Can’t feel my Cats Ribs: Must be Overweight

I picked up my two FIV cats the other day and found that I could not feel their ribs, this of course is a sign that they are overweight.   I know that this excess weight is a red flag for heart and diabetes and that I needed to change my cats eating habits.  

Before I began my cat’s diet I did check with my veterinarian.  He did a blood screen to check blood sugar and thyroid.  I was so thankful that feline disease was not found and that my veterinarian suspected that my cats were overweight due to an eating disorder.

“Most cats that have been strays for a long period of time are big eaters once they are rescued."  

I rescued both cats several years ago and they tested positive for FIV.  I suspect they both have a food disorder because the stray / rescue cats eat like they are not going to get another meal.  

I am presently following the diet plan provided by my veterinarian and my cats are eating a high-protein diet that has low fat and carbohydrates.  Instead of leaving the food bowl out so they can graze, I am removing it after a half hour and they are eating 2 meals a day.

Know that most cat foods have fillers; soy, grains, and corn.  I have never seen a wild feral cat eating these foods so I am feeding the cats blue buffalo weight control chicken and brown rice recipe because it is real food without fillers.  

I am sure if I stick with the diet plan and continue playing with the cats throughout the day that they will start to shed those extra pounds.

Two Out of Five Rescued Kittens Have FIV

In May when my husband and I rescued the newborn kittens from the trash bag lying on the highway medium I thought that the kittens could have been from two litters because some were significantly larger and two seemed to be newborns that needed to be bottled fed and also help to go to the bathroom.  

Small  kitten with FIV

Over the next several weeks I noticed that all five cats seemed to grow except the two smaller kittens, they were not growing and they seemed to sleep more than the other kittens.

I feared for the worst thinking they had Feline Leukemia (FELV) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).  Any kitten with a feline disease is difficult to adopt because most people want healthy kittens only.  So I was worried about what the test would show.  Three of the kittens were negative and two of the kittens the smaller ones tested positive for FIV.

To my surprise, the veterinarian asked us if we wanted to put them down, and both my husband and I responded no.  The veterinarian told us of the restrictions of owning an FIV cat. Basically, they are contagious and cannot associate with other normal cats in the household and they can never go outdoors.  

The FIV cats must reside in a positive energy home that is at a comfortable temperature and must eat no soy, corn, or wheat gluten cat food.  Quality cat food like Wellness or Blue Buffalo spa selects.   Basically, a nurturing lifestyle that is harmonious at all times.

Finding an adopter that will agree to these terms may be a little hard but since I have four FIV cats living in my home now I know that life with these cats is normal. The only thing that I note as different would be that they sleep more.

Note 

All five kittens lived together and the two FIV kittens did not make the other kittens sick. This is because there was no bite wound.  They all ate out of the same food bowl and again the virus was not past to the other, plus they also slept and groomed each other.  

I am certain that if the cats do not fight and bite then an FIV cat can live with other normal cats as long as they get along and love each other. 

Small Size Kitten May Indicate Cat Disease

All of the rescued kittens are putting on weight and are healthy except the calico kitten.  From the time that we rescued she has shown signs of poor health.  The eyes are draining, it is sneezing and I had to bottle feed it longer than the other cats.   

Calico kitten on the day we rescued her

At first, we thought all of the kittens were suffering from trauma, but when 4 of the kittens started to put on weight and showed signs of improved health we thought that the little calico may have a cat disease.

From the get-go, we saw that the cats push the calico kitten away from the food or the replacement milk bowl so I picked her up and fed her separately. The other thing that we noticed is that this little kitten sleeps a lot.

When I spoke to my veterinarian's office they thought that I may have found two litters of kittens and that maybe the little calico had feline herpes virus caused by the stress from being taken away from the mother cat before they were weaned or Feline Leukemia.   

Know that the kittens were dirty when I got them and too small to be away from their mom. They all suffered from trauma.

FIV Cat is Indifferent to New Rescue Cat

When it was extremely cold last week my husband picked up a Russian blue mix house cat that was freezing. He brought the cat indoors and put in a cage in our heated mud room. 

 
Even though our veterinarian told us that if we love our cat Sam, who has FIV, that we cannot bring new cats into the home because it would be too much stress for him. However we could not watch this cat that was clearly a abandoned housecat get severe frost bite. This cat was sitting in a snowstorm when the temperature was 9 degrees. 

