To take on a cat with FIV

[SamBeckett]

A good friend has been feeding a stray ( yes def a stray ) for a while , with the help of a local cat rescue place they managed to trap it and get it to the vets .
It has FIV , my friend has a cat already so he can not take it .
I have been thinking of getting a cat for a few months but the ' right one ' has not come my way.
Should I adopt this one ? It will be a house cat , lone pet , no kids.
What do I need to know ?

We adopted a stray too we do dry during the day and wet at night, and we use appetite control dry food as he is a bit massively podgy. I'd start with the litter tray open until you're confident he's happy using it then add the lid later - although not all cats like lids.

Good luck with the harness - ours won't even tolerate a collar!

Sorry! Forgot to say we have bought 4 different beds now which have all been completely rejected. Our bed on the other hand...

Litter Tray - Leroy has a large tray with Pets@Home Ultra Clumping Litter, I scoop out clumps into nappy sacks so I only need to do a full litter change once a week.

Bed - mine. Or a cardboard box 🤷🏼‍♀️

Food - combination of wet and dry seems to work well for many cats.

Toys - get a laser pen for really burning off some energy.

Harness - Leroy has a made to measure personalised Mynwood Cat Jacket with an extending lead.

Thank you for you recommendations, I have been looking a cat beds , toys , litter trays , food , litter , harnesses @YesItsMeIDontCare , the jackets look good , I may get one of them .
There is so much to choose from !
I can see me getting silly with money I have to learn a lot bit of self control.
But I will be using what ever food and litter he is on at the moment to start with at least to ease his adjustment to his new environment.

There is also no reason that an FIV positive cat shouldn't go out. As long as he is neutered he is unlikely to be getting into fights, so shouldn't be a risk to other cats.

I have two neutered cats (m & f) and both have got into fights with neighbours. I’d definitely keep an FIV cat indoors.

@SamBeckett

Here's Leroy looking very posh in his jacket 😁

@YesItsMeIDontCare
Ohh very snazzy puss.

I am going to pick up my cat tomorrow
I think I will get my puss a jacket to once he has settled enough for me to handle him and get his measurements.
How long did it take Leroy to get use to walking in it ? has he ever escaped from it ?

I have been looking at pets at home for stuff for him , I did not realise scratching poles / frames were so expensive !
I still can not make my mind up about his litter tray open or enclosed ?

My two inherited a bat man and superman walking jacket. Snorg managed to leave it next doors garden once. She'll wear the jacket but not keen on going for a walk!

@SamBeckett

Not long. He really wanted to go out so as soon as the harness was on we opened the door and off we trotted. He was so keen to get out he forgot all about the harness. He still makes a bit of a song and dance about it occasionally but no harness = no walkie.

He escaped once and got up a tree when a dog legged it out of its house and went for him. Neighbours ladders were involved and everything . Dog came off worse in the altercation .

@Supersimkin2 I’m dying to know how your cat saved 40 lives 🙀

If you get the enclosed one you can try both ways to see what he prefers?

@margotsdevil , I was thinking the same thing but it seems a bit of a waste of money if he only wants a open tray . so for now I am going to get a open tray and fashion a box of some sort over it , for this weekend at least and see how he gets on.

@YesItsMeIDontCare, its good to know that Leroy got to grips with his quickly , I am not surprised he bolted if a dog scared him , there a a lot of dogs near me so I may have the same problem .
That said it the weather carries on for the next week or so like it has been the past few days we wont be going out anyway .

Seems sensible! Looking forward to a picture!!!!

My glorious FIV boy Humphrey made it to the ripe of age of 16. He was just the best and I miss him every day.

My vet put it perfectly - they don't die of FIV, they die with it.

@SamBeckett

To be honest most dogs aren't really interested. There's a gorgeous Samoyed near us who barks but has no idea beyond that and we have two neighbour dogs who just want to be friends. We have got to nose-booping familiarity as long as Leroy is higher than them. Most dogs are on a lead though so I just remain vigilant and either make sure Leroy is on a wall with a tight lead or I pick him up.

It's nothing like walking a dog though. Leroy meanders, I follow. I spend a lot of time reading Mumsnet while he sits in the same spot watching the world go by. People probably think I'm mad, but he's my furry baby and I have to do my best for him 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Oh my goodness @SamBeckett please could you show me a close up of said cat if you don't mind?
It's just that a few months ago we had to rehome our FIV beautiful boy because he just could not cope with our toddler and baby being an indoor cat. I asked the rescue that if they could pass my details on to the new owner and just to send me a photo etc but I've never heard anything and I worry terribly about him.

Before I got him he was a stray too. He is a tabby. It's ok if you don't want to share a pic, it's very unlikely to be the same cat.

Well my new puss is home and has decided that either a sopt on the end of the sofa and the broken dinning chair next to the radiator are both his . He has had a bit to eat and some dreamies ( what do they put in them to make cats love them so much ! )

@yesitsmeIdontcare
I will give it a while to let him settle and then get him a snazzy jacket , I will let you know how we get on.
@ghostchild it is a shame you could not keep him , it must of been hard for you to give him up.
Sorry my cat is not yours , mine is almost all black . I hope you get to hear about your some day soon.

I know its MN law so I will post a pic of him soon but not tonight . I took one photo of him and the flash scared him so I am going to leave him alone for now .

Meet Larry
He is sleeping a lot , more than I would expect even for a cat I am just hoping it's because he can now relax properly.
His rescue home was great but by there very nature it ment there were lots of cats around so he may not of been able to settle.

He's gorgeous! Like the name Larry too.
I notice he has white flecks in his black fur. Really weird but all the black or black and white FIVs I've met have those flecks. No idea why as the tabbies and gingers don't have the same flecks in their coats.
I hope he settles in well and is very happy with his new slaves.

Hello Larry! He's a very handsome chap 😊. I should imagine a few days r&r will be needed.

@Vinorosso74 - Leroy is black and FIV+, no white flecks... but does have a very random long white hair in his tail!

He's gorgeous! I'd not worry too much about him sleeping at first; our boy slept a lot for the first few weeks he's a lazy sod after being a stray. Think he'd been too scared to sleep properly for weeks so was making up for it!

What a handsome big lad he is!

@margotsdevil this was my thinking as he was a stray for at least two months before they managed to catch him , he was terrified of people too,
I am just hoping that he realises his new slave will look after him and he come round a bit , though I doubt he will ever be the cuddly type.

@jorisBonson ( love the name ) He is quite big but scrawny and patchy atm but food ( if i can find something he will eat ) and when he is ready lots of gentle brushing should sort him out .

My cat has died

Oh no I'm so sorry.