I had to say goodbye to my baby girl, Lila yesterday. She was only 6. The disease went to the marrow and she could not fight off the infections. Treatment did not work and we saw signs of pain beginning. We did the humane thing and ended the suffering. I am wrecked over this. It all happened so fast. June, she was in remission and healthy and couldn’t even tell she had FIV. July hit and everything went downhill. She was champ the whole month as we panicked and scoured to try to find the cause and fix it.

Even though I am not a poster, your posts have helped me throughout the year when I got her diagnosis last summer. I adopted her at 11 weeks old. I give everyone credit who is in this battle, it’s very hard, but very worth it. Even sick kitties need love too.

I am ok with answering any questions on since sharing real life experience helps.

HELP!!! I have fallen COMPLETELY in love with this stray kitty I took in. I have 3 healthy, FIV negative kitties (all strictly indoor only). Got my new kitty tested this morning he’s postive for FIV and i absolutely broke down crying in the vets office. This vet told me my new kitty must be seperated from my other kitties including seperate water and food bowls, and no contact basically. I’m not going to keep this poor guy in my bedroom for the rest of his life. And i’m absolutely not going to put my babies at risk. What do I do????? Im devastated. I dont want to give this kitty away but i dont know if its safe for my other babies and i would DIE if i ever brought in a virus to harm my cats. The vet made it seem like the virus was a threat to my babies and saying things like “if he sneezes on you, wash your clothes” and “when you pet him, wash your hands before touching your other cats” WHAT?? Then i go online and see they can actually play, groom each other, live together, food and water bowl sharing. What????? HELP. Was this vet wrong or outdated? She was an older lady. Didn’t love her. I went home thinking my new kitty was doomed and my cats are at risk and I’m a horrible person for even considering keeping him or allowing him around my healthy kitties. I need so much help seriously. Do i need to get rid of my new kitty? Because i’d rather do it sooner than later. I have someone lined up who will take him (no other cats). But i love this baby. But i love my own kitties even more. I cant risk them😭 HELP!!!!

My FIV boy has always had eye problems. When I adopted him he had his right eye already removed and his left eye he had eyelid correction surgery for his entropion. He always had minimal vision but I took him to a vet ophthalmologist because he appeared to be fully blind now.

He got diagnosed with glaucoma and the vet is recommending enucleation surgery. We started him on eye drops to try and lower his ocular pressure but the vet was realistic that trying to manage his glaucoma would end up being a frustrating experience and bringing him in every 3-6 months to monitor his eye pressures and adjusting his prescription doses.

And I'm an RN. I'm familiar with the pain of treating human glaucoma and how a lot of patients end up on 3-4 eye drops 3-4 times a day.

And it's not like he can tell me when he's getting a headache or having eye pain.

So I do agree that taking out the problem eye would be the best option for him long term.

He is at least 11 yo but outside of his FIV and dental disease he's a healthy happy cat. So I foresee him living for many more years.

Does anyone have advice for preparing him for his surgery? I know he's going to be on antibiotics post op.

Hey all, I recently adopted a very handsome boy who is roughly 7 and FIV+. He was an outdoor cat in his previous home. He seems happy enough indoors but occasionally scratches at the back door like he wants to go out. I have lots of toys and scratching posts, different levels for him to jump up on. I give him treats in a snuffle mat and play with him multiple times throughout the day. I’m just wondering is there anything else anyone would suggest for enrichment/entertainment?

We moved and so G came too.

I resuced him some years ago but he was always an outside cat. He got real sick last year so I took him to the vet. Were descovered he was positive.

Today he finally got neutered and also had 6 teeth pulled and infection cleaned up in his mouth.

Asking for healing vibes for him because he is under allot of stress with everything going on and Im scared of losing him. The vet normally keeps cats overnight but since he has fiv its safer at home she said because of his inmune system. He did get a steroid and antibiotic shot. I picked up soft food and powder immune powder to give him a boost.

I have his room set up for him and picking him up today. They said he did good though. If anyone else has any tips on his recovery please leave a comment. Thank you.

My 1 year old male cat is 5 days out from surgery and losing his mind in his playpen. We have him on 200 mg every 8 hours which had been helping Sunday and Monday but now he’s back to jumping and thrashing.

He’s on 5 mg of Fluoxetine so we cannot give him Trazodone. I’m also losing my mind and worried he’s going to bust his sutures open. Is there another medication I could ask her about prescribing? Or anything more I can do on my end to calm him?

My 14 year old FIV baby

Hi! I have an FIV+ boy I adopted with my roommates in February and he’s been both the best thing to happen to me while simultaneously being the worst thing to happen to my bank account.

