Looking For Fiv Advice/opinions/experiences

[WefoundOlive!]

This is Miss Olive.
I’ll start by saying I have 8 rescues who are the loves of my life and I would do anything for them. They are children to my husband and I since we have no human babies. On August 21st, I noticed a stray on our porch. Being me I immediately went and got her food, she hesitantly let me pet her and she continued to come around for meals. We spent time on the porch with her gaining her trust. It appeared she was either pregnant or nursing so we were watching to see if kittens arrived or she enlarged. On August 21st, she moved just right and I noticed a large gash under her left front leg. I immediately got her into a carrier and we were at the vet within 45 minutes. The vet examined the wound and “Mama” as we were calling her. The vet said she more than likely had (best guess) 2-3 week old kittens somewhere outside. The wound was very clean and did not appear infected so, the vet stapled the wound as best she could, knowing it may not stay closed due to the location, gave an antibiotic injection and we brought her home and set her loose to return to her babies. The vet said if we had not seen nor found kittens in three weeks, we would be safe to take her in. So, I made an appointment 3 weeks out and we searched and waited. Mama continued to show up for her meals 2-3 times a day and visit with us. Then on September 6th, she disappeared. We posted online, called vet clinics, emailed rescues, checked the shelter, posted fliers, distributed fliers door to door... I was worried sick (literally). Then on Tuesday night (September 10th) I spotted what might be her on the county shelter website. We were there when they opened the next morning and there was Mama. I sobbed I was so relieved to see her- I can’t even explain the joy. She had been brought in the day she went missing by animal control with 5 kittens (approximately 8 weeks old). They had sutured up her wound, she was doing well and we could take her home that day. I called my vet and we went straight there from the shelter. They ran the FeLV test- negative. They ran the FIV test- positive. I was so devastated I literally had to lay on the exam room floor because I almost passed out. How could a miracle have brought her back to me and now this? The vet says we will retest in 6 weeks to verify she is positive but says there is a chance (however small) that it could come back negative. So, sorry for the long story, I have some questions I wanted to throw out there. Has anyone ever had a cat test negative after a positive? And, what do I do if she is verified positive? I’ve been reading online and I know FIV+ and FIV- can live together but, I have 8 cats already. It bears saying, I foolishly vaccinated my first four for FIV when they were younger so, to test them annually to assure it had not transferred would be impossible since they would test positive from the vaccine. The 8 are not aggressive with each other. There is some bullying and a lot of noise sometimes but we have never had more than a scratch here and there from their disagreements that we know of. I want to do what is best for everyone, my current 8 and Olive (as we have officially named her). If we receive a miracle in 6 weeks and she’s negative, there is no question she stays with us. If she is indeed positive, I don’t know. I’m lost in all the information I’ve been reading online. Does she stay with us or do I find her another home? It will break me to rehome her but I will not euthanize her. I’ve been a mess for the last two days, crying what seems like all the time and I’m so lost. She is so sweet and patient with everything she’s been through and she deserves the best. Currently we have her separated in a bedroom, in a critter playpen (no running or jumping due to the sutures until this Tuesday) at which point she will have run of the room and we be installing a double screen door, with space in between to prevent cat escapes in or out, while we are going in and out. Anyone have any advice they’d like to share that may help?

 

[Norachan]

Hello!

I literally have 2 minutes before I have to start work but I just wanted to say I have had three cats that tested positive for FIV in the past 10 years. I currently have one FIV positive girl and 21 (yeah, I know...) FIV negative cats.

There is virtually no chance of the FIV virus being passed between cats that are spayed and neutered. They can share food and water bowls, sleep together, groom each other.....Even the occasional little spat doesn't result in the other cats becoming infected.

I have a lot more I want to say, but I've got to run.

Just please don't think that Olive having FIV means you will have to rehome her or keep her apart from your other cats.



More to come. I'm sure lots of others will offer some support here too.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

Thank you for your quick reply! I would love to hear more about your day to day life- if you do anything special having an FIV+ cat in the mix, if your FIV+ cat needs any special precautions, do you have your FIV- cats tested annually, have your FIV+ cats had a lot more health issues... I could go on and on with questions I suppose. But I appreciate any individual experiences I can gather.

I would also like to correct... I saw her injury and took her to the vet for the first time on August 28th not August 21st.

