"stephcat" wrote in message
oups.com...
My family and I have been caring for our own FIV+ cats for the past
four years, and we regularly correspond with other pet owners who are
doing the same.

Cats with FIV can enjoy a high quality of life for many years, if
properly cared for. Yet many vet clinics still encourage pet owners to
euthanize their cats the moment they test positive for the disease,
even when the animals aren't showing symptoms yet.

I would encourage any pet owner faced with this difficult news to get
the facts before making any rash decisions. Best Friends Animal
Society has a wonderful article on their site, which dispels a number
of common myths about FIV. "Feline AIDS: A Pet Owner's Guide" by
Thomas Hapka also discusses this issue in depth and offers natural
treatment strategies and additional resources.

Best Friends can be found online at: http://bestfriends.org/

"Feline AIDS: A Pet Owner's Guide" can be found at: http://felineaids.org/

The bottom line is that FIV is not an automatic death sentence, and no
cat should be put to sleep simply for testing positive for this
disease. Thanks for listening.

Steph
http://www.geocities.com/stephcat560/


My oldest cat, Buddy, is FIV positive, FeLV positive, FIP positive and has a
bad liver. He was a stray I took in 6 years ago this coming week and he
picked up all that while living rough. He is still alive 3 years after
being diagnosed with all those diseases. He is getting old now, tired and
skinny but in no pain. He probably won't be with me much longer., But he
is an old cat and has lived with serious diseases for year now and he has
been quite happy and content and clearly enjoys his life.

There simply is no reason to put down an animal unless it is suffering. I
was torn up when I hard Buddy was so sick. So I resolved to just take it
day by day, make sure he gets good food, make sure he does not get into
trouble with other cats and the result is 3 years of happiness with him.

When the time comes, they will tell you. I remember my first cat, Zipper.
He died of cancer in 01. I kept him alive too long, he was ready to go and
I wouldn't let him. So you can be too quick, you can also be too slow.
Best to let them tell you.

Paul