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.