Abandoned cat named "Jet"

Hi, maybe someone could help...

We recently were "adopted" by a neighbors black long hair, female cat that goes by the name of "Jet".  When we tried to return her we learned that the owners had moved away 2 months ago - just leaving the cat.

She was starving, had a tumor on her face, was loaded with fleas and was in dire need for a vets help.

We had the surgery to remove the tumor and got all of her shots up to date.  With some good food and a little love Jet is just a fine adorable lady!

We would like to get her adopted into a loving home that she would would surely brighten.

The problem is that the tests the vet did showed that Jet was FIV positive.  This means she can not live with other cats that are FIV negative.  We have 2 house cats that are negative and we must keep her away from them. 

Jet needs a good home where she would be the only cat.

We are in the New Have, Connecticut area.

Has anyone else encountered this problem of trying to get adopted a cat with FIV?  What alternatives are out there, suggestions?  The stigma of FIV seems to scare away any potential people.  If they would only understand that FIV is not a death sentence but just a condition that will require watching and careful vet care.

Thanks in advance

Thank you so much for taking care of Jet. I can't believe that people would just go off and abandon their pet like that, they're so callous. Jet is really lucky to have found you.

I used to have a cat that was FIV positive. He was a stray that I took in, he had been really badly injured in a cat fight and needed loads of stitches. I think he must have been infected from the cat bites.

I'd had him for about 6 months before I realised he was FIV, the first blood test he had came back negative and it wasn't until he started to develop mouth ulcers that my vet suspected FIV might be the cause. By this time he had been living as an indoor/outdoor cat for 6 months with my other ten cats, playing and sleeping and eating together. However, none of my other cats were infected. My vet explained that the virus is only passed through deep cat bites, and if cats that live together get on well it is very unlikely that this will happen. We had to be careful about sharing food, Harvey had his own bright red bowl and we made sure that none of the others ate from it.

I just wanted to tell you this so that if you are unable to find a new home for Jet you don't rule out keeping her yourselves. There is a vaccine for FIV that you could vaccinate your other two cats with. I didn't do this because the vaccine is only effective against one strain of FIV and there is no way of telling which particular strain the cat is infected with. Your vet will be able to give you more advice on this.

I understand that you might want to put your cats at risk by keeping Jet though. Have you thought about asking your vet if they know of any other FIV cats in your area? Maybe if someone already had one cat that was infected they would be willing to adopt a second.

Good luck, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a happy ending for all of you.

Nora Chan is correct. FIV positive cats can happily coexist with FIV negative ones. Just like people with HIV, they need good nutrition and a stress free environment. When fixed, they no longer have the hormones/testosterone crazies, so no fights or mating (which is how the virus is spread). Just be careful introducing them all and it will work.

If you really feel you need to find her a separate home, wait until after Halloween. Black cats can be in actual danger this time of year. Thank you for helping her!