I've posted here before about my sweet boy, Lieu (Lieutenant), my two-year-old tabby who is FIV+ as well as a front leg amputee. We also recently added to our family a sweet 5-month old Siamese kitten (who is FIV negative, but also an amputee). The kitten had to go to the vet today to get his second distemper shot, and I decided to have Lieu checked out while I was there, he had his wellness exam back in July but I like to have him looked at whenever possible as I know FIV complicates simple things. He had a flawless physical just a few months ago and really experiences no symptoms from his FIV which is amazing, and I work extremely hard to make this true. Today at the vet they took a peek in his mouth and found that he has a rather nasty bout of gingivitis. I had absolutely no idea - he's been completely fine, eating very typically, and not acting any way out of the norm. They prescribed him an antibiotic and let me know to keep an eye on it and come back if necessary. I feel so guilty for not noticing, and just sad that this is already starting to happen for him. I've tried to hard to prevent any dental issues up to this point - he gets dry food 1x day for plaque removal, dental bites daily, and Vetradent in his water to keep plaque off, all VOHC approved products. He used to tolerate teeth brushing but hasn't since we moved apartments (he's a bit of a weirdo). Still I've been being so diligent about his preventative care, all to find out he's already starting to have these issues, and at only two years old. Just feeling sad, and sympathetic for my boy, these antibiotics are gonna be hard on him, but I want him to be comfortable and happy.

Any tips on preventative care specifically for gingivitis or tips on kicking a bad bout of it are, as any others, appreciated greatly. Pic of Lieu and baby brother (Ranger) for tax.

So I've posted once or twice about my cat Sam and his constant issues from so many flare ups with insane congestion to now gingivitis that I will eventually schedule a vet visit for. But I'm so happy to say that he has only had one day of bad congestion and cleared it out. Still a little stuffy but a thousand times better compared to Monday. We had tried antibiotics (of various kinds, one of which I think he's allergic to), steroids (which was later discovered to not be the best idea), and also tried Benadryl. The antibiotics helped but it was still reoccurring and stubborn to leave.

Now with consistent sweeping (wasn't terrible before but I do it daily now) and the god send Zyrtec, it clears out of his system so much fast and behaves more like allergies. And he just eats the Zyrtec without any force. I sat a treat and a pill on my knee separated, he ate the treat and then ate the pill. He has also managed to lose at least 2 pounds since June. He was 16lb and at a semi recent vet visit, he was 14lb. Truly biggest breath of fresh air seeing proof that things are working and helping. There were a few times that made me question my choices of getting him for both the stress it's caused for me but also feeling like he could have had a better home than with me. But me and this dude are bonded and I could never imagine not having him. I grew up with non-cuddling cats so to have one that sleeps in bed with me every night has been just the best.

Hi everyone - I'm a vet student, and I'm conducting a study looking into FIV+ cats and the secondary illnesses they can suffer from. I have 2 FIV+ cats at home, so this is a topic close to my heart! Unfortunately, I've had a really hard time getting responses on my survey - It collects absolutely no personal information or emails, just health info about your cat. If you have more than one FIV+ cat, you can fill it out multiple times. It only takes about 10 mins. If anyone can spare some time to help, I'd appreciate it immensely! Thank you in advance! :)

My cat was recently diagnosed with FIV a few months ago and I have been trying to manage his symptoms so he is more comfortable. His main issues are watery eyes, sneezing, ulcers in his mouth, and frequent nose bleeds. Been taking him to the vet and they just suggest steroid shots to keep him comfortable but those cost $70 a month and last a week. I was hoping anyone’s else’s cat that has FIV has his same symptoms and has any tips that have helped manage his symptoms. Please don’t get mad respond that pets cost money and I need to give him away to someone who can properly care for him. I am willing to spend the steroid shots but I am looking for ways to manage his other symptoms so the shots last longer. Keep in mind I’ve only added steroid shots and cleaning his face every day so he can see so any other suggestion helps tremendously. Currently I have an appointment Friday to euthanize him because I don’t know what else to do and am really hoping to delay that measure.

My husband found a 6w old kitty, brought it home and I took it to the vet today, and he tested positive for FIV. Was told to retest in 8 weeks to be sure. I already have two indoor cats and two dogs so this kitty cannot come inside (we’re at maximum capacity on animals inside, not an option). We have a friendly female outdoor shop cat, and a feral that has made our back porch his home. We TNR’d him but he still fights with our shop cat. Our indoor cats don’t get alone with the outdoor cats. So my question is, if this new rescue kitty does test positive for FIV in 8 weeks - what do I do with it? I keep reading that if they’re all fixed fighting won’t be an issue to spread the disease, but all our cats around here are fixed and still do fight. Even drawing blood occasionally.

