One of my latest rescues is extremely/gravely sick, possibly FIV positive, can use some advice

In the colony I have been working on for months now, on top of the beginning stage of kitten storm starting to hit, I have finally been able to trap a kitty I have seen on and off for some time, a scruffy, ragged, emaciated kitty who needs my help.

I have spoken with a neighbor lady who has now told me this kitty has been sick as long as she has lived there, which means over a year now...

Sooo, I took kitty (we call Baby now) to the vet the day after trapping her as it is clear she is in very bad shape.

After her exam I took her home, she has a bad case of lice, and a serious URI infection, green nasal discharge, etc and a very creaky voice.

Anyway, Baby has just finished her second treatment bottle of clavamox liquid, and she showed signs in the beginning of improvement, but she seems to be slipping back to her sicker state now.

Knowing how long she has been that sick, her inner lids are way out showing, her eyes seem sunken in a bit, plus the bad case of lice, which is uncommon in cats and mainly found in ill/unhealthy cats, I have a feeling in my gut she is FIV positive.

My next step tomorrow is to start her on a mixture of clavamox and doxycycline.

I do want to have her tested as well, but quite honestly, either way I want to get her well, if I possibly can.

LDG, I'm hoping to hear from you, as I believe you are quite knowledgable in FIV kitties, and I am not so much.

What I do know is that it's basically 3 stages, the third stage seems to look like this.

I need to know if this little girl has a chance of getting well.

I believe that, although at times she will hiss if she doesn't want her meds, or act like she is uptight when reaching into her cage, she is also pettable, and kneads like mad in her warm furry high-sided bed I have in her cage.

She was very likely a once-owned kitty, abandoned/dumped and reverted to a somewhat semi-feral state.

This has got to be the saddest thing I see in rescue. People believing cats will be fine, they eat mice, and so on.

Such a shame for her, and to be so horribly sick?....

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

I will attach Baby's pic. The first pic is the night I got her, the second pic is after her first week on clavamox, and you can see her beginning to improve. It just didnt last, she is back to looking more like the first pic

Thanks!

Oh, as you can see in the second pic of her eyes being a bit more open, her inner lids are waaay out....I know this is their window of what's going on inside...

Just jumping in here for a quick response.  I know that LDG always says that FIV is not a death sentence.  She will be on here as quickly as she can, I am sure. 

Thank you catspaww66

I spoke with a foster of mine about a cat we had a couple years back who was FIV and FELV positive, who came to us looking very much like Baby does....her name is Phoenix.

Apparently it took over 4 months on doxycycline/clavamox (doxymox) to get her well.

It seems to me that if Phoenix was healed (now adopted, yay!) then Baby must have a chance....but you never know, different cats, different systems, and so on...

Oh hun... Sorry I haven't been around, I'm sick myself.

I was JUST going to say, if she's FIV+, she'll need something stronger than clavamox, and it'll take longer than a normal cat to fix her up. That fits with what Phoenix's mom said. But as long as she's eating or you can get nutrition into her, there is definitely hope! :heart2: I would feed her a very calorie dense diet if you can, wet food if you can (for the hydration). Maybe some a/d for a while? Then maybe EVO? It's cheaper if you buy it in the 13 oz cans.

Does she have diarrhea?

I'd also get her on a probiotic - the best human acidophilus supplement you can find ASAP. I'd start with 5 billion CFU, then take it up to 10 billion CFU, maybe twice a day. The probiotic would need to be given at least 2 hours before and after any antibiotic though, so just do your best. :heart2: This is the one I use for the cats and Gary and me:
Clearly getting her treated for the parasites will help, once she doesn't have to fight those.

Oh - and if she's not on 1,000mg of L-lysine daily, I'd start on that too. Again - work up to it. It can cause gastric upset. The treats are expensive to feed at that dose, but if you want to go that route, this is the best one (2 treats has 250mg, so start with 2 daily, and gradually increase to 8 a day): Unfortunately, at 8 treats a day, it costs about $1 a day. I just use the free-from powder. Just under (a shallow) 1/4 teaspoon is 500mg. I sprinkle it on their food, add a little water and mix it in (otherwise it just makes a gritty crust): (Notice it costs $1 less for a POUND of the free-form powder. :lol3: ).

For our Chumley, when he had diarrhea, the L-lysine made it a LOT worse. So we had to resolve his diarrhea before we could put him on the lysine.

Are you already familiar with this site for FIV? http://fivtherapy.com It's the best site there is for information on treating FIV+ kitties.

