It's hard to believe that my FIV cat is now a senior considering when I adopted him in 2008 every veterinarian told me he would not live a long life. It's safe to say that the health concerns regarding FIV have changed and that people have learned a lot about FIV.
When I
adopted Sam my veterinarian told me that Sam had to be kept in a temperature-controlled
room and that he could not have any contact with other cats because he was
highly contagious, that even if Sam ate out of the same bowl he could pass the
FIV disease to another cat. I was also
told that I could make him sick by bringing germs from the outdoors into his
space. So I would come home from work,
shower before putting on new clothing and slippers, and go into my office
to see Sam.
Clearly, many
veterinarians’ and caregivers got FIV mixed up with FeLV. Because FIV is only spread through a deep puncture
wound that would break another cat's skin.
I adhered to
all of the veterinarians’ instructions then 10 years ago, Sam had gotten out of
the office and we found him playing with my other cats. We took all of the cats in for FIV testing
and none of them were infected so the veterinarian at that time said if they
get along then they can live together.
Presently
Sam lives with my other cats who are not infected with cat disease. He sleeps with them, plays with them and yes
eats out of the same bowl.
Sam is
relatively healthy for his age but does suffer from typical senior cat conditions. He has arthritis in his legs but that does
not stop him from running, jumping, and playing with the dog.
Other than
his arthritis I have noticed that Sam is grumpy if he doesn’t get canned food
when he wants it. He loves to eat a
couple times a day and has slept in bed with us for the last decade.
**The photos in this article are my original photographs of Sam my 15-year-old FIV cat.
Here is the article I published on the day we adopted Sam