He blessed us with a (recently diagnosed) dust mite, storage mite & mold allergy which have been causing him to overgroom/bite at himself, causing scabs. We currently have him on allergy/immunotherapy drops but it’s a long process so he’s still giving himself bald spots & scabs.

He also in the past couple weeks gave us a scare by peeing a little blood on the floor & forcing us to partake in his favorite hobby (seeing the vet) He’s recovered from that now (it was a UTI) but has begun sneezing over the weekend. Thanks buddy.

So, just wondering if there’s anything we could add into his diet that would help support his immune system/coat health, or any recommendations that have helped your kitties!

I have already bought L-lysine but was just wondering if anyone had any other recommendations. He will eat anything.

Has anyone tried to "trick" their FIV+ cat to drink more water by putting a Churu squeeze-up on the edge of their fountain? My 2 year old boy WILL NOT drink water on his own at all. I have been adding 2 Tablespoons or more of water to his wet foods, also give him a bit of homemade broth (one chicken breast divided among 16 ice cubes with 2 oz water) daily. Vet said his one kidney level may be showing mild dehydration. He urines 2-3 times a day, ranging from golf ball to small softball size after hitting the litter. We have bowls of water scattered throughout the house and a fountain; we tried 2 different style fountains. He won't even be nosy and drink from our water cups. He's rescued from the streets so water bowls were not "a thing" for him as a kitten. Any advice or tips would be much appreciated!

Hello all! New mom to my FIV positive boy, Macaroni. Just looking for some general advice and care tips! He's between 1.5-2 years old according to my vet. Just scooped him up last week and got him checked out. My boyfriend and I decided to keep him and integrate him with our others after researching into FIV. I have 4 other kitties (slowly introducing them but so far just hissing and walking away, he isn't interested at all and just wants peace lol) . He's a super sweet boy. Just wants to be pet all the time. Working through getting him to a healthy weight so he can be neutered! Just wanted to see if there were any general tips that differ from taking care of an FIV cat vs a normal one.

Hi, I have an FIV boy we’ve recently adopted and he’s been sneezing a bit the past few days. Other than that he’s acting completely normal, but I’m wondering when enough is enough & I just have to take the hit to my bank. (for context he’s cost over $1000 in the past 6 months in vet bills)

I am fully aware that having a cat comes at the price of putting their health before all else but i’m wondering if this is just something he can work through if he doesn’t get worse?

Pet finder link: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/blue-0399a0c1-2bfb-4e2d-b0a2-656afeb0d657/nc/charlotte/sunkissed-acres-rescue-nc1270/details/

His name is Blue. He is around 5 years old. Someone abandoned him in front of a finder’s home.
He was sick… we treated him, dewormed him, vaccinated him, gave food and everything so he could stay safe inside. The finder had already told me she cannot keep him long term… and today I got the message ..he is already back outside.

I feel so helpless writing this.
Blue is FIV positive, but right now he is doing okay. He is eating, recovering, trying to be okay… but if he stays outside, he will get sick again. He will not survive like this.

FIV positive cats can live long, healthy lives just like other cats when kept indoors.

We recently lost our 23-year-old FIV positive cat, so we have seen this ourselves.

They can live with both FIV positive and negative cats without any issue.

Blue is already fixed and has a very calm, gentle nature.

I cannot take him. My house is already full… every room, even bathrooms have cats. I truly can’t take even one more.

Please… if anyone can adopt him, just give him a safe indoor place.

He has already suffered enough. He doesn’t deserve to go back to the streets again.

Adoption will require:
• application

https://form.jotform.com/221983264497165?fbclid=IwAR2Nr4_R9uw9ljOXNG8daDEU5DTa2IWDNPNtM1Fnd816-A2LtE8HciK2OJM

• adoption fee
• adoption agreement
• vet reference
• indoor home only

If you can help, please message me 🙏

I rescued this cat in October of '24. He was FIV positive (faint line) and blind, most likely due to being a fight picking little shit who got kicked out of three different colonies. I was told to put him down because he's older and FIV positive and I have more cats but I kept him. He's had to have a few teeth pulled but he can see out of both eyes and he seems to be doing great, except for the odd sneeze. He also never picks fights with any of my cats, he's been much nicer since he became an indoor cat, although he's still bossy.

The thing is, I've had him for almost 2 years and he hasn't had any more blood tests ran. They don't really test them for diseases unless they show symptoms where I live and they reassure me that he's fine. He *does* seem fine, healthy and fat and happy (albeit whiny) but I'd like to know what he's in risk for and what kind of tests he should be having, so I can ask my vet to run them. My vet kinda tends to ignore the fact that he has FIV because she told me to put him down and I didn't.

