Snuffleupagus is FIV+

Today, I brought one of my rescue cats, Snuffleupagus, to work with me to get him tested, vaccinated, etc. He was in a really bad situation in Santa Fe...a declawed, un-neutered, pure-bred Persian left outside ALL the time. I've had him for a while now and my boyfriend really wants to keep him. So I drew his blood today to test him and he came up positive for FIV!!!!! I know this is not nearly as bad as FeLV+ (He is FeLV negative!! Thank God!). I've heard that some can live a normal, long life. But, unfortunately, I've seen lots of sad FIV cases near the end. So, if anyone has any first hand experience or advice about FIV I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much!

I have placed an FIV+ cat with some friends of mine, he is an olny pet with no stress in his life. The information that I have come across For FIV is that a percentage of the cats will never show signs of FIV if the they are kept healthy and stress free. Vaccinations are not recommended for FIV cats because the vaccine is meant to get an immune response from the body which is hard if your immunodepressed. As long as the cat is kept indoors and not cat aggressive (if you have, or plan to have other cats) there shouldn't be a problem. I would just make sure to keep up on his health, the first sign of anything amiss take care of it immediatley. I am looking to get some of my CE hours on Feline virus's, but haven't found any close enough yet.

Awww, I'm sorry to hear that! I have no advice, just wanted to send some good vibes Snuffleupagus' way.

I'm so sorry Snuffleupagus has tested positive, Jules. With your excellent care and abundant love, he has adopted the most wonderful family possible!

with FIV. We ordered some Transfer Factor + Advanced and started her as soon as we got it. Took her to a holistic vet this morning.....she did acupuncture and gave me some other stuff to boost her immune system. We also put her on an all natural cat food - the preservatives and "junk" in commercial cat foods can only make it worse. Now it's a waiting game. We go back to the holistic vet in a week......traditional vet has been ready to put her to sleep for a week.

Could he have been vaccinated for it? Since he is declawed and not-neutered, isn't it possible his former owners vaccinated him for FIV? THat would register as false positive. Could you find out from his former owners or his former vet, before deciding if he actually has FIV?

You both are in our prayers & purrs.

Thank you all for your support !!! I doubt Snuffles received vaccinations from is former owners. They did not take care of him at all. In fact, his neighbor brought him to the local shelter because he was so neglected. The shelter called the owners to tell them their cat was there and the man replied, "I don't care what you do with him." He was matted from head to toe, and my coworker shaved his entire body pretty much! His fur came off in one big mat after about an hour and a half of shaving...not to mention we went through every pair of clippers in the clinic! Anyways he is with me now and has such an awesome personality...he gets along with everyone and all my other cats. I'm not too worried about him spreading it to my other cats because they all get along and don't fight. Right now my plan is to wait 3 months and test him again...if it's positive then we'll know he's got it for sure and if it's negative...then I'm gonna rejoyce!! I'll try and post a picture of him soon....

Here are some pics of him.... My boyfriend is so in love with him

Snuffles asking for some cat nip:



Snuffles getting catnip w/ Bert and Ernie:


And, an up close of Snuffles:

Awww... is this the kitty in the bacon picture for "Caption this"?

Cute

Originally Posted by Sooz123

Awww... is this the kitty in the bacon picture for "Caption this"?

Cute

Click to expand...

No, I haven't posted him on here before these pics. I'll have to go check that kitty out too.

He's Beautiful. We had a client who's cat has tested positive for FIV and exposure to FIP for years, well when we took blood last week to do an overalll check the cat is now negative for those viruses, so don't give up hope.