I would also happily like to say her milk appears to be going down with no signs of mastitis, her wound is healing well, she is eating like a little piglet, drinking plenty of water, using the litterbox with no issues and slowly adjusting to being inside. She is easily accepting love and I have even heard her purr. And yesterday she gave me kisses!

 

[denice]

Since she was probably a pet at some time there is a chance that she was vaccinated against FIV which will cause a positive result on the test that is usually done. There is another test that can be done that can differentiate between having FIV and having been vaccinated.

As long as there are no true fights then there really would be very little chance that it would spread. It is almost always spread by a deep bite.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

She probably was a pet but I doubt she had the vaccine, only because she was never spayed. But I could always be wrong on that. My vet also says that a test to differentiate between vaccine and virus is testing in China but not in the US yet. Is that incorrect? And if it is, do you know the name of the test?

 

[Willowy]

FIV is not a common vaccine in the US. So she probably wasn't vaccinated against it.

My mom has an FIV+ female who is 10 years old now. She doesn't take any precautions and her cats do whatever they want, lol. So far no problems, either for the FIV+ cat or the other cats.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

Hello!

I literally have 2 minutes before I have to start work but I just wanted to say I have had three cats that tested positive for FIV in the past 10 years. I currently have one FIV positive girl and 21 (yeah, I know...) FIV negative cats.

There is virtually no chance of the FIV virus being passed between cats that are spayed and neutered. They can share food and water bowls, sleep together, groom each other.....Even the occasional little spat doesn't result in the other cats becoming infected.

I have a lot more I want to say, but I've got to run.

Just please don't think that Olive having FIV means you will have to rehome her or keep her apart from your other cats.



More to come. I'm sure lots of others will offer some support here too.

I’m sorry, I’m new to the forum thing. I posted but not specifically to your post. Please see my second post on the thread for my response. I’ll get better at this eventually...

 

[WefoundOlive!]

Since she was probably a pet at some time there is a chance that she was vaccinated against FIV which will cause a positive result on the test that is usually done. There is another test that can be done that can differentiate between having FIV and having been vaccinated.

As long as there are no true fights then there really would be very little chance that it would spread. It is almost always spread by a deep bite.

I posted and didn’t reply... I figured it out now. Sorry everyone!

She probably was a pet but I doubt she had the vaccine, only because she was never spayed. But I could always be wrong on that. My vet also says that a test to differentiate between vaccine and virus is testing in China but not in the US yet. Is that incorrect? And if it is, do you know the name of the test?

 

[Norachan]

I'm in Japan, so things may be slightly different here to the way they are in the US, but I'll tell you how I've done things.

When I took in my first FIV+ cat I was doing TNR and had 7 indoor/outdoor cats. These 7 had all been blood tested and had the standard 3-in-1 FVRCP vaccine.

When we took in Harvey he'd been really badly injured and needed surgery, as well as neutering and treating for all the things you'd expect a feral tom to suffer from.

Our vet gave Harvey the killed form of the FVRCP, his weakened immune system couldn't cope with the standard vaccine. He told us there was a vaccine against FIV but didn't recommend getting our other cats vaccinated as there are several strains of FIV, there is no way of telling from the blood test which strain a cat has and the vaccine only protects against one strain.

We continued to have those original cats blood tested once a year when they got their booster jabs.

The second FIV cat I took in was also a feral tom, quite elderly and battered after living on the streets. By this time we had (I think) 12 cats, plus a feral colony that were almost all TNR'd. We weren't doing annual blood tests because all of our money was going on TNR and our vet told us that it was very unlikely that the cats would pick up the virus from the two old boys.

Now I have 22 rescued and feral cats that live in our house and large fenced in enclosure. Our two older boys are sadly no longer with us, but we have Happy, a feral kitten I picked up off the street who was most probably infected by her FIV+ mother.

Because most our cats have to be trapped before I can get them to the vet I no longer do annual blood tests or vaccines. They're all tested and vaccinated when they are TNR'd, they don't come into contact with any other cats, so while this might not be the deal situation it's what works best with this colony.

I recommend getting Olive vaccinated with the killed form of FVRCP, if you haven't done so already. Keep an eye on her teeth, as FIV cats are prone to gum infections, which will stop them eating and lead to other health problems. If she gets a cold or weepy eyes, anything that wouldn't ring immediate alarm bells with your other cats, get her to the vet for some antibiotics or antivirals. FIV cats don't shake off these things as easily as healthy cats will.

