Question of the Day, Sunday, August 2, 2015

[micknsnicks2mom]

 
Thank you so much! And you nailed it, she is petite!

you are welcome!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@Columbine -- your Shadow is a very handsome boy! i love hearing how he plays with more energy and enthusiasm than your Asha does! and your Cali was just as handsome as his brother.

i don't know very much about FIV+ cats, as i've never had one. but i would adopt one or more, if i knew they could live together safely and i didn't have a cat who was not FIV+. am i correct in thinking that cats who are FIV+ and those that are not generally should not live together? it sounds like all of your furbabies who were FIV+ were well loved and cared for.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Cali used to 'miss' a lot too. We found puppy training pads to be the best solution - really easy cleanup and no fuss

that sounds like a great solution, and very quick clean up!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

The two boxes were dismantled from the climbing tree. They were just the right height.
There were times lotto would be sitting in one corner of the settee and candy would pass him on the way to the other side. He'd stop and lick lotto so much he'd get his ears boxed. My lovelies. I had another cat the same time called gentle. A little tabby. She went age 16 with her kidneys shot. She hated candy and the two cats put up with each other. There was no love between them.

nice use of those boxes from the climbing tree!

awww.........they loved each other so!

 

[Columbine]

micknsnicks2mom As far as I'm aware, FIV+ can live with others with no problems provided all are spayed/neutered and there's no fighting. A bite is one of the most common ways of transmission (saliva penetrating the skin). The only exception I came across was those boys in the bottom picture - Amber actually got infected at a bad vet clinic. (Emergency admission admition after being hit by a car). He and Jamie were so devoted to each other that he managed to pass it across (I think it must have been an excess of mutual grooming and eating from the same bowl at the same time...they had to have huge bowls so they could share!). It's very, very unusual for that to happen though.

Norachan has two FIV+ cats amongst a lot of non FIV ones. She can probably tell you more than me (fuzzy childhood memories etc ).

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@mickNsnicks2mom As far as I'm aware, FIV+ can live with others with no problems provided all are spayed/neutered and there's no fighting. A bite is one of the most common ways of transmission (saliva penetrating the skin). The only exception I came across was those boys in the bottom picture - Amber actually got infected at a bad vet clinic. (Emergency admission admition after being hit by a car). He and Jamie were so devoted to each other that he managed to pass it across (I think it must have been an excess of mutual grooming and eating from the same bowl at the same time...they had to have huge bowls so they could share!). It's very, very unusual for that to happen though.

@Norachan has two FIV+ cats amongst a lot of non FIV ones. She can probably tell you more than me (fuzzy childhood memories etc

).

you know, when i brought our jaspurr in to see our vet last month (to check his teeth), they did an FIV test for him. i think the shelter said they'd done one (i'm positive i would have asked, seeing how careful i am with my snick), but it wasn't on his records that the shelter gave me. the test results came back FIV negative, thank goodness. but until i heard back with those test results i had time to think. and if jaspurr's results had come back as FIV+, i would have discussed with our vet leaving snick and jaspurr together. i think that the benefits that jaspurr has brought to snick's overall health and happiness far outweigh the risks. jaspurr is extremely gentle with snick, he understands that she's older and doesn't always feel very well. i mean, snick has serious medical issues and is 15 years old...and she does like if not love jaspurr too. i'm absolutely certain that jaspurr would become depressed if he were to be back to having to be separated from snick, and from me for a good portion of each day -- like his situation in the foster home from which he came to us.

so, i can see that there would be situations where FIV+ and non FIV cats would be together.

 

[Norachan]

 
@Columbine -- your Shadow is a very handsome boy! i love hearing how he plays with more energy and enthusiasm than your Asha does! and your Cali was just as handsome as his brother.

i don't know very much about FIV+ cats, as i've never had one. but i would adopt one or more, if i knew they could live together safely and i didn't have a cat who was not FIV+. am i correct in thinking that cats who are FIV+ and those that are not generally should not live together? it sounds like all of your furbabies who were FIV+ were well loved and cared for.

As long as they are all neutered and spayed there is no reason they can't all live together. The FIV virus is mainly spread by deep bites, so intact toms who get into fights get infected that way. My avatar cat probably became FIV+ that way, he was a feral tom for a long time. Kittens born to infected mothers often test positive for the virus too. I think that's how Happy, a feral kitten I recently found, got infected.

There is no risk of infection from sharing food and water or from grooming each other.

I had another FIV+ positive cat a few years ago who was already quite sick when I took him in. He lived with us for his last year, but none of the other cats got sick.

There is an FIV vaccine, but our vet said it is only effective against one strain of the virus and there is no way of telling from blood tests which strain the cat has.

I say give an FIV+ cat a chance. With proper care there is no reason they can't live a long and healthy life with other cats.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

 
As long as they are all neutered and spayed there is no reason they can't all live together. The FIV virus is mainly spread by deep bites, so intact toms who get into fights get infected that way. My avatar cat probably became FIV+ that way, he was a feral tom for a long time. Kittens born to infected mothers often test positive for the virus too. I think that's how Happy, a feral kitten I recently found, got infected.

There is no risk of infection from sharing food and water or from grooming each other.

I had another FIV+ positive cat a few years ago who was already quite sick when I took him in. He lived with us for his last year, but none of the other cats got sick.

There is an FIV vaccine, but our vet said it is only effective against one strain of the virus and there is no way of telling from blood tests which strain the cat has.

I say give an FIV+ cat a chance. With proper care there is no reason they can't live a long and healthy life with other cats.

thank you for this info! i've seen cats available for adoption that are listed as special needs cats, that are FIV+.