FIV kitty advice? (long)

On Dec 29, 8:37*pm, "Smokie Darling (Annie)"
wrote:
On Dec 29, 5:08*am, Dewi wrote:

We have had an FIV cat (Monty) living with my non-FIV cats. There were
no dramas as they would never bite each other. When cat fight they
don't bite unless things get really bad, and biting is not all that
common.

In regards to Monty's health, he was fine until the end and he could
have lived longer had the vet given him the correct antibiotic. If you
get Sammy's weight under control, give him a sensible diet and keep
his teeth in reasonable condition, he should be fine for much of his
life. Your idea about keeping Sammy as a permanent foster may the best
alternative if it reduces your vet bills.

Dewi

I'll completely agree with this. *My FIV cat (Tuppence RB 9/2005) had
it for many years. *I was lucky, I had a vet who knew that an FIV cat
can have a long and happy life. *He helped me with her treatments
(interferon mixed with her tuna), and basic care.

The last couple of years, she stopped grooming, so I had to pick that
up for her. *She got horrible teeth problems (combination of not
wanting or eating dry kibble and her illness), but with cleanings and
monthly anti-biotic treatment she did well until her last bought of
what I always called the wobbles (she'd wobble and fall over when she
was feeling poorly). *She was 16 when she went to the bridge, the
hardest decision I ever made, but she was ready, and so was I (even
though I still cry over my lost baby).

She never gave it to any of the other cats. *When she felt "okay", she
rarely fought, but she would bap the heck out of anyone who got too
close to her. *No reason to expect any problems with your animals,
unless they are serious fighters (like one of my boys now) who like to
bite.

I'd recommend taking him in, he sounds like a sweetheart.

Smokie Darling (Annie)

Thanks Annie. It is sounding like this is a possibility. I need to
check with
a few vets I know and see if they have had experience with caring for
FIV+ cats. Poor Sammy will be the only boy in a house with 5 feline
women and one human woman.

Debbie

Teaching a cat to brush your hair is about as likely as teaching them to
"happy paw" the right place on your neck. NOT
wrote in message
...
On Dec 29, 7:08 am, Dewi wrote:
We have had an FIV cat (Monty) living with my non-FIV cats. There were
no dramas as they would never bite each other. When cat fight they
don't bite unless things get really bad, and biting is not all that
common.

In regards to Monty's health, he was fine until the end and he could
have lived longer had the vet given him the correct antibiotic. If you
get Sammy's weight under control, give him a sensible diet and keep
his teeth in reasonable condition, he should be fine for much of his
life. Your idea about keeping Sammy as a permanent foster may the best
alternative if it reduces your vet bills.

Dewi


Thanks Dewi. I'm glad to hear that several people have been
successful in
mixing FIV kitties with FIV neg kitties. I'm going to talk with a
couple of
other people I know with more FIV+ experience. Right now Sammy
is probably lonely, but he is eating a healthy (and reduced calorie)
diet, I spend some time with him and sleep with him. He doesn't seem
unhappy. He LOVES to be brushed so we do a lot of that. Now if I
could just teach him to brush my hair!

Debbie

wrote:

Sammy is very sweet and way too fat to
chase my cats, but I definitely have to learn more about FIV.

Wow. People with HIV usually struggle to keep weight *on*, not off.
Is FIV different in this way?

Joyce
--
To send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name.

wrote:

My next foster cat was supposed to be Phoenix, who some horrible
person had
rubber bands put on one of his front legs and he had to spend a lot of
time in the vet
hospital as a result. It turns out that Phoenix needed more care than
I could give
him (working full time during the day) and one of the vet techs at the
vet's office was
able and willing to foster him and take him to work with her several
times a week to
clean and bandage his leg. So far so good with keeping his leg. If
things continue
to heal well, he is able to use that leg with minimal difficultly and
pain, he will not have
to have it amputated. Good news!

So, on to the Subject. SPCA of Northern VA has taken in an older cat
with FIV
whose owner had to attend to family emergencies in CA and asked us to
care for
him for a while. We helped him when Sammy was initially rescued 3 or 4
years
ago and he decided to give Sammy a home despite his FIV. This is why
he
contacted us again a few months ago. Unfortunately, now this person
won't be coming
back and can't take Sammy there. To make things difficult, this
person let Sammy
get very obese and he also seems to have developed kidney problems.

Since I didn't have a foster cat now and the foster person caring for
Sammy short term
was moving out of the area and didn't want to adopt Sammy, I offered
to care for him
for a while. He is a very sweet cat, quite calm (as long as you don't
try to clip his nails),
and very sedentary. They estimate that he is 8-9 years old. Like I
mentioned before,
he is very obese. He moves around with some difficulty, even lying
down and getting up.
snip
Debbie


We are sending purrs and best wishes for both kitties. Thank you for
taking such good care of them, Debbie. Unfortunately I have no advice
about FIV kitties.
Polonca and Soncek