FIV+ diagnosis

[SadieContrary]

My lovely Tom cat received a positive FIV result this week. Obviously he's a risk to other cats so must now be kept indoors.
I'm really at a loss as to how to transition him to being an indoor cat. He's 9 years old and adores being outside - anything between 12-14 hours a day at his insistence, he is very vocal and will loudly yam his head off at every door until someone lets him out.
We are very fortunate to live in a large house so he has plenty of space and I have scratching posts, toys etc to keep him entertained but he's not interested, he wants to be out hunting and chasing away the strays (who are large in number here and probably where he's contracted it as always scrapping with them when protecting his territory)
I can't bear the thought of putting down what is an otherwise healthy cat but it's been 3 days and the constant loud crying 24hours a day is driving us and him batty.
You think he will ever settle to being an indoor cat?

There are mixed views on FIV about whether they should be indoor only or not. Obviously being outdoor they could pass it on via fighting and are more susceptible to infection. I believe there are studies to say the risk is low so no need to keep them in but personally haven't read any.
I volunteer at a CP (they say indoor only) centre which rehomes loads of FIV cats-the RSPCA send quite a few our way! They generally do well and as long as you keep on top of the annual MOT and vaccines they live a decent life expectancy. Obviously they are more prone to infections so definitely keep on top of things such as dental health. Absolutely no need to PTS due to FIV!

You say Tom cat; is he neutered?? Unneutereds fight more hence the spread but our lad is a scrapper and he was done youngish (not sure exact age as was before we got him).

He's a fighter, hence why we were at the vets with yet another injury.
He's neutered and has been for years.

I'm not considering PTS because of the diagnosis itself, more because my lovely cat is so sad at being kept indoors and I can't imagine him ever settling into that way of life. Previous injuries have meant him being kept in up to a week with a cone on and he was demented. Even once jumping out a first floor open window (complete with head cone!!!) to escape (how he dodged another injury from that I'll never know!)

I just don't want him to be miserable. My vet has said that if he's outdoors then judging from his distinguished history, he will be fighting and that's likely just spreading the disease. I don't want to be an irresponsible cat owner either.

I'm hoping someone will tell me they successfully transitioned a cat from being outdoors to indoors, how they went about it and how long I should expect it to take

Can you cat proof your garden or build him a catio?

I can't proof the garden as such, it's too large, however, I could look at a catio/enclosure. Still not sure that would be good enough though and it's not a cheap option if it proves useless as it would need to be a fairly decent size. I'm hunting online for some ideas though. Thanks

I still don't think I would keep him indoors. The other cats that he fights with are almost certainly also FIV positive (are they unneutered males?). I really can't see it making any difference.

I can't guarantee that though. Whilst there's a large stray population there's also a large proportion of cats with owners who are well looked after- doesn't make any of them less territorial though as they're all guarding their patch. I know what you're saying but it's not fair to risk it.
I've had some quotes for a catio and not been as horrendous as I thought so we are going to build one of those and hope it works.
Cat still not settling though, the crying is torture... for all of us. He's completely disinterested in toys or coming for a cuddle, just stalks the doors in the hope someone coming in or out will leave it open a fraction too long.
One week in.

Check out the international cat care website. My wife has studied with them and they are an authority on cat behaviour and care.

This page looks to be useful:

icatcare.org/advice/fencing-your-garden

They also have info on FIV

@GandalfTheGreying website looks really informative, thanks, I'll take a read over it tonight