About Sam my 15-Year Old FIV Cat

  

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 

Long Lived 13 Year Old FIV Cat

 

My FIV cat named Sam has been with us a long time even though when we first rescued him his veterinarian did not think he would survive the month. Back in 2008 Sam was a skin and bones abandoned Siamese cat that had tested positive for Feline AIDS ad Leukemia.

Honestly I knew nothing of these cat diseases but knew in my heart that I needed to give Sam a chance and that I also needed a second opinion. The attending veterinarian was adamant about Sam's dire health conditions and strongly suggested euthanasia as it would be more humane than the painful death my cat would endure.

It is safe to say that in 2008 when Sam was approximately 2 years old, that this time period for knowing and understanding FIV was the “dark ages” as many cats with this condition were euthanized because veterinarians did not fully understand the feline disease.  

Know that Sam has come a long way in the past 13 years. Here are photographs of Sam throughout the years.

Sam was retested 60 days after his first test and he did not have Feline Leukemia he did have FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). We accepted this condition and were determined to provide Sam with a happy and long life.

If I did not tell you that Sam had FIV you would not know it from looking at him. He put on weight and at one point I thought he had a food addiction. He had gotten fat and we needed to reduce the carbohydrates by cutting out the kitty snacks and feeding him pate canned food. Sam loved all Science Diet canned foods that came with gravy. The gravy was greatly missed but Sam learned to like Pate.

For the first six years Sam lived in my office far far away from my other cats. The attending veterinarian put the fear into us by saying that if Sam groomed one of our cats or ate out of the same bowl that our normal cats would be infected with the incurable FIV disease.

We were very careful with Sam but one day he got out and he charged to the other side of the house. There he befriended our other cats and at the end of the day, they were all best friends. Of course, we were certain that they all had FIV but after having them all tested, none of the cats were sick.

Yes in the past 13 years, we were told many things, that made us think that a slight change in the household temperature, germs, stress, or household anxiety such as moving a chair was enough to make Sam deathly ill. Sam survived a tornado, household chairs moving, the vacuum, germs in the house, and stressful situations and he was a trooper, he never got deathly ill.

At one point I thought Sam may have been vaccinated for Feline immunodeficiency and that the test was a false negative. So we had a blood test done and it confirmed that Sam did have FIV.

Sam is now age 15 and he is still a happy cat with old cat symptoms such as arthritis in his hind legs. He sleeps more than he used to, but he also plays with his toys and the other cats and he loves to sleep on my husband's head.

To look at Sam you would think he was just a senior cat, you would never know that he has lived a long life with FIV an immunodeficiency cat disease.

The above photos were taken in the last 13 years and the below is Sam now.  He is thinner, Sam is older (age 15)  but he is still our happy and fun-loving fur-kid.

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.

Health of FIV Cat Improves After 10 Days in Hospital

In December my FIV cat named Sam, woke up one day and was sick. He had a high fever and would not eat. We rushed him to the veterinarian, and they put him in the hospital for ten days.  Sam was given intravenous fluids, a shot of B12, antibiotics, and appetite-inducing medication. Sam was very ill and at the time the veterinarian did not know if it was due to FIV or something else.

We were told that Sam had renal failure and that his teeth needed to be removed due to feline stomatits but due to his infection he could not have his teeth removed because he lost too much weight.

View this youtube.com video to learn more about feline stomatits.  We were told that this condition is common with cats that has FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus.

After 10 days of hospital care, Sam came home and he was put on a renal diet. Sam who loves to eat food, hated the new diet and refused to eat it. We tried 3 different varieties of foods and each one was not suitable for my junk food cat. 

 He liked Blue Buffalo Healthy Living Chicken and Brown Rice cat food mixed with Purina Friskies Senior Diet Salmon Dinner in sauce pate canned cat food. This food combination made my cat Sam sing.

So when I had to take away his favorite food for a plant-based diet LP by Royal Canin with very low protein my kitty was not happy. 

 Sam would not eat and was losing weight. He could not have surgery to remove the teeth that were causing him to have pain. The veterinarian wanted Sam overweight because the aftercare of this particular surgery meant a feeding tube.

While my veterinarian was researching for another food for Sam to try his blood work came back and it showed that his kidneys returned to normal function.

I am not sure why or how this occurred but know we are all very happy and Sam is ecstatic because he can go back to eating and loving his favorite foods.

Presently Sam is putting on weight and next week I will take him in for a veterinarian checkup to see if we can schedule him for surgery.

Hanging Out With My Cat Sam

Only a cat owner will know what I mean by "hanging out with a cat". Unlike dogs, cats are intuitive and sense when they need to be calm or caring of their owners. Today I am sick and staying in bed and my cat Sam has been hanging out with me.  Normally he is very busy but instead of playing with the dog or watching the birds he is lying next to me.

Cats can be playful and make their owners laugh and then when you do not feel good they sense your emotions the cat is really affectionate and are good company. For instance, when I do not feel good my cat knows it and he will bring all of his toys to me and set them close to me. He will not insist that I throw the cat ball far, instead, he will be happy playing with me while I lie in bed or on the sofa.

Hanging out with my cat Sam is fun because he lies next to me as if he is keeping me warm and when I nap he naps.   When I awake I usually find Sam under the fleece blanket or on top of my head purring.

Today I do not feel good so I have been lying on the sofa in the living room because my husband has a nice warm fire going in the fireplace and the heat sure feels good, Sam is hanging out with me on the sofa and so is the dog. When I do not feel good my cat is good company.

Note: Sam has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and so he does sleep more, which means when you are sick and have to stay in bed, an FIV cat is good company.

Quality Time Spent with FIV Cat

They say that your FIV cat has 5 to 7 years to live a quality life before the feline virus that suppresses its immune system makes the cat sick and I say make those years the best years of your cat's life by spending quality time with them.

My cat Sam the Siamese playing with a ball on the bed

My cat Sam is celebrating his 7^th year since becoming diagnosed with feline immunodeficiency virus and oh boy has he had a good life. In his cat life, he went from living down the street with his sister to a nice family and had a happy kittenhood until the family moved away and abandoned him. They took the female Siamese cat but left Sam to fend for himself in the neighborhood.

Sam did not do so well being outdoors because he was not neutered and the neighborhood and feral tomcats beat him up regularly. When I caught him Sam was not a pretty cat, his hair was missing, bite wounds and he was skin and bones. But I took care of him and nursed him back to health and even though he had been diagnosed with FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) he went on to live a wonderful cat life where his people and dog loved him.

Sam has a cat room with toys and a self-warming K&H cat bed. cat tree and a window seat where he can watch the birds eat from an outdoor feeder. Sam gets plenty of belly rubs plus kisses and he is told every day that he is loved. In fact, I sing a silly little song and Sam sings the chorus.  My husband thinks it is hysterical but I do not care it is my special song that I sing with my cat Sam.

My rescue cat may have had an iffy time when he was abandoned but the last seven years have been perfect and we are hoping and praying that he has seven more years.