Ways to Keep FIV Cat Healthy

In 2008 I rescued a deathly ill cat that was diagnosed with FeLV feline leukemia and FIV feline immunodeficiency virus. The veterinarian told me he was seriously ill and recommended euthanize.

There was something about this cat and instead of putting the cat out its misery I said no to euthanasia, and I took the cat home. I read everything I could find on Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukemia I learned how to keep my cat healthy and to keep my cat healthy. I also learned that it was imperative to get my cat retested.

Sixty days after the first test I had my cat retested and he did not have Feline Leukemia however he did have FIV.

When it comes to taking care of your FIV cat there are basics such as

1. Keep your cat indoors at all times
2. Provide your cat with a stress-free environment
3. Keep the room temperature at an average of 74 degrees, not too cold and not too hot
4. Feed your cat high-quality foods that are low in carbohydrates.
5. Keep all veterinarian appointments
6. Keep your cat pest free by applying monthly flea control twice a year to worm your cat.
7. Keep your house dust free and clean.
8. Keep your litter boxes clean.

If you are in contact with outdoor cats then you should know these cats could be sick, even if the cat has no outward indication they may be suffering from a cold. I recommend that if you have contact with an outdoor cat you must remove your clothes and your shoes and put them in the laundry room or mudroom or another room where your cat does not enter. Put on other clothes before you enter the area where your cat is.

** By removing your outdoor clothing you will be getting rid of any germs, fleas or ticks that are on your clothing.

It is a good idea to leave your street shoes at the door and put on house slippers. Street shoes carry germs and you do not want to expose your FIV cat to anything that might make them sick.

FIV Cat Gets Sick from Exposure to Germs

We rescued our FIV cat in 2008 and he has been healthy for all of these years. His appearance has been normal and unremarkable when he went for his wellness checkups at the veterinarian until now.

Last week my husband and I saw a white cat being chased in the woods and I responded by running toward the predator, The fox was frightened and stopped pursuing the cat. My husband was able to pick up the terrified cat and we brought the cat to our heated shed.  The cat was cared for in our shed for three days. On the fourth day, we returned the cat to the pet owners.

Whenever a cat leaves our shelter we will sterilize the entire area to remove any germs. What I did not realize is that my husband and I were exposed to the white cat which had a draining eye. We thought it was due to a scratch but later learned the cat had a cold.

I suppose we carried the stray cat's germs, bacteria, and virus in on our clothes and our shoes because 5 days later my normal FIV cat was sick with a cat cold.

Normally a cold will run its course just like a human and it is common for rescued or stray cats to get colds. Their immune system will fight off the virus and other than adding a humidifier to our shelter and feeding the cats food with lysine additive we do not take them to the veterinarian unless they stop eating. But with an FIV cat, any sign of a cold means a trip to the veterinarian.

Cats that are infected with FIV may be normal-acting cats for many years, then one day they may feel stressed, or they may be exposed to everyday normal germs, fungi, viruses or bacteria and they will get sick.

Sam was given a vaccine and we were told to put him in the bathroom when we took a shower as this would help to unclog his nose so he could eat again. We are to watch him to make sure that he eats and drinks and to watch his activity. For anything that is off from his normal routine, we are to call his veterinarian because an FIV cat can get seriously ill due to their immune deficiency.

Learn more about FIV here

Abandoned Cat is Diagnosed with FIV

A few months ago my husband and I rescued a cat that had been abandoned by its owners. Basically, they moved and left their unaltered young male cat behind to fend for himself.

This cat was freaked out., meowing loudly and pacing at the home where it's family used to live.  We saw him sitting on the porch of the abandoned house and tried to coax him to us with food and cat treats but he would not come to us.  We set the humane animal traps and caught a raccoon, a possum, and a fox but not the cat.  We were able to catch him only after he was in a horrific fight.  Then we picked him up at the side of the road and rushed him to the emergency veterinarian.

