets don't. FIV in cats is VERY much like HIV in people. It means they have the virus, and it is slowly destroying their immune system, but it is NOT AIDS. And, in cats, it often never progresses to AIDS - far less than in people. It means you may want to find a more FIV-literate vet to work with. :nod: :rub:

I don't know how much you know about HIV. But people can't give HIV to each other from kissing, or sharing food, or a glass. It is through sex and sharing needles. The same is true for cats - they can't give each other HIV by grooming, or a scratch from playing. It is only sex or deep tissue bite wounds. So sterilized cats that don't fight can't give it to each other. There are many people on TCS that have FIV cats living with cats without FIV. I'm one - we have one FIV+ kitty, and seven non-FIV infected kitties. Chumley has FIV, and he is best friends with Billy. They groom each other all day long - Chumley cleans Billy's ears... and Billy remains without FIV.

They can't spread it sharing bowls or the litter box. So the main thing that needs to be done is slow, proper introductions, to ensure there's no fighting when you integrate an FIV+ kitty.

The FIV virus exists outside of the body for a few seconds. So it's just not "contagious." Look at it this way. About 2% of the ENTIRE cat population is estimated to be FIV+. So if it were so contagious - how is it limited to such a small number? I don't know what percent of the feral cat population is sterilized - but I can't imagine it's a very large number.

And the truth of the matter is that a lot of people have kitties that are FIV+ and don't know it. My husband and I TNR feral cats. And those that are young enough or friendly enough , if former strays, we get into a foster program. So we trap the cat, it goes for sterilization, and gets tested for FIV/FeLV, etc. If the cat received a bite wound within a couple of weeks of that trapping, the cat will most likely test negative for FIV. It can take six weeks or more for the level of the virus to even be detectable. So the cat was bitten by another cat with FIV, but tests negative. It goes into a foster/adoption program, and gets adopted into a family with other cats. Everything's fine. Until 10 years later, when the cat catches a cold or something that they can't seem to get rid of with a normal antibiotic like clavamox. So the vet suggests testing, and the cat tests positive for FIV. It's been an indoor-only cat since they adopted him. The family is left wondering.. HOW did the cat get FIV? And they NEVER would have adopted that cat if they'd KNOWN it had FIV. But now it's part of the family - and none of the other cats have FIV...

All FIV really means is that if they DO get sick, you have to treat them more aggressively. Stronger antibiotics, make sure if you suspect your kitty is sick, you take it to the vet - you don't "wait and see." And they do tend to have problems with their teeth and gingivitis, so a dental every six months is a good idea - every year, at a minimum.

But if you feed a good quality food - high protein, low carb (which is really best for ANY cat, as they're carnivores and have no dietary requirement for ANY carbs), that's all you really need to do! You should know, about 20% of FIV+ cats develop a problem with chronic diarrhea. But if you use a good probiotic (we use one from a health food store - acidophilus + bifidus: it has to be kept in the fridge. We sprinkle one capsule on a wet meal daily), that can help prevent that. Our Chumley came to us with diarrhea, and it took a little work to get under control. But we did, and he's doing great now!

Actually, this is the BEST site there is for FIV cats (and there's a forum there): http://www.fivtherapy.com. It is the story of Bud. They detail two treatment timelines, and state in the site that if they had it to do over again, they would skip the first one, and just use the herbal one.

When we had trouble getting Chumley's FIV under control with our regular vets (who are excellent, and never discouraged us from adopting Chumley), we looked up to see if we could find a vet trained in nutrition and herbs. We actually found one - and she got his diarrhea under control in four days with a chinese herbal treatment. We printed out the entire http://www.fivtherapy.com site, because we wanted to discuss with her using the herbal treatment approach with Chumley. Some of those herbs are questionable with cats, and we didn't trust ourselves to know doses, etc. But she has her own protocol, and has worked with a number of FIV cats - who subsequently tested negative for FIV. So we're just letting her do her thing and following her instruction. But if you're inclined to "fight" the FIV, bear in mind that it is NOT about "boosting" their immune systems, it's about helping them "regulate" their immune systems. This is a very important distinction. :nod:

But it's not necessary to be "proactive" about FIV unless they do display symptoms of being ill - most people aren't. It's just about paying attention to their overall health, and being proactive about that.

Here are some links for you, for further information. And, of course, please ask any questions!

The link already provided (the best resource!): http://www.fivtherapy.com/index.htm

Others you may find helpful:

http://www.v63.net/catsanctuary/vet_question.html
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/living-with-fiv/
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/owning_an_fiv__cat.html
http://www.vetinfo.com/cfiv.html

Hope this helps!

MSLRB:  Thank you for not giving Benny away, and for taking Lola in as well

Laurie:  What a wonderful and informative posting!   Thank you for all that great info.