Hopefully you just have a very sick little girl on your hands, not an FIV or FeLV positive kitty. Please keep us posted!

FYI, we didn't get Chum on the mend really, until we saw a holistic vet. Our western trained docs were able to clear up his infections and parasites, but nothing else, and he was just... all "off." Don't know if you have the resources to go that route, but if you want to see if there is a holistic-trained (what you need is Chinese Medicine) D.V.M. you can get to, you can search here: http://www.ahvma.org

Aww you've been sick? I'm sorry, and hoping you feel back to your norm very soon!

Thanks so much for your advice and links for more info LDG!

Baby miraculously does NOT have diarrhea...I know, I would have just bet on that one!

She is still eating better than when I first got her, she was so darn thin, weighed a whopping 4 1/2 lbs..just long term illness caused her to not want it I suppose...

She has dry all the time in her cage and is fed grain free canned daily.

I'm tempted to want to add more than only 1 doxy pill to the clavamox but better not I know. (the doxy are 100mg pills)

I do have lysine pills I ground up and will start adding that into her canned food today.

So, is the jest on FIV basically that their immune systems are weaker than normal, so they are much more susceptable to pick up viruses, etc and are not able to fight it off on their own?

Then it takes more aggressive treatment to make them well?

catwoman707 said:

So, is the jest on FIV basically that their immune systems are weaker than normal, so they are much more susceptable to pick up viruses, etc and are not able to fight it off on their own?
Then it takes more aggressive treatment to make them well?

Click to expand...

Exactly that. Over time - especially if not on a healthy diet - it takes a toll on their immune system. Normally, it's a very slow acting virus, and if they're otherwise stress-free and on healthy food, it isn't even necessarily really a problem. But it can be easier for them to get sick with something else, and it can take more aggressive treatment. :nod:

Also, IF she's FIV+, know that they are prone to having issues with their teeth and gums. They pretty much need at least annual dentals, and gingivitis usually needs to be treated when they're first rescued (but again, once treated, if dentals are kept up and they're on a healthy diet, gingivitis may not be an ongoing issue). But keeping their teeth clean will go a long way to helping them stay healthy too. :nod:

I was meaning to talk about her teeth.

When I first got her I imagines she was so thin because of stomatitis, she sort of has a scoop to her way of eating, however when I took her to the vet, we examined her mouth well and found she has front teethmissing, but the vet said it was pretty darn clean looking where they were gone so perhaps they were removed in her past life?? Not sure on that one.

Afterall, who pays big vet bills for a cat's teeth removal but dumps the cat?...hmm.

Her teeth are white and pretty darn clean too, they show a very young cat.

I also thought she was a he since she has never popped up prego like she should have out there.

So, it's a mystery, did those teeth come cleanly out, or were they removed...my guess is they came out. Why would a young cat's teeth be falling out? Or just the same for that matter, why would an owner need to have a young cat's teeth removed either? So...

She may very well still have stomatitis, but no flareups now. Time will tell on that one

Would an FIV+ kitty have a mouth like this?

Well, when we rescued Chum, he had gingivitis, but otherwise looked good. But a dental revealed it was bad up under his gumline, and he had to have three teeth removed. So ... without a dental, there's really no way to know. But if there's no sign of gingivitis, it means there's not really inflammation... so who knows what's up with that? Could be she was a loved kitty that just went missing and never made it back home - not necessarily dumped. :dk:

I know the older feral I trapped had a real rough mouth.  Some had fallen others were hanging and some cracked.  He was also ALOT older and some other issues.  He was euthanized.  I really can not do long recoveries here as I have so many cats and only so much room.

Very true, I just come across many, many cats who have actually been dumped and aren't managing so well.

It could very well be that she wandered off...

Anyway, aww Chumley is adorable! Cutie face, makes me wanna kiss it!

Got Baby rolling now on doxymox and lysine, so it will be a good month or so before any real signs of improvement are seen, after having her on clavamox for 4 weeks without improving tells me it's going to be a long road.

But that's okay by me! That's what I do. I have vision for her, watching her get well, gain some weight, watch as her inner lids sloooowly retract, her fur coming in so much softer, thick and plush, and a healthier color. I get a huge satisfaction out of turning a cat around like this. As you can tell I am positive thinking here, I believe she can get well.

I have turned around several cats, dramatic changes, I once posted a couple here I think.