There was blood in his eyes, bite wounds all over his body and deep scratches to his face. He needed stitches, antibiotics and the veterinarian said that the eardrum in his right ear was not intact and that he had symptoms of a head injury.

We took care of him and his external wounds healed.  But his internal wounds never healed.  This abandoned cat has vision loss, hearing loss and was diagnosed with FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus).

I will never understand why people abandon their cats when they move.  Why they think a housecat will know where to go for food, shelter and how to protect themselves from predators.

Due to this cats disabilities, my husband and I decided that we would keep him.  I think it would be impossible to find an adopter who could give him the watchful care that is needed.

Buddy sways when he walks due to the head injury and his sight is way off.  If he gets onto the sofa he has difficulty getting down.  He will sit on his scratching post but sometimes needs help getting down.  His depth perception is not accurate.

We named him Buddy and we hope one day that we can socialize him with Sam my other FIV cat.  I am not sure if we will be able to do this due to Buddy's disabilities but think it is worth trying.

So I have been busy taking care of a rescued abandoned cat.   Sorry if you all thought I left my blog.  I am back now and will try to post on a regular basis.

About FIV

Self Grow Cat Grass is Good for FIV Cats

All cats crave grass as it is a part of their natural diet. So when I saw the self-grow cat wheatgrass kit at the pet store I bought it for my FIV cat. My plan was to plant the seed packet in a self-watering container, let it grow on my sun porch so my cats would not disturb it, then bring indoors for my cat to enjoy as a healthy treat.

The kit is quite easy as it allows you to grow the grass right out of the bag. All you do is mix the wheat grass seeds with the soil and mulch that is provided, water and within a week you have cat grass.

Here is a photograph of my FIV cat named Sam and Oliver. They really devoured the wheat grass. At first, they did not know what to do with it so Oliver sat on the grass. Sam needed to show him that the grass was meant to eat. 

Wheatgrass is nutritious for cats it contains antioxidants, vitamin A, B-complex, chlorophyll, enzymes, vitamin C, minerals and amino acids. It is also a natural way to control hairballs.

The grass was a healthy treat for my cats and they loved it. Like all treats, I did take the grass away as they should be fed only a small amount. Think of the cat grass as a special treat.

FIV Positive Cats Can Live with Other Cats

When I rescued my FIV cat named Sam the veterinarian told me that he was contagiousness. That I had to keep my cat away from all other cats because they would get sick from any close contact, saliva, grooming or play bites. That was ten years ago and today my FIV positive cat shares our home with four other cats that are negative to the disease.

Initially, I did keep Sam separated from my other cats. He lived in my office and the other cats had the rest of the house. The cats would look at each other through a glass doorway and that is the extent of contact that they had with one another for eight years. 

Then one day my friend surrendered to me a kitten that tested positive for FIV and I introduced this kitten to Sam. Sam‘s entire disposition changed as we observed him playing with the kitten, grooming and even sleeping with the kitten. Then when the kitten was about 9 months old she developed a cold and I took her to the veterinarian. 

I told the veterinarian that she was surrendered to me due to FIV diagnoses when she was a 9-week old kitten and they asked if she was ever rechecked. I said no and they informed me that it could have been a false positive. The FIV test was done and Lucy tested negative.

Since Sam got along with Lucy I was not about to remove her from her room. Even the veterinarian said that I should not separate the two of them. As long as there were no deep puncture bite wounds there would be no worries of her ever getting feline immunodeficiency virus.

Sam and Lucy were roommates until the day I decided to socialize him with one of my other cats.

I bought the Feliway plug-in diffusers because this product mimics a cat's natural facial pheromones and creates a calming environment. You have to allow your cats to get used to the Feliway. It takes about a week, then you can introduce any cat to them and they will love each other. I added the plug-ins to every room of my house so the cats would stay calm. By using the Feliway diffusers I was able to introduce Sam and Lucy to my other four cats without a ruckus, snarl or a hiss.

