FIV?

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Hi, my cat is just over a year old, has been a house cat since we got him and has not been vaccinated.
When he was around 7 months he had constant diarrhoea and was lethargic and his fur went all scraggy. He finally overcome this but more recently has been having trouble with his gums (gingivitis) The vet has given his steroid tablets for the past 4 weeks and today gave him a depo medrone injection. She says it's viral and chances are his sister (who we also have) is likely to have it too. She didn't give it a name, but is she talking about FIV or similar? What does this mean for him? Thank you.

We have just lost our just over a year old cat to feline leukaemia. The vet thinks she had it from birth. Luckily she and her brother have been indoor cats and both had all their vax, but brother has tested positive as well.

Yours isn't a NF cross from somewhere Oxford way by any chance?

No, we're in North east. Sorry about your loss :( what symptoms did he have if you don't mind me asking? She didn't mention what the virus was called, so not sure if she meant that or something else?

She was very quiet and stopped eating. Started hiding. Fur very dull, losing weight. When we took her in her gums were really pale and she was breathing fast.

We've been told that if the other one starts looking ill with anything at all he has to go straight to vet, plus he isn't allowed out because the virus is very contagious to other cats through bodily fluids.

FIV is the feline equivalent of HIV which means they have a reduced immune system but with the correct care can live a normal life expectancy . I'm no vet but I doubt it's that. If it's a viral infection the other cat may catch it like we could. Check with your vet what they think it may be.

And it is sensible to get your cats vaccinated.