FIV+ Cat Coexisting with non-FIV cats

[Crashdiamond]

Hello all! I’m very new here and stumbled across this forum looking for answers.
I recently fell in love with a 7-year-old cat named Herman at a local shelter. Unfortunately, this shelter doesn’t do FIV testing until the day of their neuter/spay surgery, but one of the vet techs had a feeling and had him tested while I was meeting him for the first time. He tested positive.

I have 2 adult cats at home, one who is the laziest cat I’ve ever met and one who is honestly a little pot-stirrer. Within the next few months, my boyfriend and I will be moving into a 1100sqft 2-bedroom apartment. My question is, would it be safe to adopt Herman and give him his own room? The second bedroom in this apartment would basically serve as my work-from-home office, and I don’t mind sharing.

i was so Heart broken leaving the shelter without him the other day. My goal would be to have my current cats roaming the apartment as they please and have Herman have his own room, and wander at different times. Please, any info on separating or FIV coexistence would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Antonio65]

FIV+ and FIV- cats can coexist in the same room/environment without problems, unless they fight heavy a lot, because open wounds and bites can be a way of transmission of the disease.
But as long as they live peacefully together or do their usual plays, there is no problem.

Evidence is that I had two cats, they lived together for over 15 years, and we found out one of them was FIV+ only a year before her death. The previous test, done at 7 months of age, was negative.

Herman is lovely, he deserve a home!

 

[Crashdiamond]

FIV+ and FIV- cats can coexist in the same room/environment without problems, unless they fight heavy a lot, because open wounds and bites can be a way of transmission of the disease.
But as long as they live peacefully together or do their usual plays, there is no problem.

Evidence is that I had two cats, they lived together for over 15 years, and we found out one of them was FIV+ only a year before her death. The previous test, done at 7 months of age, was negative.

Herman is lovely, he deserve a home!

Do you have any words of wisdom for my pot-stirrer cat? He’s who I’m most concerned about. My other cat is a gentle giant but Mr. Pot-Stirrer is definitely an instigator.

 

[Antonio65]

Does he fight on purpose? Is he aggressive and violent to the other cat(s)?
If Herman is a sweet and laid-back cat, the pot-stirrer one will desist.

 

[Crashdiamond]

Sir Pot Stirrer, AKA Goose, isn’t necessarily violent so much as he wants to play, I think. He bats at the Gentle Giant’s tail constantly, he’s a very active cat. However, my other cat is really the only other cat he has been around on a regular basis. Gentle Giant is LAZYYYY as heck, and doesn’t care too much to rough-house.

 

[Antonio65]

So probably, if Herman is just a bit like Gentle Giant, Goose will leave him alone after some time.
And if they're just playing, I wouldn't care much.
My FIV cat had an issue that made her bleed in her last months, and that blood might have come in contact with the other cat, and nothing happened.
Unless there's a violent fight, with bites and scratches, I think you can live relaxed

 

[Crashdiamond]

So probably, if Herman is just a bit like Gentle Giant, Goose will leave him alone after some time.
And if they're just playing, I wouldn't care much.
My FIV cat had an issue that made her bleed in her last months, and that blood might have come in contact with the other cat, and nothing happened.
Unless there's a violent fight, with bites and scratches, I think you can live relaxed

I think I’m a little confused on the definition of a violent fight. Goose has tried to “attack” Oscar, the gentle giant, but oscars defense mechanism is laying on his back like a possum and swinging so I don’t know if goose just sees him as an easy target when he does that, or what. And Oscar likes to scream if Goose goes near him so he makes this awful noise, but I’ve never seen scratches or bites on either of them.

 

[Antonio65]

I consider these like skirmish between two cats, not real fights.
Some slaps or paw bats, or chasing and rolling on the back shouldn't fall in the definition of a hard fight.

 

[misty8723]

Have you talked to the vet and gotten their opinion? Was there only one FIV test done on Herman? According to what I've heard, one test could result in either a false positive or a false negative, so they should be tested again in 60 days or something like that. Recently, my cat Austin's blood work came back with some abnormalities and the vet checked a few things and mentioned he should be tested for FIV/FevL because he had been adopted from the rescue and returned. They tested him again but, since I didn't know if the family had other cats, the vet suggested a test to be certain. It was negative, so he is okay.

 

[Antonio65]

Have you talked to the vet and gotten their opinion? Was there only one FIV test done on Herman? According to what I've heard, one test could result in either a false positive or a false negative, so they should be tested again in 60 days or something like that.

This is a good point, but the doubt would be legit if Herman was a young kitten, or had tested negative right out of a shelter.
In this case a second test should be done about three months later (some say 6 months).
Usually a positive test, in an adult, is confirmed in a second test.

 

[Talien]

A good rule of thumb is "No fur, no blood, no problem". Cats play rough so lots of noise and tussling is fine, you only have to worry if one Cat starts acting afraid of another, you see clumps of fur everywhere, or you see blood on one or both of them or on floor/walls/furniture afterward.

Loud shrieking when your other Cat comes near is his way of saying "Leave me alone, I don't want to play right now". It sounds like your "pot stirrer" just has a lot of energy and wants to play so if this new Cat is similar they will in all likelihood get along great, and it might even give your other Cat some peace and quiet. Giving the new Cat his own room for a few weeks so he gets settled in and so your other Cats can get used to his presence is a good idea though.

 

[Crashdiamond]

I consider these like skirmish between two cats, not real fights.
Some slaps or paw bats, or chasing and rolling on the back shouldn't fall in the definition of a hard fight.

Thank you for the knowledge!

 

[Crashdiamond]

Have you talked to the vet and gotten their opinion? Was there only one FIV test done on Herman? According to what I've heard, one test could result in either a false positive or a false negative, so they should be tested again in 60 days or something like that. Recently, my cat Austin's blood work came back with some abnormalities and the vet checked a few things and mentioned he should be tested for FIV/FevL because he had been adopted from the rescue and returned. They tested him again but, since I didn't know if the family had other cats, the vet suggested a test to be certain. It was negative, so he is okay.

Herman is about 7 years old, and I’ve heard it’s more common in older strays to test positive. He is currently at the shelter, I haven’t adopted him yet but I would very much like to get him tested again just in case.

 

[Crashdiamond]

A good rule of thumb is "No fur, no blood, no problem". Cats play rough so lots of noise and tussling is fine, you only have to worry if one Cat starts acting afraid of another, you see clumps of fur everywhere, or you see blood on one or both of them or on floor/walls/furniture afterward.

Loud shrieking when your other Cat comes near is his way of saying "Leave me alone, I don't want to play right now". It sounds like your "pot stirrer" just has a lot of energy and wants to play so if this new Cat is similar they will in all likelihood get along great, and it might even give your other Cat some peace and quiet. Giving the new Cat his own room for a few weeks so he gets settled in and so your other Cats can get used to his presence is a good idea though.

He does have a lot of energy. Thankfully we’ll be moving into a bigger place soon and he’ll have plenty of space for his antics and post-poop zoomies.