Need input - FIV+ and FIV- cats living together. Risks/Concerns

[zed xyzed]

Wonderful update, hope you can add a few pictures soon

 

[chaucer]

I found this one of Orville that was taken in July of 2015. Maybe it's the angle, but he looks like he was not quite grown.

Orville baby.jpg

• chaucer
• May 10, 2016

 

[zed xyzed]

what a sweet boy

 

[kittyluv387]

He was a cutie!

 

[chaucer]

Thank you!  I think I need to start a new thread about cat depression. I think Chaucer is depressed due to Orville joining us. Orville and Henryetta are active and playful. Orville has really bonded with her and cuddles with her or sleeps near her. They mew and trill at each other too, and he follows her around. Henryetta has now started playing with Orville, initiating play even. Chaucer is on the sidelines. She doesn't play with him now and he doesn't join in the play with either of them. It makes me so sad that he just lays around now. He was always a very playful cat. He's still social with people. I've let him sleep with me some and I've taken him on little rambles outside some - he has a harness and leash. I feed him separately and it's on a table so  he doesn't have to compete for food. When he tries to get my attention, he scratches on the wood furniture. Usually, he wants food, but sometimes he's just eaten. I am trying to spend more time with him, but I don't know what else to do. I think he feels rejected.

 

[catwoman707]

 
Thank you!  I think I need to start a new thread about cat depression. I think Chaucer is depressed due to Orville joining us. Orville and Henryetta are active and playful. Orville has really bonded with her and cuddles with her or sleeps near her. They mew and trill at each other too, and he follows her around. Henryetta has now started playing with Orville, initiating play even. Chaucer is on the sidelines. She doesn't play with him now and he doesn't join in the play with either of them. It makes me so sad that he just lays around now. He was always a very playful cat. He's still social with people. I've let him sleep with me some and I've taken him on little rambles outside some - he has a harness and leash. I feed him separately and it's on a table so  he doesn't have to compete for food. When he tries to get my attention, he scratches on the wood furniture. Usually, he wants food, but sometimes he's just eaten. I am trying to spend more time with him, but I don't know what else to do. I think he feels rejected.

I haven't been on this thread for a while now, and just did some catching up

Things are going very nicely, just as well as they possibly can in my opinion!

I completely understand your thinking that Chaucer is depressed because of Orville.

My thoughts? Not the issue.

Look back 3 weeks ago it is Chaucer cuddling up and laying on Orville. 

Chaucer doesn't have the personality to be pushed aside either. I think he is not feeling well honestly.

IBD will cause signs exactly as you are noticing. Might think about and discuss with your vet doing an ultrasound, see if his pancreas, intestines, etc have any inflammation.

This might also be detected in a blood test, his eosinophils would be elevated.

Not always though, but it sure is cheaper then an ultrasound is at least, and you might also see something else, or at least know that things are fine in general.

 

[zed xyzed]

Poor Chaucer, I hope he is ok. Catwoman brings up some good points, maybe the little guy is not feeling well

 

[chaucer]

 
I haven't been on this thread for a while now, and just did some catching up

Things are going very nicely, just as well as they possibly can in my opinion!

I completely understand your thinking that Chaucer is depressed because of Orville.

My thoughts? Not the issue.

Look back 3 weeks ago it is Chaucer cuddling up and laying on Orville. 

Chaucer doesn't have the personality to be pushed aside either. I think he is not feeling well honestly.

IBD will cause signs exactly as you are noticing. Might think about and discuss with your vet doing an ultrasound, see if his pancreas, intestines, etc have any inflammation.

This might also be detected in a blood test, his eosinophils would be elevated.

Not always though, but it sure is cheaper then an ultrasound is at least, and you might also see something else, or at least know that things are fine in general.

Welcome back to the never-ending thread!

I often forget Orville has FIV. He's active, healthy, playful and loving (to me). He's terrified of other people but I hope that like Henryetta, he will start to overcome this. She is doing better with this.

You and @Zed Xyzed may be right, but I haven't noticed Chaucer having a flare of his colitis - no smell, no diarrhea, no gas, but he had a bad UTI over a month ago and lost over a pound. He's such a small cat that's a lot. He's gained some back though. This morning, he was a little more playful but not with the other two. They ran around chasing each other, but Chaucer just went away and is asleep. I'm not sure which of the two is the Alpha. Chaucer wins the "fights" with Orville running off, but Orville tends to dictate the sleeping spots, although Chaucer has claimed the loveseat and runs Orville off.

Henryetta has a demanding personality and Orville is just a big love bug who has to be part of everything and I worry he is overshadowing Chaucer. I suppose  I miss Chaucer's jaunty personality. 