Hello! We have two strictly indoor cats, one is 10 and the other is 14.

The younger one has just been diagnosed with FIV after a sudden episode of him not eating, being lethargic and a bit of diarrhea. He has a bit of gingivitis and the vet has given us some stuff to calm his intestine and boost his immune system, since he has low defenses and we still cannot clean his teeth.

He isn’t feeling good yet and is very sleepy, but at least he has eaten a bit. Before this, I cannot really remember him being sick.

How do you guys deal with this? Will he live a comfortable life? I don’t think the older one has FIV, and I cannot for the life of me think about how he could’ve gotten it. Can a cat get the virus as kitten and start showing symptoms at age 10?

Hi. I came here in the hopes that someone will see Patrick's post and recognize that he could be a perfect companion for their FIV cat. I'll cut to the chase. Patrick tested positive for FIV and FELV. These are the only indications of his former street life.

Patrick is the sweetest pea in the whole peapod. He showed up in my friend's back yard, hungry and scared, and after an exhaustive search we could not find anything about him. Off to the vet he went where he stunned us by testing double positive (we both have FIV cats, and I have had several FELV cats, so not our first rodeo). He's been in my gym ever since while we search for his forever family.

You’d never know of his adventurous past by his demeanor. Estimated to be 3-4 years old, Patrick is affectionate, sweet, playful and has ninja-like moves when chasing a ribbon on a stick. He gets along well with all humans and other cats once he gets over his shyness. He loves ear scritches and is very generous with his purrs. He’s also smart!

Patrick is healthy, muscular and strong and shows no signs of positive status. His coat is soft like a bunny and he has a gorgeous magical marbling pattern (gray on darker gray). He is very social and would do very well in a house with other double positive cats (or in a home as a solo cat where he could gets lots of affection). He is neutered and up to date on vaccinations, and his fecal analysis was negative. I have all of his vet care paperwork.

I am currently fostering Patrick, but the household logistical situation is not sustainable. I have been in contact with a local sanctuary that takes FIV/FELV positive cats, which is great, but I have about a week before I have to bring him there, and I still hold out hope that someone may be looking for a double-positive cuddle-bunny to join their crew. C'mon, community, do your thing.

I would be willing to transport him anywhere that would provide him with a safe, stable home and give him the love he deserves. I am working with a local rescue and they are handling the paperwork, so if you are interested in Patrick, send me a message and I will hook you up with them (Hoofbeats and Pawprints Rescue in Natchez, MS).

This is a wall of text, I don't even mind if no one reads this, I just had to get all of this out. Advice welcome, kind words and support appreciated, but space to share is all I need.

I'm feeling a bit defeated and need a space to talk about my sweet FIV boy. For context he is an extremely shy, and nervous boy who lived on the streets for over 10 years before we took him in. When we first brought him in he would hardly come out or let us touch him. Before we brought him into our home, the vet we took him to, took a look at his skin and insisted he was fine to integrate with our other cats, and likely just had dry skin due to his FIV. He was flaky all over. After a few weeks we noticed small patches of hair missing from our other cats. We ended up doing a bath and home sanitization regimen which cleared up the ringworm (mostly) and his skin was looking a lot better. But as such a shy boy these baths were borderline traumatizing for him (and me). But after some time he slowly adjusted and would begin to sit in out laps and accept pets. After a while we began noticing him pawing at his mouth we took him to another vet who gave him a Depo steroid shot and scheduled a dental for the next week to have teeth removed. After his first surgery getting his bottom teeth removed, his ringworm blew up all over his body again and he was looking pretty bald with extremely flaky, scabby skin. After some research I learned the steroid shot is likely what caused this. The issue however, is that this was the start of a losing battle in getting him feeling well.

After he healed up from his teeth removal, he began pawing at his mouth again. Took him back to the vet, had to get another surgery to have all of his top teeth removed as well except for his canines. While healing from oral surgery, the vet didn't recommend oral medication, and we couldn't bathe him as the stress was too much for him while healing from a painful procedure. Eventually when he was healed up we got a prescription for gabapentin to make ringworm baths less scary for him. This hardly worked on him, so we tried trazodone, which worked, but we quickly noticed he would get increased anxiety and make some very sad, scared meows anytime he was medicated and we could tell he did not like the way it made him feel and actually made bath-time more anxiety inducing for him. Also, since he is still such a shy boy, even getting him to successfully take a pill was nearly impossible. We decided to continue baths without a sedative, but they never worked to get rid of the problem like it did originally, and was only putting him and myself through a lot of trauma.