Other than that you really don't need to worry too much about her. FIV is mainly passed by tom cats who give each other deep bites. If your cats are all fixed and get along well together there is virtually no chance of there being any problems. They can share food and water without any worries, groom each other and play together.

Here are a few articles about introducing cats, to make sure Olive gets along with the others.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

Here is the thread about Happy, my current FIV+ rescue. She has been with us four years now.

Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

And, a bit sad, here are the memorial threads for Harvey and Gin Kun.

For Harvey, Five Years Gone.

I Guess It's Time.

Feral male cats have a very hard time outside, which is why Harvey in particular was much sicker than Happy is. It sounds like Olive was lucky to be rescued before it was too late.

Please keep us posted.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

So, now I’m worried she seems to be eating and drinking a lot and therefore (I hope) using the litterbox a lot. Stools are soft but not diarrhea. She is also sleeping a lot and not very active. Should I attribute these all to adjustment?

 

[MissClouseau]

So, now I’m worried she seems to be eating and drinking a lot and therefore (I hope) using the litterbox a lot. Stools are soft but not diarrhea. She is also sleeping a lot and not very active. Should I attribute these all to adjustment?

I think you might be reading too much into what you see because she has FIV. You have 8 other cats so you are definitely experienced with cats. If one of them acted this way (probably already did), what would you think? Would it be alarming or?

 

[Norachan]

A few tummy upsets are to be expected, after everything she has been through. Plain pumpkin is very good for cat's stomachs and they usually love it. You can either cook it yourself until it is soft, then mash it to a paste, or use canned pumpkin. Make sure it's the plain stuff, no salt, spices or sugar.

Mix about a teaspoon full into her wet food every time you feed her.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have 6 cats and 2 are FIV+. No issues here at all. I do give the FIV+ boys an immune supplement daily.

Last year, one of the FIV+ boys was in a bad frame of mind (our dog who was his buddy had just passed away) he attacked and bit one of the other cats. It was bad enough that it required vet care. I was worried that he might have transmitted the FIV virus. I waited a number of months and had the cat retested. He is negative. So while he did bit the cat which caused an abscess, he did not bit hard or deep enough for the virus to be transmitted. I have since had the cat retested a 2nd time and he is still negative one year later.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

I think you might be reading too much into what you see because she has FIV. You have 8 other cats so you are definitely experienced with cats. If one of them acted this way (probably already did), what would you think? Would it be alarming or?

Well, this is an excellent point. I do tend to be paranoid and over analyze everything at times. I just don’t want to screw up and miss something I should have seen or recognized I guess. I have been known to do this with everyone else too. Hopefully she’ll perk up a bit when the cone comes off Tuesday (which I cannot wait for), but she’s still going after the incision when we take the cone off so on it stays. I just, all around, feel so badly for her right now. I’m trying to look at it as she’s alive and safe, off the streets and will never not have a home again, regardless of if we rehome her or she stays with us. All these are positive things, I just think I’m having a harder time than she is.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

A few tummy upsets are to be expected, after everything she has been through. Plain pumpkin is very good for cat's stomachs and they usually love it. You can either cook it yourself until it is soft, then mash it to a paste, or use canned pumpkin. Make sure it's the plain stuff, no salt, spices or sugar.

Mix about a teaspoon full into her wet food every time you feed her.

I’ve heard this before but never had to try it. Are cats generally ok with the taste?

 

[WefoundOlive!]

I have 6 cats and 2 are FIV+. No issues here at all. I do give the FIV+ boys an immune supplement daily.

Last year, one of the FIV+ boys was in a bad frame of mind (our dog who was his buddy had just passed away) he attacked and bit one of the other cats. It was bad enough that it required vet care. I was worried that he might have transmitted the FIV virus. I waited a number of months and had the cat retested. He is negative. So while he did bit the cat which caused an abscess, he did not bit hard or deep enough for the virus to be transmitted. I have since had the cat retested a 2nd time and he is still negative one year later.

This is very reassuring to hear, though my condolences on your dog- I miss ours terribly and appreciate how hard that is to go through.
If I can ask, what type of supplements do your boys take?

 

[shadowsrescue]

I use VetriScience DMG. Here it is at Amazon, but Chewy also sells it.

 

[WefoundOlive!]

I use VetriScience DMG. Here it is at Amazon, but Chewy also sells it.

Thank you!