 

[chaucer]

Just an update:  Chaucer has another UTI. It's not as bad as the first one because it was caught quicker, but since he has had two in the past six weeks-two months, it is concerning.  I've also been told to get Feliway, which I just ordered, because there is a possibility that stress is triggering these UTIs- the stress being the addition of Orville.

  I am not planning on giving Orville away, by the way. I just need to find a way for the two of them to live comfortably together and Chaucer not feel so stressed  out, if that is what the matter is.

 

[kittyluv387]

Poor Chaucer i hope he feels better soon.

 

[zed xyzed]

Poor guy, I hope he gets better soon. He is such a nice boy for accepting Orville into his home. 

 

[chaucer]

Thank you both for your good thoughts.  Chaucer started vomiting this morning and is now spending the next two days at the vet's. His personality has changed dramatically in the past week too.  I hope she can find out what is wrong with him and how to treat it. He's already had blood tests from the last time he was there six weeks ago. Nothing showed there. All he had was a bad UTI.  This time he is getting a culture and possibly x-rays. Orville is the one with FIV and yet it's poor little Chaucer (and I mean little now) who is ill. They were going to give Chaucer another FIV test but I nixed that. He just had one six weeks ago and even if he has it, what will it matter. 

 

[zed xyzed]

That is upsetting news, Chaucer is such a sweet boy, any update on his health ?

 

[chaucer]

 
That is upsetting news, Chaucer is such a sweet boy, any update on his health ?

. He is still FIV negative but does still have a mild cystitis. Until the results of the culture are back, we won't know much more than that. He is tinkling which is good, but he is constipated. It seems this all may indeed be a stress-induced thing.

  The vet suggested I get Feliway and I did. It arrived yesterday and this morning I plugged it in. If this does not help, Chaucer may need some sort of anti-anxiety med. I don't understand this because Orville was living inside three months before all this happened, and Chaucer had "known" him for a year. They played together up until six weeks ago.  I suppose this all needs to go in the health and behavior topics.

 

[catwoman707]

Here are my thoughts. (delayed I know, sorry! Kitten season is killing me here....

 )

If I remember right, earlier you had mentioned he had a UTI and/or crystals before right?

Occasionally there are cats who have a real tendency towards this problem, and he may very well be one.

It's not fatal, and can be managed with diet.

You being the conscientious mom that you are, he can do fine.

This can be stress related, yes, but I just am not feeling it here in your case, Chaucer has a strong personality, and if you think back on the progression made with bringing Orville in, he was accepting. That is until things got to brewing internally for him again.

That photo you posted of Chaucer cuddling up to Orville is classic, showing his acceptance clearly.

A cat who is stressed about the recent changes to your home would not be doing this, he would show resentment in ways, and would certainly not be feeling all cozy with him.

Oh also, they can stop with the fiv tests, pointless, waste of your money and needless stress for him to go through the blood tests.

It's done, he's negative, so that should be sufficient for them.

Sometimes vet's just make me shake my head......lol

How's he doing now?

 

[chaucer]

I'm hoping the culture will tell us something.  He has not had a bowel movement in days, and he has IBS with loose, smelly stools usually! Now, it's constipation, but that may have been due to the anti-spasmodic, even though I only gave him a couple of doses. Something is not right with him and I hope the vet can figure out what it is. It's gotten pretty expensive too!

His personality has changed pretty drastically in the past six weeks or so. .There's no more cuddling up to Orville, or even to Henryetta. She's taken to hissing at him some. Orville and Henryetta have really bonded. and I think Orville is a little jealous when it comes to Henryetta. Chaucer has also had nightmares where he jumps up, hisses and rushes off with his tail fluffed-up. I don't know what to think.. He has shown pleasantness to the neighbor's two cats who come to the door, and he love going outside on his leash (I only take him when there are no other cats outside).

 

[chaucer]

Don't like to leave things hanging, so Chaucer's culture came back clear. He has idiopathic cystitis which can be caused by other things but in this case it's mostly like due to stress. He will be on anti-anxiety or anti-depressants for several weeks to see how he does.  While I may have done a great thing for Orville, it's been at a cost to Chaucer's joie de vivre, and that makes me sad.

 

[kittyluv387]

I understand...Chaucer is your BABY! You had him as a kitten too.

 

[zed xyzed]

How are the kitties doing? I hope Chaucer is better 

 

[skunksmom]

I've had three FIV+positive cats in the past 19 years.  Two have went on to the catnip field in the sky so I'm left with my remaining FIV+ cat Skunk.  I rescued two FIV- brothers a couple years ago.  Neither the rescue nor my vet were concerned with me bringing them together.  We introduced slowly, but they are very bonded now. 

Thank you for rescuing your cats!  I know how much patience it takes with ferals.