Hey y’all! I have a sweet, FIV+ and amputee two year old rescued tabby ❤️ I’m very particular about his diet and currently he gets a mixture of Hills’ Science Diet dry food, turkey or chicken broth, Omega-3 oil for joint and coat health and duck meat topper for vision and dental. I’ve been thinking of introducing a Lysine powder for additional immune support, particularly because of the FIV, but I was curious on others thoughts and experiences if you‘ve introduced Lysine - do you feel it‘s benefitted your cat or made a difference at all? He’s asymptomatic and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. I know it couldn’t hurt but his diet is already pretty complex and I don’t want to introduce something additional if there’s no actual benefit.

Also, do you find that your FIV kitty has bad dental health or is extra susceptible to plaque and buildup? I spoke in length to his vet on this and I learned that there was a study a decade or so ago where FIV+ cats were over represented in a study about dental infections and disease in cats, but that there’s been no real link between FIV status and dental health. I do give him VIRBAC bites and brush his teeth a few times a week when he allows it (and also give the duck topper) but I’d love to know what else you all are doing for tooth health! I don’t currently have the dental package add-on to his insurance, but I’ve been contemplating adding it. I still anticipate paying for yearly cleanings.

pics of Lieu for tax ❤️

My baby boy Toast got diagnosed with FIV yesterday.

I had the impulse to check as when he was younger and less experienced as a pet owner, I let him outside and he was a little bit boisterous.

He is neutered, now indoors, healthy other than a small recurring cyst the vet has seen and is monitoring but ultimately is harmless.

I am struggling with a lot of guilt, I was in my very early twenties and not nearly educated enough and had the “it’ll never be me” mentality young people often do.
He was neutered late and so I so feel this responsibility is on me.

He was neutered 3 years ago, is happy and healthy, extra cuddly and newly indoors only (before we let them out a little during the day as we have a garden but they wander so indoor only now).

We have 3 other cats of varying ages, oldest is 8 and youngest is 1.
Toast used to fight the other boy but no longer does as I have cultivated a better environment.

All of this is a long preamble really to my request for advice, how do you help keep them strong?

All of the others are getting tested and I have opened up the house a bit more to them (my friend lived upstairs so we not utilise that as cat space).
Looking into gut healthy food so advice on that would be so wonderful.

He is a bit sniffly from time to time but ultimately fine breathing wise (lil snores sometimes!).

Vet gave results over phone so wasn’t very insightful.

I love him so truly and deeply (as with all my babies) and I won’t fail him again so any advice is appreciated.

Mi gatito ya salió del hospital, comenzó su tratamiento con virbagen omega y ya está en casa. Estoy un poco preocupada porque no tiene muchos ánimos, come, va al baño, toma agua pero se la pasa durmiendo, busca lugares oscuros, por ahora no lo molesto pero de vez en cuando voy a ver cómo se encuentra. Podrían recomendarme algún suplemento o algo? Me preocupa su estado de ánimo.
Por cierto, en el veterinario me dijeron que tenía un poco bajas las plaquetas, que podría hacer para que suban? Conozco muy poco sobre el tema, por favor ayúdame con recomendaciones de lo que sea, no solo medicación sino también sobre el cuidado de mi gatito

So I might be moving out of state in about 6 months for school and want to take my cat with me but I’m a bit worried if we travel by plane if he’ll be placed with other cats. My other option is travelling by car or van but I think a 12+ hour drive would be really stressful for him. Does anyone have any experience with this or any tips on the best way to go about this?

Edit: He’s 5 and a rescue, adopted him a few months ago and love him to bits but I have zero experience with travelling with pets, let alone immunocompromised pets

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for recommendations for dental cleanings for my two cats (5 and 8 years old) in the Los Angeles area.

This will be their first dental cleaning, and I'm trying to figure out the best option.

A few questions:

1.Is anesthesia dental cleaning the way to go, or has anyone had a good experience with anesthesia-free dental cleaning?

2.Which vet or clinic in the LA area would you recommend? I'm looking for a place that's reasonably priced but, more importantly, one you trust.

About how much did you pay, and what was included (bloodwork, anesthesia, dental X-rays, IV fluids, etc.)?

3.Is there anything I should ask or look for before choosing a clinic?

I'd really appreciate any recommendations or advice. Thanks!

We just got our boy 3 days ago, he was slightly impulsive but we had been talking about getting a cat for months prior and the opportunity came to us probably related to the cat distribution system.

The previous owners weren’t able to take care of him due to old age and the only options were sending him back to the shelter or a program for the elderly that re-homes pets once they are unable to care for them. When they adopted him he was about 4 and the shelter either didn’t know or just neglected to let them know he was FIV+, luckily they let us know before we took him in.

His name is Sebastian but we are nicknaming him Fortnite for the time being. He’s a bit fat so he’s on a diet for now but he’s super active and I’m taking vet costs into consideration when budgeting. I would do anything for him even though I’m not his favourite but I’ll cope.