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

[chaucer]

This is an overview of the long topic for those who have just started to read it. It may be different for other people, but my experience has been good. I want you to know if you are thinking of you considering FIV+ cats and/or ferals, that my big male Orville who is both FIV+ and is a former feral has turned out to be the gentlest of cats, at least to me. He is still afraid of other people. His health, so far, is good, and the vet estimates him to be 7 or 8 years old  and now is over 13 pounds and is quite long. He's a little overweight with a pot belly but the vet says he has muscles too. He gets along great with my other two FIV- cats who have not contracted the virus. Orville has been inside for nearly a year now.  He is very bonded with my female cat, but he and my male cat (the Alpha) playfight, wrestle, and chase each other. 

The cat I am currently feeding outside is most likely not going to be an indoor cat. He doesn't exhibit the traits my other two did, such as wanting to be "my kitty."  He  talks a lot and has never hissed at me,  but still only gets only a couple of feet from me. He wants food and water and some conversation, but he will not get near the shelter I made for him during the recent cold very cold weather and snow here. He did at one point run up the first step (of two) at my back glass door, but he does not sit there and look in the way my other two feral/semi-feral cats did. I know some cat in the neighborhood is FIV+ or Orville would not have contracted it, so it makes me wonder if several are. The cat I'm caring for now does not exhibit any illness. 

I could not have rescued  any cats without the help  and support from The Catsite members. I'm not an experienced rescuer, having only rescued my two, and fostered a couple of kittens that were found where I worked, and, I suppose helped my female with her five she had in my storage room, but so many here have rescued many and another faction are cat lovers like myself.  So, on The Catsite you will find the answers. Just ask.

Thanks!

 

[zed xyzed]

Hoping you  and the clan are well. Any updates to share ?

 

[chaucer]

 
Hoping you  and the clan are well. Any updates to share ?

Thank you for asking, Zed!  Hope you and yours are doing well, too.

Chaucer's had some behavioral  issues which I posted about in cat behavior. He's been having a lot of aggression issues since November.  After a couple of vet visits (two to have his claws trimmed because of his behavior) and having tests run and a specially-compounded anti-anxiety med made and shipped from a place in New Jersey which he will not take no matter what I try, I have basically given up on looking for answers. The oddest thing, though, is that he has settled down since the last two vet visits. I don't know if it was cats in the backyard at night that set him off - cats that he has seen for the 3+ years we have lived here- or what.  The vet suggested that since he likes wood furniture to get him a standing board attached to the wall and soak that board in catnip to stop the scratching (not clawing) on furniture, and to cover the areas he uses with aluminum foil, bubble wrap, plastic wrap or tape. I'd already done that for my four-poster bed  a couple of years ago. It looks odd, by the way. This is just to train him to use the wood board. 

His aggression toward Henryetta has settled right now but she still acts victimized - hissing, growling, swatting at him if he gets too close.  Other than that she is  doing well.  Orville is still enamored of her. He has turned out to be the gentlest of cats and he and Chaucer get along well. Go figure. Orville, so far, has been very healthy despite his FIV and my other two still do not have it.

My outdoor cats are still with me. I've got a new one "Wilbur" who is still VERY scared. His wound was terrible but there was nothing I could do about it since if he sees me, he runs. The wound looked healed today in the glimpse I got this morning. Jed comes around less so he may have somewhere else he goes but he does take food from a spoon now. My neighbors' cats are sitting on the top step now and waiting for food and attention. Sad in a way.

They are all doing pretty well - status quo. Thanks again for asking. 

 

[zed xyzed]

Sorry to hear about Chaucer's issues. Orville is such a sweet boy; thank you for giving him a chance.  BTW I know I wouldn't complain if you share a few pictures (when you get the time) 

 

[chaucer]

I will get some recent ones. I have my three and then four I feed outside now. 

 

[chaucer]

My three and one of my neighbor's neglected two cats. The outside cat's daughter/sister showed up right after this but Chaucer had already moved. I have two other feral/semi-feral  male cats I feed but one of them with whom I was making a lot of progress doesn't show up much now. I really like him and hope he has found a home. He was coming by daily - sometimes twice a day.  In the past three months, it's been once every week or two.  The other is very wild and runs.He had a bad facial wound but it has healed. I feel he most likely has FIV. : (

 

[zed xyzed]

great picture, is Orville the one in the bed. You are so kind to look after the neighbourhood kitties 

 

[chaucer]

 
great picture, is Orville the one in the bed. You are so kind to look after the neighbourhood kitties 

Thank you.

Yes, that is Orville in the bed. He is doing just great!

 

[chaucer]

So I posted something about Orville the FIV + member of my growing cat family and it was suggested to post it here for those who follow this topic. The situation seems to have righted itself, but briefly this is what happened. Orville suddenly started acting scared of me - almost reverting to his feral behavior or hiding. I thought maybe I smelled like Chaucer who, being the aggressive alpha that he can be, escalated a play-fight into the real thing with no injuries but lots of screeching. Nope. Then I thought it was because I moved a rug to another room, which was part of it I discovered later. Mostly, though, it had to do with me wearing different-sounding shoes! It's warm where I live so I was wearing my sandals with rubber soles heels. The flopping sound must have been what it was because I changed back to regular clicking heels and moved the rug back. He's fine. I had a concern when he settled the night before I changed things because he seemed listless. With FIV, you never know what it's going to be like. The vet had guessed him at 7 or 8 so now I'm looking at 8 or 9 since he's been with me over a year.

