FIV Cats are Good Company

It is really hot outdoors today, the heat index is at 110 Fahrenheit so my FIV cat Sam and I are lying on the sofa watching movies together. I enjoy hanging out with my FIV cat because he is funny to watch and always makes me smile.

Last week we bought a Lazy Boy small sofa/bed for the guest bedroom and installed a TV on the wall. This room is the coolest room in the house so that is where we will be today. I am watching Sam gather his favorite toys and he is bringing them up on the sofa and setting toys by my feet. He has all the toys he needs, and time to lie down and cuddle with me on the sofa.

I mentioned that I was hanging out with my FIV cat and watching TV today to my friend and they replied “ I did not know you had a sickly cat” Overall I think people have got it all wrong idea when it comes to an FIV cat. For some reason, they all seem to think that these cats are sickly, and well that is the furthest thing from the truth.

Here is an example; I rescued Sam in 2009 and he was diagnosed with FelV and AIDs. The veterinarian advised us to put him down and I said No. Instead, I got Sam neutered brought him home, got him eating Wellness grain-free cat food, and let's see today is 7/25/15 and Sam is still around and doing fine.

Know that I had him retested by a new veterinarian who specializes in cat care. He did a blood test to find out if Sam was infected with Feline Leukemia and AIDS and the veterinarian said he tested positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) Sam DID NOT have FeLV. Not sure if the first test was a false positive or what, but it was very cool to learn that Sam was a carrier of the antibody but was not sickly.

Living with an FIV cat is only different when it comes to food, must feed them high-quality grain-free, soy-free, and corn-free food. Also, you cannot let them outdoors, you need to brush their teeth and keep their veterinarian appointments. But other than that FIV cats are like other normal cats.

I really wish that people would learn more about FIV cats because many times the cats live a long life without getting sick.   

Happy Birthday To Sam my FIV Positive Cat

Today marks the anniversary of the day that I rescued  Sam the  Siamese cat that was abandoned in my neighborhood in 2008.

When Sam was left behind he had become freaked out and would not let anyone get close to him.  I remember once getting a hold of him but he leaped from my arms and ran away.

Trapping him was another story, he was too smart to be trapped.  So this unaltered cat got into fights with other tomcats and finally when he was skin and bones, with fur missing I was able to rescue the cat by trapping him.

Of course, rescuing him a year after being abandoned meant that he was exposed to everything.  Sam tested positive for Feline Leukemia.  The attending veterinarian suggested euthanasia and thought I was not making a wise choice to get the cat neutered and bring him to my business office.  The veterinarian went past me and spoke to my husband, told him the life expectancy for my cat was three months tops.  Well, that was six years ago, need I say more?

Playful Sam loves to hide in Zazzle shipping boxes

Was not hard to teach Sam to retrieve a ball, Yes even a tennis ball

In six years Sam survived feline leukemia because he was rechecked twice by another veterinarian who said that he was not infected but did have feline immunodeficiency virus.  He has been sick twice, had a cold, and then got a high fever and also went into kidney failure.  He was hospitalized for ten days and presently Sam is his happy self.

My rescue cat Sam may be FIV positive but he is a survivor of six years and I am hoping we have six more years of good health and happy times.