On top of that, he continued pawing at his mouth. We noticed he would get oral pain when he groomed or we pet certain spots on his back, as well as when he would get nervous or scared. Some research landed me on Feline Orofacial Pain Syndrome which has no real solution other than sedatives like gabapentin, to reduce anxiety and reduce flareups... A medication that has already not worked in the past and would be nearly impossible to administer at the necessary rate because he's so shy. We'd given up on baths at this point because the stress of them was causing his FOPS to flare up, and we wanted to give him time to get more comfortable. After some time we took him to a different vet for another opinion on how to treat his ringworm as now the irritation and itching was also causing his FOPS to flare up. This vet let us know that oral intrafungal would likely be the only option. Convincing him to eat a treat with a pill in it was hard enough. I was so nervous about having to give him a liquid oral medication every day for a week straight then having to do it again for two more weeks.

This process of giving medications was unfortunately the most traumatizing treatment I had to give him. He would have an accident half of the time, and after the full course of the treatment he would stay hidden from me as much as possible and was frightened anytime I'd approach him or even look his direction. It broke my heart and made me feel so much guilt. A sweet boy who earlier this year had gotten comfortable enough to sit in my lap, have a great pet session and finally played with a toy for the first time was now absolutely terrified of me. He has started to come out and about and beg me for food again, and will go to his favorite spots on the cat tree while we're around again, but has not trusted me enough to let me pet him again or to sit with me and still runs if I walk toward him. The cherry on top? His ringworm has exploded again, probably worse than it's ever been before.

I'm so conflicted because any steps I take for his ringworm now will only set him back further in his trauma, trust, and comfort in our home, but I feel immense guilt that he is struggling with itchiness, and pain. He is a sweet boy, and I just want him to be comfortable both physically, and emotionally. Don't even get me started on the cleaning, keeping up with daily sanitizing of floors, furniture, sheets, and blankets during these treatments got harder and harder as the burnout built up, as we live in a very maximalist home with so. much. stuff.

Now, as his skin is quite bad again, I am considering doing a multi week isolation and once a week lime sulfur dips as they will be quicker than the shampoo, 10 minute wait and rinse we were doing before. This would also give me more time to sanitize the rest of the home without the knowledge that he is just leaving more ringworm everywhere. However, I am concerned about isolating him from the rest of the home in a space with little room to hide, move around, and no opportunity to sit in windows to watch the outside for stimulation. Adding on weekly baths again with the lime sulfur will become traumatizing for him too and continue to set him back when he's JUST started making progress after the itrafungal trauma.

Hey so I need some help and advice for my recently diagnosed cat. It's been about 2 months since his diagnosis. It started with a blood clot in his eye that led to glaucoma. That's handled now with medication. And he had been doing fine for the 1st several weeks since diagnosis but now he just has no appetite or energy.

He was a cat that would scarf down his food and now all I can get him to eat is tube treats and a spoonful of rescue wet food. And today he hasn't eaten yet. Gabapentin seems to help some? I've been applying mirataz and giving him cerenia as well. Maybe the cerenia dose isn't high enough?

I had him at the vet the other week and they did blood work to look for infection but couldn't find anything other than his white blood cells being on the low end of normal. He hasn't been having a temperature. No runny nose or anything. He does have teeth that need to come out but the vet said last time it wasn't absolutely necessary atp, and to wait until it was.

I'm worried for him. He also seems to be really lacking in strength, and generally uncomfortable. Like when he jumps down from the bed he kind of just splats instead of catching himself properly. All he wants to do is lay down. He's still seeking affection and getting up to get into the window or follow me to my room. As far as I know bathroom habits are normal. There's multiple cats so that's hard to tell.

If doesn't eat today I'll take him to the vet tomorrow asap. And even if he does, I'll be calling to ask them what to do, but if someone who's experienced something similar could give me some insight I would truly appreciate it.

Hello, I am humbly begging for any insight/advice for our precious four year old boy, Boba.

Boba has been an exceptionally healthy and hearty cat. We adopted him and have been so fortunate to have him as our child for a little over two years.

