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.