Just not the best timing now that kitten season is beginning though, even though all litters of kittens are caged, Baby is caged, and a couple other long term recovery cats are caged, it's still worries me having a very sick kitty in the cat room, the very place I have newborns, very young kittens, etc.

Soon it will be full since I am the recovery place, illnesses, surgeries, injury, babies too young to be fixed still, weaning kids, etc. Many are not vaccinated, and nearly all of the kittens aren't, just don't need Baby's illness to spread.

I take all the precautions, but my husband spends time in the cat room too, and one little slip of maybe not sanitizing his hands in between, ugh...

Anyway! Some great and informative sites LDG, thanks again! I will continue with updates.

Please do! I know you'll be busy. But a few here and there.... :heart2:

Just wanted to give my   to you and Baby, catwoman707. You're super awesome for doing what you do. I'll be following the updates and praying for her fast recovery. And LDG's too.

I will definitely do that.

Keep sending the vibes, I have seen lots of sick cats, she is really bad.

Thanks!

I meant to comment to you catsallaround, ferals that I have come across with teeth like that are usually due to very poor nutrition most/all of their lives.

Very, very sad for that.

Agreed. He had a rough life all around.  In end glad he found me even though it was not the outcome I wanted.  He got a few good meals before and got a nice fast death as opposed to what may have been.

Hope to see many good updates for you two
 

catsallaround said:

  He got a few good meals before and got a nice fast death as opposed to what may have been.

Click to expand...

I just hope someone will do the same for me when the time comes. 

I found something on Baby tonight, a hard lump, about the size of a quarter, sticks out about a half circle, and have a bad feeling...

No, I am not a vet, but if I had to take an educated guess, I would say it was Fibrosarcoma............

PLEASE don't let it be that.

My heart is aching for her, it can't be that, I have to get her well so she can feel good and be happy, even for a while!!

I can't quit bawling long enough to type...please send big vibes for her, I am calling in the am hoping to get her in right away. I have to know.

One last thing I have to say, it's short and to the point, but bigger than I can even begin to explain, but rescue is so very hard on my heart.

I know I'm not alone, I can't NOT continue, who would have cared for her, or all the others?...it's just so hard........so much heartache.

Is it on her leg?

Deep breath. I could just be a cyst.

I assume you'll be getting the SNAP test done for FeLV/FIV?

Not on her leg, it's on her side, a couple inches behind the top area of her left arm.

Took her to a vet yesterday, a new vet I have not dealt with before, we use 2 vets regularly but the drive is about 35 minutes from me, and I had a vet here in town but he recently retired so I am searching for a replacement vet I can use.

Not so easy finding one who will work with a non profit rescue and discount, as well as supply me with meds I need, as needed for whoever, not just the standard vets who will only give meds for the one cat seen, etc.

So, it was sort of vague-ish, Baby has however gained nearly 2 lbs since I first trapped her! (just over a month so that was great news!

The lump, well....without cutting into it he can't diagnose for certain exactly what it is, but he didn't want to do this unless I was ready to have it removed, which he did say it will need, or it will just grow.

I can't have it removed in my mind at least, until she is tested for FIV/FELV, since if she tests pos for felv I will not remove it or put her through anymore anything....

I wanted her tested ystrdy but he has a strange way of testing, he doesn't use snap, he would sedate her and draw from her jugular vein, testing for felv only, and the fiv test needs to be sent out.

So now I have to take her BACK to the first vet she saw, as a recheck and have them do a snap test on her.

Dragging this out!

I'm more in control for now at least, the post here when I was a mess, well I had just discovered this lump, and knew it was not simply a fatty cyst, I can just tell....and after the whole Buddy story and how that ended, well I guess I'm not ready to lose another, and all the losses sort of come crashing together, which you can imagine, has been so many. Every rescue I have ever done is from my heart, and so many have been homeless/abandoned cats who are my big soft spot for obvious reasons, countless have ended in healthy, beautiful cats who are now adopted and will live the good life they should, but the ones who don't turn out so good, even though there are far less bad stories than good, seem to outweigh the good, at least at the time until I get a grip again

So I am sorry for times that I act like a nutcase and am losing it!

I had such a sweet experience with Baby while we were there at the new vet, I discovered she trusts me and craves affection from me. She listens to my voice telling her it's okay, and really reacted like I have owned her always. Just tells me she has missed the love she once must have had at some time in her life.

The downside though, it is creating a bond with her and just makes it soooo much worse when things don't turn out ideal.............

So we will see. I will keep updating as it goes.