So against our veterinarian’s orders we rescued the lost cat and are keeping him in a room that is separated from the main house with a door. The room has heat and the rescued cat can see Sam through the glass but other than that has no contact or interaction with our FIV cat.






Sam could careless about NEW cat

I know that Sam can pick up the new cats scent on my clothes but he is indifferent. Sam could care less; about the cat scent, Sam’s behavior and his daily routine has not changed. Although Sam used to enjoy going to the mudroom to sun himself he now enjoy the sun porch on the woods side.

Note:
The rescue cat was taken to the veterinarian and he got a clean bill of health.






Rescue cat likes the self heated cat bed


We are actively seeking the pet owner and have no intention of adopting this cat. Both my husband and I agreed that if Sam’s behavior should happen to change that we will relocate the cat to our garage shelter even though the window heater is not as warm as the heater in the mudroom.

Get Rid of Cat Dandruff with Natural Supplement

Many cats develop a flaky dry skin condition that causes dandruff and this flaky white skin condition can be remedied quickly and easily with a natural supplement.

My FIV cat named Sam is 8 years old, developed cat dandruff.  I took them in for a wellness checkup and my veterinarian suggested that I supplement his diet with fish protein. He recommended that I buy fish oil capsules and then break open the capsule and add the liquid to his food.

Sam my FIV cat eating his food

It was easy to poke a hole in the soft capsule and then squeeze the oil onto the top of my cat’s canned food, but I did have to mix it well, as my cat turned away from the strong fish smell.  Once the fish oil was mixed my cat ate the food happily.

Tips:

This inexpensive supplement helped my cat to grow a thick, shinny and flake free coat. 

Along with the fish oil supplement I also brushed my cat daily.   

I bought nature made fish oil for humans because it was purified to remove mercury.  I found this product to be best for my FIV cat.

My FIV Cat Got a Pass on His Wellness Exam

This year when it was time to take my FIV cat named Sam in for his annual wellness exam he got a pass and did not need to go in for wellness checkup.

His veterinarian checked his last records and told us that we did not need to bring him in, but I should continue to watch him for any signs of illness.

Sam my FIV cat - Christmas 2013

Sam is as healthy as an FIV cat can be.  I am sure his nurturing environment; along with his healthy diet is a plus. Although he still longs to go outdoors to roll in the grass, so my husband intends on planting an indoor grass garden for him in the spring, something large enough to lie flat on the enclosed sun porch floor where Sam can lay in the grass and have some kitty fun.

Our veterinarian told us that Sam could very well live a long life and we are pleased with his diagnosis.

KH Heated Cat House is Ideal for Cold Homes or Porches

The KH insulated cat house will keep outdoor cats toasty warm, however it also is a comfortable and cozy bed for porches and drafty homes that tend to feel cold.

My cat Sam has FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and we need to keep his temperature comfortable.  If he gets too cold he will feel stress and that could make him ill.   Our historic home is drafty and can be cold throughout the winter months.  The average temperature in the house at night is 69 degrees and that can be a little chilly for our cat.

Siamese Cat lying inside KH heated cat house

I bought Sam an insulated outdoor house and it is the perfect temperature to keep him warm.  

The house was easy to put together as all pieces adhere with velcro.  The insulated floor pad is thick and has a cushion feel.   The floor pad is covered with a fleece top that my cat likes.  

Testing the warmth:

1. Once the cat house was set up we plugged the low voltage cat bed it in to test the heating unit.  The description on the box says that the internal thermostat warms the floor pad to a comfortable 102 degrees.    We touched the bed with our hand and it did not feel like it was heating up. Then we removed the fleece top and felt the warmth.
2. Sam was reluctant to go inside the cat house so I sprayed catnip lightly on the fleece pad covering.  I did not have to coax him; he went right inside lay down and started to purr.  
3. The KH heated cat house is designed to keep a cat that is lying on the heated floor pad warm. 

The only time Sam came out to visit us was to get his toys.  One by one he brought all of his toys inside the cat house. 

If you have a cold drafty house, porch or garage where your cat frequents then I would highly recommend this heated cat house.  I also have one outdoors under my porch overhang for a stray cat that I am caring for.

FIV Cat Gets a Chance to Have a Feline Buddy

This week I adopted an FIV kitten and I intend on socializing my adult FIV adult cat Sam with the kitten.   When it comes to kittens the success rate for socializing with an adult is greater. The reason is because adult’s cats realize it is a baby cat and are watchful and caring.  My veterinarian approved that I could try to socialize Sam with the kitten and if it works then Sam will have a feline buddy to play, sleep and grooming with.

