hi this is my first post on this board , i practically have a colony in my house , i have 4 ferals 1 semi feral adults in my house hold (all trapped as adults.) , and i always have feral and semi feral kittens in my foster room of my house to tame, i work for my local low kill shelter where we do not TNR , so i have taken it into my own hands and work with alot of local barns and industrial areas , but lastnight at 2:30 AM i got a call from one of the barns i TNR they had herd the trap go off and went to check on it and there was a feral tom in the trap with a very swollen leg and it looked like it could of been a old infection , so i rushed there and took a look threw the trap . and it was a REALLY bad infection , so i imediatly got onto my cell and called my vet ( he is really good and will always go to the clinic in a emergancy) i took in this handsome black LH tom aprox 6 years old with the BIGGEST tom cat cheeks ever , my vet took a look at it and said he was going to have to amputate the leg before the cat died of infection , so i told him to go ahead and he proformed emergancy surgery and amputated it and neuterd him , but then we tested him for FIV .. and he was + .. i have female cats and have herd that you can have FIV cats with non-FIVs and it may not spread , how much do you think i would be putting my girls at risk if i was to keep this guy and add him to my colony of all females who are not aggressive twords other cats? i dont want to infect my cats with FIV , but i also cant release because he has 3 legs now and has FIV . and the lady i normaly send FIV's too has 13 right now and cant take anymore . i have him in my guest room right now free of all cats.
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FIV in household
- Thread starter feral_cats
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- Jan 11, 2006
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An fiv+ cat would be better off with someone who has either no other cats or other fiv+ cats. There are certain groups and people who take care of fiv+ cats.
If they are all spayed and neutered and none of them show any aggression you might be okay but it would be a risk that I would not be willing to take. That is why most shelters sadly put any fiv+ cats to sleep.
Here are some links:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._fiv__cat.html
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimal...e/cats_fiv.cfm
and from this site http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/89/FIV-in-Cats.html
If they are all spayed and neutered and none of them show any aggression you might be okay but it would be a risk that I would not be willing to take. That is why most shelters sadly put any fiv+ cats to sleep.
Here are some links:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._fiv__cat.html
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimal...e/cats_fiv.cfm
and from this site http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/89/FIV-in-Cats.html
Welcome to TCS...there is an interesting article from Best Friends regarding FIV:
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimal...e/cats_fiv.cfm
Additionally, I would welcome you to join the feral cat yahoo group as you may find others from your area who perform TNR and can assist you:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feral_cats/
Katie
My FIV rescues get mixed with my own boys as long as they aren't aggressive and a bite wound is an issue. FIV doesn't spread like FeLV does and many people have households with both positive and negative FIV cats living together.
My recent FIV guy, Mr. Dobbs was a stray. He was the biggest sweetie and I allowed him to mix with my boys after proper introductions. I retest my guys every 6 months and they always come back negative.
I really suggest joining the Feline Leukemia Email List, as well as reading the archives. If you are wanting to rehome him, there is a special adoption board for FeLV/FIV/FIP positive cats and kittens at BeMiKitties.
Furthermore, retest him on the Western Blot. The FeLV/FIV combo tests are only accurate at diagnosing FIV about 60% of the time and often throw out false positives. Regardless, he should be retested in 3 months as he may have just recently been exposed and could fight it off and go negative.
There have been studies done that show the transmission rate is 1-2% in indoor homes with mixed negatives and positives.
My recent FIV guy, Mr. Dobbs was a stray. He was the biggest sweetie and I allowed him to mix with my boys after proper introductions. I retest my guys every 6 months and they always come back negative.
I really suggest joining the Feline Leukemia Email List, as well as reading the archives. If you are wanting to rehome him, there is a special adoption board for FeLV/FIV/FIP positive cats and kittens at BeMiKitties.
Furthermore, retest him on the Western Blot. The FeLV/FIV combo tests are only accurate at diagnosing FIV about 60% of the time and often throw out false positives. Regardless, he should be retested in 3 months as he may have just recently been exposed and could fight it off and go negative.
There have been studies done that show the transmission rate is 1-2% in indoor homes with mixed negatives and positives.
FIV is spread by agressive fighting and biting and also mating. If he is neutered he won't be mating and if he is calm enough to mix with the healthy cats and not fight then there is little chance it will spread. They can share litterboxes and food bowls and everything. It is FeLV that is the one that is easily spread. I know a few people who have FIV+ and - cats living together.
But if thy aren't fighting there is no risk in infecting other cats. It is spread by very serious, deep bit wounds. My cats play and nip a bit occationally but never break skin and if they did it is not a serious deep wound. You may be thinking about FeLV which is a lot easier to spread. FIV isn't spread easily and unless your cat is an unneutered, roaming male, then you have no worry.
To the OP-If they aren't fighting then there is no major risk and I would suggest keeping this cat with yours. Monitor him at first until his male hormones calm down and see how well he gets along with the others. Since most people do not understand FIV and how it is spread and freak out about keeping them with their own FIV- cats, he just may not find a home otherwise. Some are even being released now once they are neutered and vaccinated so that is an option too if he really is wild and untamable. But personally I would keep in safe and sound indoors with your cats to play with.
