- Joined
- Oct 17, 2018
- Messages
- 14
- Purraise
- 15
Hi cat people,
I posted a while ago about my planned cat adoption. Initially I needed advice for getting 2 cats from two different shelters, but long story short, we ended up getting 2 cats from the same shelter. Both are adult females, 7 and 9. Cat A was a former pet surrendered, Cat B was born outside, taken in by the shelter as a kitten, and had lived her whole life there. Cat B is FIV+. We had been to the shelter 3 times to interact with them and be sure of our choice.
When we got our cat supplies, we contacted the shelter owner. She said Cat B had had a vet checkup 3 days prior, and it'd be a few more days for the results. But we could get them that day if we wanted. We wanted them ASAP, so we went. It's been a week and everyone is settling in well. Cat A & B are affectionate with us, but aren't friends. They have stare-offs and a light swat sometimes, but it's 90% peaceful. Cat B (the FIV former feral) is never the one to hiss or swat. She'll always calmly stand her ground or retreat.
Today we get a short email from the shelter owner confirming Cat B is positive for FIV, which we knew, but also that she's positive for Bartonella! I was shocked. No elaboration as to what strength of positive. Now, I do have some experience with Bartonella. I had a cat a few years ago who was indoor/outdoor for most of his life and then became an indoor only in old age. He tested a strong 4+ positive a year after becoming indoor only. We did liquid antibiotics with him since he was so gentle, he'd let me get near his mouth. He was also my only cat-- I didn't have to worry about transmission.
Now we have these two cats, and I sent off a long, concerned email to the shelter owner with detailed questions and she has yet to reply. I even tried calling the vet office where she took Cat B, but they really wouldn't divulge any info to me since I wasn't technically the client. The person who picked up the phone (a vet tech I think) said I "DEFINITELY" needed to get my other cat tested if the two shared a litter box and food/water bowls, which they do.
However, I've also heard from other sources that like FIV, you should only care about bite and scratch wounds. Does anyone have a good resource on this? Obviously I plan to bring both cats to the vet for a full workup anyway, but we're not a current client of any office, so I can't just call one up and start asking questions. Not to mention we will likely have to wait a while for a first appointment. In the meantime, do I need to be taking precautions? Thanks A TON!
I posted a while ago about my planned cat adoption. Initially I needed advice for getting 2 cats from two different shelters, but long story short, we ended up getting 2 cats from the same shelter. Both are adult females, 7 and 9. Cat A was a former pet surrendered, Cat B was born outside, taken in by the shelter as a kitten, and had lived her whole life there. Cat B is FIV+. We had been to the shelter 3 times to interact with them and be sure of our choice.
When we got our cat supplies, we contacted the shelter owner. She said Cat B had had a vet checkup 3 days prior, and it'd be a few more days for the results. But we could get them that day if we wanted. We wanted them ASAP, so we went. It's been a week and everyone is settling in well. Cat A & B are affectionate with us, but aren't friends. They have stare-offs and a light swat sometimes, but it's 90% peaceful. Cat B (the FIV former feral) is never the one to hiss or swat. She'll always calmly stand her ground or retreat.
Today we get a short email from the shelter owner confirming Cat B is positive for FIV, which we knew, but also that she's positive for Bartonella! I was shocked. No elaboration as to what strength of positive. Now, I do have some experience with Bartonella. I had a cat a few years ago who was indoor/outdoor for most of his life and then became an indoor only in old age. He tested a strong 4+ positive a year after becoming indoor only. We did liquid antibiotics with him since he was so gentle, he'd let me get near his mouth. He was also my only cat-- I didn't have to worry about transmission.
Now we have these two cats, and I sent off a long, concerned email to the shelter owner with detailed questions and she has yet to reply. I even tried calling the vet office where she took Cat B, but they really wouldn't divulge any info to me since I wasn't technically the client. The person who picked up the phone (a vet tech I think) said I "DEFINITELY" needed to get my other cat tested if the two shared a litter box and food/water bowls, which they do.
However, I've also heard from other sources that like FIV, you should only care about bite and scratch wounds. Does anyone have a good resource on this? Obviously I plan to bring both cats to the vet for a full workup anyway, but we're not a current client of any office, so I can't just call one up and start asking questions. Not to mention we will likely have to wait a while for a first appointment. In the meantime, do I need to be taking precautions? Thanks A TON!