FIV Cat playing in zazzle box 

Whenever you introduce an FIV cats there is stress and this stress may weaken their immune systems so I have started the socializing by putting the kitten in the adjacent bathroom to my office. (Sam lives in my office) There is an open space bellow the door where the cats can sniff each other and play paws.

see Buddy in the back, they are keeping their distance 

The kitten is a female and she loves Sam and I so far Sam as been very sweet to her. Today Sam passed her one of his catnip toys under the door and this act of kitty kindness melted my heart.  The kitten will stay in the bathroom an entire week before I attempt to introduce Sam to the kitten. 

I am hoping that the socializing process will go well.

Cat Survived Feline Leukemia - 4th Anniversary

On August 9th we celebrated my cats fourth year anniversary for surviving feline leukemia and it was a happy occasion.

When we rescued Sam in 2009 his lap tests showed that he tested positive for feline leukemia and AIDS.  The attending veterinarian recommended that we put Sam down because he felt our cat would suffer and that his life expectancy was short.  Four years later I am playing with Sam on the floor and he does not have feline leukemia or AIDS, he did test positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).

My husband and I are so happy that we did not follow the recommendation from the veterinarian who tested Sam for the cat viruses. We waited seven months and had Sam retested and the new veterinarian said that our cats first test was a false positive or that Sam did not have feline Leukemia.

It is very important to get your cats retested if they show a positive for Feline Leukemia.  Never accept the positive results from one test only.

On Sam's anniversary we let him have full run of the house and he was allowed to play with the dogs.  He had a fantastic time.  Here are some  photographs.

Sam playing with dogs on the bed

Sam playing with New toy

Sam breaking in New Cat Tree

Living With Sam my FIV Cat

 Sam my FIV cat was rescued in 2008 and his living arrangement has been hectic until we moved him permanently to the main house.   Moving Sam into the main house was the best thing that we could do.  My cats entire disposition changed and he is now one happy cat.   

Prior to this move I was keeping Sam at my office and would spend 8 hours a day with him and then he would come home with me on weekends and spend time in my home office.   

We needed to keep our FIV cat away from our other cats because they were not socialized and even if they were the older cats were grumpy and it would not be a good mix of cats.   

Sam always looked sad when I would leave him at the end of the day, but my home office was a remodeled hall closet and too small for him for a permanent basis.  Nonetheless I wanted Sam to spend more time with the family so my husband and I decided to bring him home.

Now Sam lives with us full time, he has permanent residence in our master bedroom and his litter box is in the bathroom.  Cat toy box in the corner behind the door, cat scratching post by the  window and he no longer needs his cat bed because he sleeps on my husband’s head.   

 Sam gets plenty of human and dog companionship.  His life is balanced as he has time to rest, be loved and play time with the family dogs. 

Home alone cat plays with dogs on bed

When we are at work during the day Sam gets to share the bedroom with our dogs; Lilly and Benny.  When we are away the three of them have a real good time redecorating the room and playing on the bed.  

Sam has the good sense to go into his crate when he needs to nap.  When the cat sleeps the dogs will nap too. I think it is important that a FIV cat enjoy his life.  .   

An hour in the life of Sam

6:00 am - Bite the dogs tail as if to symbolize that it is time to get up and play.  Chase Benny around the room and under the bed until the master tells us it's not time to get up.

6:03 am - Lie on masters head and groom myself until he gets the message that it is time to wake up.

6:10 am - Jump for joy the master is up.  Run in between his or her feet to my food bowl.  

6:14 am - mm mm good....eating spa blue buffalo canned food, licking the plate, loving the succulent food.  Push the plate with my head across the counter top maybe she will feed me more?  Diet? No way I am not on a diet!

6:30 am - Protest for more food. Knock the bowl on the floor and push it around on the hardwood floors.  Get wet from a spray of water....wonder what that means.

6:40 am - Lie on window seat and sun myself, lick my paws for food leftovers. Ah...the warm sun on my back feels so good

6:42 am - Take a cat nap ..Zzzzz

An FIV cat is the same as any other cat, the only difference that I see is that Sam may sleep more and he has a problem with putting on weight but other than that he is normal in every way. 

Sam is a  wonderful companion as well as a comedian.