That was four years ago, and they all live under the same roof with FIV Lucy and Sam.

*Note I still use the Feliway plug-in diffuser because it helps to keep my cats calm. In the past, they would get stressed out if I moved the furniture or used the vacuum. They still do not like the vacuum but instead of taking out on one another they now all run under the bed and huddle together. Most of the time they get so comfy under there that they fall asleep.

Hard to Find Adopters for Cat with Disability and FIV

Buddy is an orange American short-haired cat that looks like a normal adult male cat. You would never know that he had a disability without watching him closely. Buddy is deaf and has vision loss due to a head injury and adopters like him until they find out what needs to be done to take care of him.

We rescued Buddy in April after his people had moved away and left him behind. We suspect that this unaltered cat had gotten into numerous fights and that is when the head injury occurred. When we rescued him we did not need a trap, this cat came to us with deep puncture bite wounds and deep scratches on his face. I remember telling my husband that I never saw a cat with red eyes, that is because the red that we saw was blood. 

We immediately took him to the animal hospital where we learned that His vision is distorted, as he has no depth perception, he does not hear and he is infected with FIV. (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). We also learned that his cocked head and shaking of his head may be permanent due to head trauma. 

When we first brought him home we put Buddy in the cat-safe room. In this room, there was a futon bed, carpet and tile on the floor, a cat tree, a window seat, cat toys, a litter box, and food and water bowls. A nice cat room with everything a feline would need. However, the entire room changed in a matter of minutes because Buddy had difficulty walking and could not keep his balance. Everything high off the floor was moved, the futon mattress came down to the floor, and the bed frame was removed.

Buddy has to live in a room where everything is on the floor because the head injury and inner ear have made him clumsy. He could not get to his litter box or to his food bowls so we picked him up and put him in front of everything, we are thankful that there is nothing wrong with his sense of smell.

Buddy underwent three months of veterinarian care, including surgery on his ear, and in the end, I suspect he hears a little because he plays with the toys that are in front of him but if they go too far he will sit and stare. I do not think he can see them or hear the bell in his ball.

We hoped that we would be able to find an adopter who had no other pets, that had time to take care of Buddy so that he could not try to jump on something because he would fall. But the truth is that there are no adapters for Buddy that are willing to remove furniture from a room in order to keep Buddy safe. When they realize that they have to pick him up and put in on the sofa, then watch so he does not fall when he gets down. 

The adopters turn away from this cat with disabilities and FIV because he is too much work. That is why I say it is hard to find adopters for cats with disabilities and FIV.

Entertain Indoor Cats with Window Bird Feeder

My FIV cats Sam and Lucy do miss being able to go outdoors. I know this because they both go to the side door and meow daily. We have an enclosed sun porch with many windows and both cats enjoy this room they love to lie in the sun, play with their toys, and also watch the birds in the yard. However, they get bored easily and go to the side door to meow and beg me to let them go outdoors.

Sam likes to play with his toys

My husband suggested that we buy the cats a window bird feeder. He thought that the FIV cats would find this entertaining and that it would be fun for humans too.

We found a window bird feeder with a mirror that was flush with the window. This mirror would allow the cats to watch the birds without frightening them. The birds could eat the seed peacefully, they would have no idea that a cat was behind the mirror watching their every move.

Both my husband and I liked the Coveside Panoramic In-house Window Bird Feeder with Mirrored Panel because the fit would be snug against my window. This feeder then could be viewed from our living room and we could watch the birds through the one-way see-through mirror panel.

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Before buying the feeder we did check to verify customer reviews. There were many positive comments. We learned that the feeder was quality made from wood and came already been assembled. Installation is as easy as it can be. One commenter said “ I opened the window, slid the bird feeder in place, and shut the window. That's it! It looks like a custom installation. It fits perfectly in the window and is a very attractive addition to the room”

Today we ordered the window bird feeder because we feel it will be wonderful entertainment for our FIV cats that can no longer go outdoors.