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#1
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
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. I have 5 cats of my own and am concerned with the contagiousness of FIV. I have spoken to one of the vets that we work with, who said that the virus isn't contagious with casual contact (same as HIV), but can be passed through blood or biting. I usually keep my foster cats in a bedroom separate from my own cats since my cats are pretty tired of fosters coming it and out, so I am not concerned with the FIV passing to my cats this way. I try to spend time with the fosters so they don't get lonely and isolated, although it is not perfect. Fortunately they don't usually stay more than a month or two. Since Sammy is a very social cat, I have also been sleeping in the foster room. My cats aren't too happy with this of course, but I feel that Sammy needs more attention and it seemed comforting for him. I just wondered if others have had experience with cats with FIV and the difficulties of mixing them with non-FIV cats. Since Sammy is obese AND seems to have some kidney problems, I am trying to get him to be more active and to eat the kidney food he has been prescribed, as well as monitor the amount he eats so he can lose weight, but not too much at one time. All moot right now because he definitely will not eat the kidney food and barely even eats regular food. So now I'm concerned about him getting fatty liver disease. He has been with me only a week so I'm sure he is still settling in and I am probably worrying prematurely. This is kind of rambling, but it has been on my mind all week. He is older, he has FIV, he is obese, he has kidney problems, he has no home, but he is just as sweet as he can be. Who will adopt him? I already have 2 cats with health problems and I don't want to take on another for financial reasons (although the SPCA NoVA might let me take him on as a "forever" foster and cover his medical bills). Could he even mix with my cats without endangering their health? That has to be my first concern. It is a quandary and weighing heavy on my mind. If you have any experience, advice about any of these issues (especially with FIV and/or obesity) I would appreciate you taking a few minutes to pass it on. Thank you for your ideas and please purr for Sammy and a good resolution to his problems. Debbie |
#2
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
no advice but will purr, Lee
wrote in message ... 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. I have 5 cats of my own and am concerned with the contagiousness of FIV. I have spoken to one of the vets that we work with, who said that the virus isn't contagious with casual contact (same as HIV), but can be passed through blood or biting. I usually keep my foster cats in a bedroom separate from my own cats since my cats are pretty tired of fosters coming it and out, so I am not concerned with the FIV passing to my cats this way. I try to spend time with the fosters so they don't get lonely and isolated, although it is not perfect. Fortunately they don't usually stay more than a month or two. Since Sammy is a very social cat, I have also been sleeping in the foster room. My cats aren't too happy with this of course, but I feel that Sammy needs more attention and it seemed comforting for him. I just wondered if others have had experience with cats with FIV and the difficulties of mixing them with non-FIV cats. Since Sammy is obese AND seems to have some kidney problems, I am trying to get him to be more active and to eat the kidney food he has been prescribed, as well as monitor the amount he eats so he can lose weight, but not too much at one time. All moot right now because he definitely will not eat the kidney food and barely even eats regular food. So now I'm concerned about him getting fatty liver disease. He has been with me only a week so I'm sure he is still settling in and I am probably worrying prematurely. This is kind of rambling, but it has been on my mind all week. He is older, he has FIV, he is obese, he has kidney problems, he has no home, but he is just as sweet as he can be. Who will adopt him? I already have 2 cats with health problems and I don't want to take on another for financial reasons (although the SPCA NoVA might let me take him on as a "forever" foster and cover his medical bills). Could he even mix with my cats without endangering their health? That has to be my first concern. It is a quandary and weighing heavy on my mind. If you have any experience, advice about any of these issues (especially with FIV and/or obesity) I would appreciate you taking a few minutes to pass it on. Thank you for your ideas and please purr for Sammy and a good resolution to his problems. Debbie |
#3
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
It is a quandary and weighing heavy on my mind. *If you have any
experience, advice about any of these issues (especially with FIV and/or obesity) *I would appreciate you taking a few minutes to pass it on. Thank you for your ideas and please purr for Sammy and a good resolution to his problems. Debbie I have several friends who have a mixed FIV and non FIV household, my current vet being one of them. The FIV negative cats have never caught FIV from the positive cats. You just need to be more aware of the FIV positive cats potential for getting infection. If they are non- agressive, and are unlikely to mate or have deep biting wounds, then you don't need to stress. Purrs for a good outcome. Helen M |
#4
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
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#5
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
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 |
#6
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
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) |
#7
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
Thank you for the purrs, Lee. They do help. Debbie On Dec 28, 4:16*pm, "Stormmee" wrote: no advice but will purr, wrote in message ... |
#8
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
On Dec 28, 4:29*pm, wrote:
It is a quandary and weighing heavy on my mind. *If you have any experience, advice about any of these issues (especially with FIV and/or obesity) *I would appreciate you taking a few minutes to pass it on. Thank you for your ideas and please purr for Sammy and a good resolution to his problems. Debbie I have several friends who have a mixed FIV and non FIV household, my current vet being one of them. The FIV negative cats have never caught FIV from the positive cats. You just need to be more aware of the FIV positive cats potential for getting infection. If they are non- agressive, and are unlikely to mate or have deep biting wounds, then you don't need to stress. Purrs for a good outcome. Helen M Hi Helen, Thanks for the information. Sammy is very sweet and way too fat to chase my cats, but I definitely have to learn more about FIV. I really have enough cats (I'm sure others feel that way too) and was certainly not looking for another, but I doubt that we will be able to find him a good home with FIV, obesity, and kidney disease. As long as my cats will be safe, he is welcomed here. I think the SPCA will agree to pay for any medical treatment that I can't afford if it comes to that. He is our responsibility. I still have some learning to do about FIV. I never really paid that much attention to it before. Debbie |
#9
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
On Dec 29, 3:57*am, Marina wrote:
wrote: Thank you for your ideas and please purr for Sammy and a good resolution to his problems. Wish I had any advice for you, but at least we can purr hard for the best solution for Sammy. -- Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Thanks for the purrs! Debbie |
#10
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FIV kitty advice? (long)
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 |
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