A little over a month ago, we took him for his well visit and his blood work at that time was perfect. Fast forward two weeks later, and it seemed that he had conjunctivitis which was not surprising, considering that he had had a bout of conjunctivitis and upper respiratory infection a few months prior along with some of his cat siblings. This all cleared up with eye drops and oral antibiotics

For the recent conjunctivitis (no upper respiratory issues), We administered daily eye drops, however, his eye only seem to get worse and had increased discharge despite the addition of another eyedrop. We then added anbiotic last Saturday. I gave him the morning and evening dose, however, because he seemed a bit lethargic and was not eating, I took him to the ER. This is an ER that we have experience with and has a good reputation. The ER doc examined him and discharged him with a diagnosis of conjunctivitis. She gave him another eyedrop solution. They gave him an injection of cerenia. She told me he was likely not eating because he was in discomfort due to his conjunctivitis. She suggested giving gabapentin for his discomfort. I gave this to him via oral liquid when we got home in the early hours of Sunday morning. I also gave him an appetite stimulant. He started eating, pretty heartily not too long after we got home. He was more active and purring and headbutting us. I followed up with our regular Vet the next morning on Monday. Our Vet examined him and said that while his heart and longs sounded great, his kidneys were enlarged he immediately ran new bloodwork and it showed high renal values. We brought Boba back on Wednesday for an ultrasound. I have the results of the ultrasound included in the pictures. The radiologist diagnosed a suspected renal lymphoma.

This has been an absolute bomb in our world. How is it possible that literally 24 hours prior, he had zero swelling noted? I also would like to add that while we love our Vet, he does not seem familiar with FIV and it is pretty obvious that he does not see this much in his practice. He read this report from the radiologist and basically said that we should consult an internal medicine specialist and keep him comfortable (with the strong implication he does not have much time left).

I cannot help but wonder if my Vet is too quickly writing Boba off. He seems to think that because he has FIV that this is definitely renal lymphoma and not looking to consider any other cause. We cannot get into the internal medicine specialist until Thursday. We are desperate to learn anything sooner than that.

For what it is worth, Boba has liked to nibble on some of our house plants for the 2+ years that we have had him. We do not own any lilies, of course. But I wonder if perhaps this could be a reaction to some sort of toxin?

In the meantime, we are giving him daily subcutaneous fluids, daily cerenia tablets, daily
Erythromycin ointment, daily liquid, oral prednisone, and daily appetite stimulant. Boba is responding pretty well to all of these things. He is eating a pretty decent amount of wet food on his own, and we are supplementing this with syringe feeding him renal wet food. His swelling has gone down with the ointment.

If anyone has any experience or knowledge in any of these areas, I would be very appreciative! I do not want to give up hope for our four year-old! He is such a sweet and gentle soul, and he does not deserve this. I thank you very much in advance for any help that you can offer during this incredibly difficult time.

My beloved FIV + cat of seven years has passed away from lymphoma. His death came quick and we are completely grief stricken. Having an FIV positive cat has taught me so much, and I will advocate for them for the rest of my life. Rest easy now George. ❤️😭

Hello all,

Not really an FIV question, though my boy is FIV.

He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure last June.

The treatment plan worked well so far, the walls of his heart have gone down in dimension (didn't think this could ever happen) and the congestion around his heart and lungs is not there currently.

Not teying to get any feedback on his treatment plan but a more every day one.

We are not seeing the cardiologist before the end of December or January and I do not want to jother his doc for this question.

Since he is feeling better, he's back to his shenanigans, sprinting around the house, making his little galloping noises, catching invisible mouses, fighting invisible enemies...

My question then : should I stop him when he becomes too active? How much horsing around is too much?

Thanks in advance.

Cat tax, him in his tunnel (he usually becomes crazy in there)...

picture for cat tax
this is sammy/sammich and he is about 10/11 years old! I’ve had him since he was seven and, of course, he has fiv.
I take him to the vet very regularly because of FIV and i recently got results back indicating that within the next 6-12 months he is going to get/develop kidney disease. my vet is a very nice dude and was somewhat talking around his life expectancy once it develops in my son so i wanted to come here and ask people who have (potentially) gone through this first hand.
i’ve been reassured that it’ll be longer than normal because we’ve caught it before anything has really happened (W cat medicine developments) but i genuinely have no idea what to expect life expectancy wise.
please help soothe my mind? or give me a reality check, im not sure what to expect.