Other than that, I'm still feeding Jed, a gorgeous tabby who is finally rolling around in front of me and will take food from my fingers, but won't let me touch him yet. Still have Henryetta who is doing well and very affectionate. Chaucer is still the anxious, extremely playful and at times aggressive cat who won't take his custom-blended medication. And, I'm still feeding and taking care of my neighbor's two neglected cats. Have added an injured male but he is so feral he runs if he sees me. When I first joined Catsite, I couldn't understand how people accumulated so many cats. Now, I know. It's so easy to do.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me.

 

[zed xyzed]

I just checking in to see how everyone is doing.

 

[chaucer]

I just checking in to see how everyone is doing.

Oh wow! Thank you! I haven't checked in here for a while. Orville the FIV+ cat is now over 14 pounds and doing really well. Henryetta, the first rescue is still his "girlfriend" and they are quite the bonded pair. She's about 13 pounds now. Both need to drop a couple of pounds but Chaucer my 5 year-old one is pretty thin. He stays at 8 pounds and could gain a bit.

But, I have Jed still outside. He's made so much progress. He runs to me, rubs around my ankles and if I'm sitting around my back. I can just about pet him. He plays with toys and sleeps some on the chairs and table on my carport/patio. I'm pretty sure he is going to turn out to be FIV+ as well, that is if I can ever get him into the crate for the vet for neutering, shots. He is very skittish of the crate although it's been outside for months now with the door open. He picks the food out through the bars. He had a serious wound on his back a couple of months ago and it was very infected, not healing, and he was sick. My vet was wonderful. I sent her a photo and described things. She called me and prescribed Cipro for 10 days. Crushed it in real tuna and salmon and the wound is completely healed.

I have a success story to share. It's sort of a bittersweet one though. A beautiful little calico showed-up a couple of weeks ago. Very friendly. She wasn't hungry so I suspected she was someone's pet. However, she returned for a few days and started hanging out here. I could pet her and pick her up. In fact, she craved affection. I discovered she was sleeping here for a couple of nights. When I checked her out, I noticed her claws had been trimmed recently. I posted on FB, on our local lost and found page, took her to all the vet clinics in town, the local shelter, and finally to the groomers trying to find the owner. I also went to the neighborhood behind mine, which is the direction she would come, and talked to a few people. No one knew her. She was obviously an indoor cat. One vet had done the spaying but only because he saw his small tattoo. One of the women in a women's social organization to which I belong wanted to see if the kitty would be a match for her and her elderly dog. She'd lost her cat last year. It was a perfect match. This cat is friendly, well-trained, socialized, and a good traveler. She fit right in. I feel bad for the people who have lost their cat and have no idea what became of her, but this cat is in a spectacular, loving home with someone who can provide her the best of care and love. Please, everyone, micro-chip your pets!

Thanks for checking. Sorry for the lengthy update. : )

 

[kittyluv387]

What a nice update! Hurray for the calico girl!

 

[zed xyzed]

Thanks for the update, and thank you for being such a caring person to our furry friends

 

[chaucer]

For anyone still reading this thread: Orville, my FIV + cat doesn't seem to be himself at the moment. Hiding in the morning, not eating as much - he was still 14.8 pounds at his vet appointment a couple of weeks ago so I think the FeLV shot bothered him. He has a touch of that feline hyperthesia I've noticed since the injection. However, I have some photos of Jed, the feral I have been working with for a year-and-a-half. He won't go in the crate for the vet trip but he has become extremely affectionate with me, touches noses with my female and lets her sniff him, and as you can see from the photos has decided maybe moving in isn't such a bad idea BUT he has to go in the crate, be neutered, have shots, wormed and have his left leg checked. He hobbles and runs holding it up, and has done so for the past several months. Vet thinks from the description that the leg was broken and did not set properly. Here are some photos of his progress (he may be FIV + as well due to a serious injury on his back that required crushed up Cipro - again, thanks to my vet who diagnosed him via photos and my description and the wound healed nicely with just a little fur missing).

 

[chaucer]

 

[chaucer]

 

[chaucer]

He didn't stay long and was scared but he jumped on the chest and then on the sofa and laid down. Progress.

 

[talkingpeanut]

For anyone still reading this thread: Orville, my FIV + cat doesn't seem to be himself at the moment. Hiding in the morning, not eating as much - he was still 14.8 pounds at his vet appointment a couple of weeks ago so I think the FeLV shot bothered him. He has a touch of that feline hyperthesia I've noticed since the injection. However, I have some photos of Jed, the feral I have been working with for a year-and-a-half. He won't go in the crate for the vet trip but he has become extremely affectionate with me, touches noses with my female and lets her sniff him, and as you can see from the photos has decided maybe moving in isn't such a bad idea BUT he has to go in the crate, be neutered, have shots, wormed and have his left leg checked. He hobbles and runs holding it up, and has done so for the past several months. Vet thinks from the description that the leg was broken and did not set properly. Here are some photos of his progress (he may be FIV + as well due to a serious injury on his back that required crushed up Cipro - again, thanks to my vet who diagnosed him via photos and my description and the wound healed nicely with just a little fur missing).

How long ago was he at the vet? Poor Orville.

 

[chaucer]

How long ago was he at the vet? Poor Orville.

Not long at all. He has to go in a big dog crate because he won't fit in an ordinary cat carrier. Since he was frightened, they had to treat him like a feral (well he was one) but didn't want to put him under this time. The vets looked at him through the crate, and he looks great and healthy. It was only after the shot that he seemed strange. He's about 8 or 9 so not a young cat. Some of this may be due to Jed coming in the house a little and he's uncomfortable.