LDG said:

Aw, I'm so sorry Benny tested positive for FIV! But how sweet of you to adopt another FIV kitty for him. :heart3:
But the fact of the matter is that with FIV, the cats do not need to be separated! (once slow, proper, introductions are made). It is not contagious, other than through sex or deep tissue bite wounds.
Actually, just FYI, if a vet refers to it as "AIDS," that is a big red flag that they don't know much about the disease - and a lot of people and vets don't. FIV in cats is VERY much like HIV in people. It means they have the virus, and it is slowly destroying their immune system, but it is NOT AIDS. And, in cats, it often never progresses to AIDS - far less than in people. It means you may want to find a more FIV-literate vet to work with. :nod: :rub:
I don't know how much you know about HIV. But people can't give HIV to each other from kissing, or sharing food, or a glass. It is through sex and sharing needles. The same is true for cats - they can't give each other HIV by grooming, or a scratch from playing. It is only sex or deep tissue bite wounds. So sterilized cats that don't fight can't give it to each other. There are many people on TCS that have FIV cats living with cats without FIV. I'm one - we have one FIV+ kitty, and seven non-FIV infected kitties. Chumley has FIV, and he is best friends with Billy. They groom each other all day long - Chumley cleans Billy's ears... and Billy remains without FIV.
They can't spread it sharing bowls or the litter box. So the main thing that needs to be done is slow, proper introductions, to ensure there's no fighting when you integrate an FIV+ kitty.
The FIV virus exists outside of the body for a few seconds. So it's just not "contagious." Look at it this way. About 2% of the ENTIRE cat population is estimated to be FIV+. So if it were so contagious - how is it limited to such a small number? I don't know what percent of the feral cat population is sterilized - but I can't imagine it's a very large number.
And the truth of the matter is that a lot of people have kitties that are FIV+ and don't know it. My husband and I TNR feral cats. And those that are young enough or friendly enough , if former strays, we get into a foster program. So we trap the cat, it goes for sterilization, and gets tested for FIV/FeLV, etc. If the cat received a bite wound within a couple of weeks of that trapping, the cat will most likely test negative for FIV. It can take six weeks or more for the level of the virus to even be detectable. So the cat was bitten by another cat with FIV, but tests negative. It goes into a foster/adoption program, and gets adopted into a family with other cats. Everything's fine. Until 10 years later, when the cat catches a cold or something that they can't seem to get rid of with a normal antibiotic like clavamox. So the vet suggests testing, and the cat tests positive for FIV. It's been an indoor-only cat since they adopted him. The family is left wondering.. HOW did the cat get FIV? And they NEVER would have adopted that cat if they'd KNOWN it had FIV. But now it's part of the family - and none of the other cats have FIV...
All FIV really means is that if they DO get sick, you have to treat them more aggressively. Stronger antibiotics, make sure if you suspect your kitty is sick, you take it to the vet - you don't "wait and see." And they do tend to have problems with their teeth and gingivitis, so a dental every six months is a good idea - every year, at a minimum.
But if you feed a good quality food - high protein, low carb (which is really best for ANY cat, as they're carnivores and have no dietary requirement for ANY carbs), that's all you really need to do! You should know, about 20% of FIV+ cats develop a problem with chronic diarrhea. But if you use a good probiotic (we use one from a health food store - acidophilus + bifidus: it has to be kept in the fridge. We sprinkle one capsule on a wet meal daily), that can help prevent that. Our Chumley came to us with diarrhea, and it took a little work to get under control. But we did, and he's doing great now!
Actually, this is the BEST site there is for FIV cats (and there's a forum there): http://www.fivtherapy.com. It is the story of Bud. They detail two treatment timelines, and state in the site that if they had it to do over again, they would skip the first one, and just use the herbal one.
When we had trouble getting Chumley's FIV under control with our regular vets (who are excellent, and never discouraged us from adopting Chumley), we looked up to see if we could find a vet trained in nutrition and herbs. We actually found one - and she got his diarrhea under control in four days with a chinese herbal treatment. We printed out the entire http://www.fivtherapy.com site, because we wanted to discuss with her using the herbal treatment approach with Chumley. Some of those herbs are questionable with cats, and we didn't trust ourselves to know doses, etc. But she has her own protocol, and has worked with a number of FIV cats - who subsequently tested negative for FIV. So we're just letting her do her thing and following her instruction. But if you're inclined to "fight" the FIV, bear in mind that it is NOT about "boosting" their immune systems, it's about helping them "regulate" their immune systems. This is a very important distinction. :nod:
But it's not necessary to be "proactive" about FIV unless they do display symptoms of being ill - most people aren't. It's just about paying attention to their overall health, and being proactive about that.
Here are some links for you, for further information. And, of course, please ask any questions!
The link already provided (the best resource!): http://www.fivtherapy.com/index.htm
Others you may find helpful:
http://www.v63.net/catsanctuary/vet_question.html
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/living-with-fiv/
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/owning_an_fiv__cat.html
http://www.vetinfo.com/cfiv.html
Hope this helps!

Click to expand...

Thank you, Laurie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sun: :sun: :sun: