Fiv Experiences

[ck2d]

My son has fallen in love with an FIV positive cat at his shelter. He's super sweet, healthy, 4 years old.
Can you tell me your experiences with FIV+ cats?
A big part of me says, of course we'll have him! But another part says, be cautious, find out what this is really like first.
Thanks!

 

[weebeasties]

I don't know if we have been lucky or if our experience has been typical. Rocky was an adult male feral. We took him in to be neutered and vaccinated and were told he is fiv+. He has been indoor-only for the past 7 years and had only 1 health issue. ( UTI that was cleared up with a round of antibiotics ) So I would say that so far, despite his fiv+ status, his care has been similar to that of our fiv- cats.
I would just like to add that when I initially took him to the clinic to be neutered and vaccinated they tested him first and when the results came back positive they recommended euthanasia. I couldn't do it. It had taken sooo long to gain his trust and he had blossomed into the sweetest, most affectionate cat. I felt he deserved a loving home, even if his condition meant it would only be for a short time. And now here we are 7 years later! He is still healthy and happy.

 

[Blakeney Green]

Some of the cats I work with at the shelter are FIV positive. They are more prone to upper respiratory infections etc., but other than that they lead normal kitty lives. I would definitely encourage people to consider adopting an FIV cat.

 

[abyeb]

 

[Norachan]

I think it's great that you are considering adopting an FIV positive cat.

One of my feral rescues, Happy, has FIV. You can read her story on this thread.

Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

She's pretty healthy overall. She had to have almost all of her teeth removed, but that hasn't slowed her down in any way.

 

[cheeser]

Bless you for considering taking an FIV+ cat into your hearts and into your home!

We've had lots of cats over the years, and have loved them with all our hearts. But there's just something special about Buddy, our cat with FIV that decided to adopt us about five years ago. He's the sweetest, silliest, most affectionate cat we've ever had, and has brought an indescribable joy into our lives.

Yes, he is prone to some upper respiratory issues from time to time, and can have a little harder time bouncing back when he does get sick. But thanks to the awesome members of this community, we've learned that FIV isn't as scary as it sounds, and there are lots of things we can do to help Buddy live a pretty normal life.

 

[Summercats]

I am new at a feline leukemia cat owner. My cat was just adopted from a shelter, I have had him two weeks. I chose him because he was very friendly and affectionate. I do not have any other cats at home, so the decision was easier for me.
He is very active and playful. The vet told me he plays like a kitten, and well he is still a young cat around 1.5-2 years old.
The advice I was given was to get him retested in two months to see if he has developed antibodies, which I hope he will, with a good diet and home.
Whatever happens, I am happy we are able to give him a good home for however long. He is a happy cat

 

[ck2d]

I'm going to go to the shelter Monday (when my son's in school so I don't get his hopes up) and talk to the staff. Specifically I want to know how he is with other cats. That would be a disaster if we brought him home and he couldn't tolerate other cats. If he can get along with other cats, I'm leaning heavily toward adopting him.
I just hope he hasn't been scooped up while I've been dithering.

 

[Norachan]

Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

[LokiNApolloMami]

The sad story of stray Garfield
Everyday when I would come home from work there would be a orange boy greeting me when i first saw him he had a bb wound on his eye so I started giving him attention and food, everyday he would wait for me to come home from work and everyday I would spend at least an HR outside with him, then one day it rained and the next day It was still raining and went on like that for a week, and I hadn't seen him at all, when it finally stopped I had called and called him then finally I heard a faint meow and he come walking slowly towards me when he got close I noticed he had scabs on his eyes and nose, I got him some wet and dry food, he didn't want anything to do with it, I tried boiled chicken he didn't want that he just wanted me to love on him, so the next day I took him to the emergency vet after work they did all kinda of tests found out he had fiv, and his kidneys was failing and there was nothing we could do but end his suffering. It was the worst thing I ever had gone through he was my after work buddy for a good 6 months. I'm crying right now writing this story, if I would've known I would've at least brought him in when it was raining like that, I didn't even know kitty aids was a thing. Its horrible. Please test and vaccinate your babies!