Progressive Retinal Atrophy in Cats

My Siamese Cat named Sam has Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) which is a common disease in Siamese cats.  PRA means that the cats will go blind over time. 

 

At first, we noticed that Sam seemed to not function well at night so we would turn on night lights in every room just so he could see where he was going.   We learned early on that if Sam had this disease that he would go blind and that there was no cure. 

We were told that blind cats can adapt well to the disease and as long as we did not move furniture, food bowls, water bowls or litter boxes.  To not make major changed to our home.

 

We were assured that our 18-year-old FIV cat named Sam would adapt and could life a full life and be a great kitty.  Sam would use scent to mark his way through the house and we always call him by name before we approach him as not to startle him. 

We have other cats and in our observation of them we can see that even our alpha cat Hairy a large Ragdoll seems to be caring when it comes to Sam.  We have seen Hairy grooming Sam and also backing away from the food bowl to allow Sam to eat. 

Sam has lived a very long life and we know that he is at the end of his life.  He is still eating, drinking and using his litter box.  He still sleeps at the foot of our bed and he still loves his catnip toy.  When it is Sam's time, he will let us know and we will take him to the veterinarian to be euthanized. But for now, he still has more kitty lives to live. 

Sam was rescued in 2008 when he was abandoned by his people who moved away.  He was skin and bones and was infected with FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus)

Long Life for 18 Year Old FIV Cat

 My rescued cat Sam was diagnosed with FIV in 2008. At the time he was approximately two years old which means he has lived a long life considering FIV negative cats life expectancy is 15 years. Know that we did not realize he was as old as he is, but found his medical records that noted he was older than we thought.

Sam photo age 16

Studies have shown that cats with FIV do have similar life spans to cats that do not have FIV.  My cat Sam showed no signs of FIV throughout his life.  He did develop normal old age symptoms like arthritis and now at age 18, he has some cognitive issues.

I would say that Sam is a lucky cat because many FIV-positive cats develop secondary infections including cancer and immune disorders.  My friend has an FIV can that is sick all the time.  Not Sam he has a stress-free life, and we have always provided him with high protein quality cat food. Fish oil supplements and probiotics to help boost his immune. Along with nutritious food, I think the fact that he is a happy cat with no stress has prevented him from getting seriously ill.

 

Sam having fun at age 15

When we rescued Sam we were told that FIV was highly contagious and that it could be easily spread to our other cats by sharing food, water, and litter box.  So we did take steps to keep Sam away from our other three cats.  Sam lived at my office for the first five years.  It was not until there were air-conditioning problems that I brought him to the house. There he resided in a cat room where I had my home office.

One day when we were not home, Sam got out of that room and became friends with my other cats.  When we arrived home we found him lying on our sofa with our other cats.  We freaked out. Took all of the cats in for an FIV test and all of the cats were negative.

From that day forward Sam lived in the main house with our other cats. FIV is not passed by sharing food or water dishes, nor is it passed from grooming, play fights, or scratches.  Not even sneezes will infect my cats with FIV.  The only thing that will cause my cats to get  FIV is a deep bloody bite wound.

 

Sam has developed cataracts  and has arthritis he is age 17 in this photo 

Many FIV cats never leave the shelters because which is sad because FIV is not a fatality. Many FIV cats can live a long life just like my cat Sam

Adult Cat Diagnosed with Kidney Disease

My tabby cat is five years old and he was diagnosed with kidney disease.  The veterinarian said that he would need to eat a prescription diet food for the rest of his life.  

The Hills Urinary Care prescription diet would not cure him but I was assured that he would not get sicker.

 

The diagnosis was due to my cat's elevated blood phosphorus reading.  It was over the normal 6 mg/dl (USA) and indicated kidney disease.  There were no crystals in his urine or any other indicator.

 

There are many reasons why a cat would develop kidney disease.  Many older cats develop this condition due to kidney changes as they age, they drink less water or their diet is primarily dry kibble.

 

Another reason would be due to an infection, or a cat ate something toxic (lily flowers or antifreeze) and it damaged their kidneys. Also, cats with FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) may develop kidney disease.  My FIV cat named Sam has chronic kidney disease.  Read the article here. 

 

For my tabby cat, the reason was clear, he was not a big water drinker, and he preferred dry kibble over wet canned food.  When cats eat only dry food  which is half the moisture of canned food, and not being a water drinker, those two factors will cause kidney/bladder disease.  I was told that dry cat kibble was the leading cause of urinary and bladder infections in cats.

 

Know that we always topped our cats Purina ONE True Instinct Natural Real Chicken Plus Vitamins & Minerals High Protein Grain-Free Dry Cat Food with wet canned food but this cat would only eat a little canned food, as he preferred dry.  This food has a 12 percent moisture, it's higher than many kibbles on the market, and many have less.

 

Due to his kidney disease diagnosis, we must feed him the prescription canned food.  I mix a little water in the food for extra fluid which is good for his kidneys. He is not a fan of the canned food so I will ask the veterinarian if there is a prescription kibble that he can eat that I could mix with the canned food.

 

Learn more about cat kidney disease by reading this article 

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 

Catnip Toys are Good Stimulation for Older Cats

 Catnip toys are good stimulation for my cat's health as the activity has enabled him to shed some pounds and also he seems to be happier

My cat Sam is an older cat that has FIV.  He tends to sleep a lot now that he is a senior cat and has put on weight. I was reluctant to change his diet because he really likes his food and honestly I did not want to cause him to feel stress.  So I bought him catnip-filled toys and they stimulated him to play. 

Honestly, I think the catnip toys have brought out Sam's inner kitten.  He is vocal when he carries the toy around the house.  Sometimes he throws the toy up in the air and other times he rolls around on the floor with his catnip-filled carrot toy.

Just the other day I found that Sam had brought my dog toy up onto our bed, yes it seems that all toys in the house are Sam's, and the catnip toys are his favorite.

Catnip toys are good stimulation for cats as they improve the cat's disposition, and keep older cats mobile.  Know that I do not allow Sam to play all day long with his toys, I do put them away and bring them out a couple times a day I use them as therapy.