FIV positive cat come and hand hold!

[maryquant]

Took the cat to vets today because of infection on his leg.
Vet felt he was jaundiced did bloods and these showed he is FIV positive
Liver scan was clear so possibly the infection on his leg is causing the liver prob.
Vet a bit vague about how the FIV would progress
Anyone out there with a FIV positive cat that continues to thrive?
We lost our other cat to cancer last September and this cat is doted on by DCs

[sashh]

FIV cats can live completely normal long lives. The only difference is that now you have a house cat. You cannot let him infect other cats.

I've fostered a couple and the only difference is that you can never 'wait and see' if they start to be ill. So you may have a few more vets' visits, you may have none.

[issey6cats]

as sashh said cats with fiv can live long normal lives, if kept indoors so they dont infect other cats or catch anything that will affect thier compromised immune system, a friend of mine had an fiv pos cat for another ten years after diagnosis

[dikkertjedap]

As other posters already have said, your cat HAS to stay indoors from now on and you can not take another cat.

Your cat will have a seriously compromised immune system. So if he becomes ill you will need to seek help straight away and not wait.

Your cat can infect other cats and therefore you can not have another cat (unless you already have one and then he needs testing as well).

Hopefully, he will get over his infection soon and still live a happy and long life. You will probably monitor his health more than before, eg whether he eats well, drinks well, uses litter tray okay, so at the first signs of trouble you can seek advice.

[charlieandlola]

We rehomed a FIV cat four years ago. She is still going, with no health problems. Once she got to age 8, we let her out as there are no cats in the vicinity, she is neutered, so not going to go round shagging infecting other cats, and we figured that she needed a bit of freedom. The vets went a bit at first, but then agreed there was little risk to others, and as a senior cat, quality of life matters.

We couldn't get insurance for her, which panicked me a bit, but she has cost us precisely zero apart from annual jabs and spot ons, etc, which you would pay for a non FIV cat.

We haven't got another cat, as she wants us all to herself.

[Samvet]

www.fabcats.org/owners/fiv/info.html
Very useful info. Might be bit more worried about the jaundice though - needs following up.

[maryquant]

Thanks all
Adapting well to house cat lifestyle- was never a great hunter
Being reviewed and repeat bloods next week for his jaundice .

[Corygal]

My darling vast tabby is FIV and lives indoors. He was a junkyard tom and king of the scrapheap, with several hundred children, before he was diagnosed and I got him.

The vet worried about him settling indoors after a life as a gentleman of the road and man about town, but he took one look at the chaise longue, neat pile of Sheba tins and packets of Dreamies and point blank refused to leave.

He is also really cuddly and friendly! Despite being feral born and bred. And having especially vast testicles even after neutering, hem.