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone here might know of a rescue or shelter that would be able to take in a fiv+ boy I picked up a couple weeks ago. His names sunny, I've been thinking about keeping him with my negative cat, but sunny doesn't seem to like my cat very much. I know it's still early, but I'd rather find him a good home now than get attached and have to say goodbye. I'm located in central IL and am willing to drive a bit.

Do any of you have experience with this kind of patches? He seems to be itchy? Annoyed at those areas but its not always the same spot

Hi guys,

I am reaching out for any advice as today I went out and took a stray kitten that has rectal prolapse to bring him to the vet and he had a surgery right away. I live in a country that doesnt have official shelters but I thought that he will be able to stay at the vets for a couple of days to get better and that I will just take him after he is recovered and let him out on the streets again.

Turns out they wont, they dont work sundays full day and said some stuff i forgot about as i was stressed while they were talking. All ive heard is that I need to take him.

So I have to take him tomorrow at a little past noon. The thing is I already have 2 cats at home and one is Fiv postive. I do have a spare room, at first i was thinking about the basement as its not cold, its not warm but its not cold. But it does sound inhumane and Im thinking more seriously about the spare room. But I am so afraid for my fiv cat she is so sensitive and my dearest girl I dont want to put her at any risk. She is just my weakness I wouldnt survive if my actions would harm her. Any advice would be much appreciated as my panic is growing over the top. I am not sure how to solve this. I wrote to local groups asking if someone could take him for a few days, a lot of people are offering financial help but no one is offering to take him in.

Does anyone have any experience with this supplement? Other than cats rejecting it because of the taste and/or scent? My cat is a vacuum and will eat anything so I'm not worried about that issue.

(Mile-long Amazon link...)

https://www.amazon.com/DOK-PrimalCat-Support-Wellness-Supplement/dp/B0H8NS7NDL/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=177277143300&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7SW5Y_VGWnt2HtXiqmpOiZzSuGnWUSE3tHHIsnfrQ-ubac-KlLWbkiOnIcedv1XljCqzbQKqvALVOrqo1tsc3Q0dutNBkJCoDBzTVcBgjSyNXl4xnFFS-QL_uUBobDaiYI2sL34R6T2pjNSGO9CYvIRgC_aEi4SP7kbt5UWfSVE3N1bierenH927YG3BLvKfpzKJfaxS73O9z3AMMd36Zg.bKnkCu6dJdi-pufGqbLqqkvYEO1WO8j4prtIuCWQE10&dib_tag=se&hvadid=792631167043&hvdev=m&hvexpln=68&hvlocphy=9022369&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=186466112777540671--&hvqmt=b&hvrand=186466112777540671&hvtargid=kwd-2480936024075&hydadcr=17456_13786669&keywords=primal+cat+immune+and+eye+support&mcid=9b7bcfcc4cb4356d8a0b732d6e7cfce9&qid=1792770869&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

My husband and I recently lost our 14 year old cat and not long after this kitty kept showing up outside of our house. He was so lovable and wanted our food but wanted our love and attention even more! We started feeling really bad on the rainy days and we were spending more and more time outside just to love on this cat. I decided to take him to the vet to check for a chip and then to make him officially ours and bring him inside. That’s when he got the fiv+ diagnosis and to be honest I was really scared and second guessing my decision because I have 2 other cats that are 8 and 13 years old. The vet encouraged me and educated me on fiv and I’m happy that he is now a member of our household! He’s a chunky boy and seems pretty healthy considering we don’t really know how long he’s been living outside. The vet estimated him to be 12 years old so he fits right in with my older guys ❤️ (the last pics are of when he was outside, he’s strictly indoors only now and seems pretty happy about it lol)

I'm a basket case right now because my 4yo FIV cat is having her teeth cleaned next week. I have had two cats pass after anaesthesia a few years ago, but they were both older (21 and 13) and had chronic issues (kidney failure and pancreatitis). But it's not helping to steady my nerves about the dental cleaning! I've taken cats in for dentals probably 12 times in my life along with other surgeries and it's always been fine, but that was years ago and before...

Her teeth aren't horrible, but her gums have some redness. Just normal gingivitis, etc. - nothing FIV-related, but I know that it's important to get them cleaned her her health. But I'm so worried for her safety. She's been under once for her spaying and her bloodwork is ok - her ALT was elevated by 30 points but the vet wasn't too worried about that. I could really use some pep talking! TYIA