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.

Remodeling FIV Cat Room

I need to spend more time with the FIV cats so my husband said he would update the room so that my office opens into that area where the cats play.  This of course will allow me to spend more time with the cats and also I can close my office door at night to prevent the cats from opening my file cabinet doors or playing with my papers and pens that are on my desk.  So that is the plan for remodeling the cat room.

This is Sam my FIV cat, he is playing with the dog tennis ball

I have two  FIV cats and they are good company for each other but they cry to be with humans or they naturally want to come out and play.  They do not have whole house privileges because they like to fight and we have one other cat that is mature.   

At one time I had the cats at my business office and they did enjoy that but when there was an attempt robbery I thought it best to bring them home so I set up a cat room just for them by giving them one of the bedrooms.  

The FIV cats do like being with each other however human contact is needed and to tell you the truth I need them as much as they need me.

Took FIV Cat to Kennel When Air Conditioner Broke

Know that an FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus cat resides indoors in a home where the temperature is not too hot or too cold. Basically, if you are comfortable then the cat is also. If an FIV cat gets too hot and starts to pant or lick their fur to cool down then this puts the cat in a stressful state and can be harmful due to the weakened immune system, the same for a very cold house, the cold temperature would make the FIV cat suffer from stress.

My FIV cat named Sam resting on the chair.  He is one COOL cat.

If your air conditioner breaks and you have an FIV cat then allow the cat access to a ceramic tile floor or to your bathroom. The bathtub is a cool surface and will help them to feel cooler. Also, install ceiling fans to circulate the air.

Know if your house gets too hot then put your cat in a carrier and take it to the veterinarian for daycare until your air conditioner is fixed or buy a window unit air conditioner to keep your home comfortable. A home that is too hot is not good for humans or FIV cats.

When my air conditioner broke two weeks ago the house got extremely hot and due to my cat's age and health history, I took him to the veterinarian for three days of kenneling. My house temperature reached 88 degrees and that was too hot for my cat with a weakened immune system.

My husband shopped at Walmart.com and ordered a window air conditioner and was able to pick it up at our local store. Once the window unit was installed we could then bring our cat Sam home from the kennel.

Prayers Answered: Cat No Longer in Kidney Failure

In January I published a post letting all of my followers know that my cat Sam was diagnosed with kidney failure.  My veterinarian told me that he suspected it was the nature of the FIV virus and that it had progressed.  Sam had stopped eating,  had a fever, and was in the animal hospital for two weeks. During this time I went to see him daily to hold, pet, talk and kiss his furry head.  I loved my cat Sam and hoped and prayed that he would overcome this illness.  

Sam when he first got sick

After two weeks of medical care, Sam was released to come home and aftercare was to feed him food formulated for cats with kidney failure.  Well, Sam hated the food and continued to lose weight.  The veterinarian said "what does he like" I replied "Friskies special diet turkey and giblets.  The veterinarian said okay to feed him this canned cat food because Sam had to eat.

After several weeks of a poor diet, Sam got his way and got his food back.  He loved it, put on weight, regained his strength, and was back to his old self within 10 days. 

Know that in March Sam had his wellness checkup and his blood was drawn to check his white count and kidney. My prayers had been answered because his blood was fine, and the kidneys were working as they should.  No kidney failure was noted.  I am not sure if this FIV cat is exercising his nine lives, or if God said it is not your time.  All I know is Sam is back and he is his ole self.

Update on FIV Rescued Kittens

Last May we rescued a litter of kittens that could hardly walk and one of the kitten's eyes was barely open. We found the kittens in a sack on the side of the road.  At first, we thought it was trash, and then saw movement, followed by a tiny kitten's head. 

 My husband and I rushed them home to hydrate and nourish them. We kept them safe, and warm and fed them for the next four critical weeks. During this time husband and I did not sleep.

Four of the Five kittens drinking KMR replacement milk

All of the kittens survived however they were very small.  When they were three months old the boys grew overnight but two little girl kittens were still small and seemed to have less energy; they slept more than the other kittens.

The small kittens needed some help getting food out of the bowl so we made up their own bowl and fed them away from the boys. Even with feeding them separately, they did not put on weight. My husband and I thought that perhaps we got a mixed litter (different queen cats).

8-week old kitten is smaller than the littermates

All of the kittens were tested for feline leukemia and AIDS. The small kittens came back positive for feline immunodeficiency virus FIV which means their mom was infected and passed it on to them. It also confirms that we found two litters of kittens. 

“ On rare occasions, infection is transmitted from an infected mother cat to her kittens, usually during passage through the birth canal or when the newborn kittens ingest infected milk.” http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_fiv.cfm

We did separate the FIV kittens from the boys because the boys were typical boys and were playing roughly with the girls. They did not allow them to sleep, pushed them out of the food bowl, and wanted to play hard. 

The boy kittens were gigantic at three months and the girls were very small.  The boy kittens were adopted but the girl kittens were passed by, everyone was fearful of an FIV kitten and said it would be too hard to love them, when their life may be shortened due to illness. 

We kept the girls and they have put on some weight and are growing slowly. Here is a photo of Sally our calico FIV kitten she is 8 months old in this photo. you can see that she is small and kitten like for her age, she looks like 12 weeks old. 

 

FIV kitten at age 8 months is small but healthy

Update: The FIV kittens are doing great, putting on weight and both have a shiny coat. They play with each other and with the family dog. Are normal as they can be. They are still small and sleep more than normal cats but that is okay with us.

Read the First post on this topic here