Rescue cat with hiv postive

[skgdragons1]

We rescued a cat ,who had moved into our garden,weeks ago.
This friday,on Saturday we took him to the vets,who did a snap test,and said he
was hiv positive,he also has cat flu.Initially we had booked him in to be castrated today,
But after checking on him over the weekend,decided to do it later in the week.
To give him time to destress.

We all ready have 3 house cats,one has a severe sinus infection,and is on permenent
antibiotic treatments,he also is on thyroid medication.
Naturally I'm worried about the risks of introducing this male hiv cat to the rest of my
fur babies.From what the vet said,we were pretty much sure it would be a big risk
we were taking,and thought about finding him a home.After more research,It seems that
it's reasonably safe to introduce him.as long as he is castrated,he has a gentle nature.

Making sure there are no cat fights between them,Has anyone else introduced a hiv
cat to an existing cat household,all our cats are indoor cats,would we be able to get
cat health insurance ,knowing he is hiv positive.I don't want to see this cat put to sleep
he deserves a chance in life,with caring owners.

If anyone has any advice,tips etc,would really welcome them

[bobbys girl]

Hello and welcome to CC.

Sorry it has taken me some time to answer you - it's been a bit hectic here today!

First of all I am no expert in FIV+ cats, I am learning all the time. We only recently found out that Bobby is FIV+. He has been living with us for over a year. If you are interested in his story you can find out more on my other posts. Bob was the reason I joined CC. I have made some good friends and learned an awful lot about FIV.

Apparently the virus has a very short life outside the body. The only real danger would appear to be from deep bite wounds. The main thing would be to keep your cats healthy. As you already have a cat with health problems, I would not allow them to share food from the same dish - just to be on the safe side.

I have little experience of cat flu, but I know it can be very serious. I would hold off having him neutered until you had sorted the cat flu. Bob's leg was badly infected and we were advised to let him finish the course of AB's and build him up before we had the leg removed (he was neutered at the same time).

Rather than waffle on any more you will (not might) find this site very useful. They are lovely people.
http://www.FIVcats.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as insurance is concerned - I'm the wrong person to advise you!

Let us know how you go on and thank you for what you are doing for the little man.

Sue

[moira]

Hi and bless you for caring for this FIV boy. I have 8 FIV+ and 7 FIV- cats, all introduced at different times. You may find the information on the following links useful:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/vet/cad/in ... yvirusfiv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.v63.net/catsanctuary/sanctuary.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[skgdragons1]

Barbara and Bob of Catwork,have been so helpful to us.
In explaining how HIV affects cats,it's put our minds at rest.
We know that we have to make sure the personalities of
our cats match,and we think they do,In that I mean neither
of our other 3 cats are fighters,And Buster as we have choosen
to name him,is a gentle cat also.

He was due to be castrated on Friday,but after pre op blood works
showed his liver function was high,I decided not to put him
through the stress of the op yet.
He needs a scan of his tummy to see whats going on with his liver.

Hopefully once thats sorted out,he can be castrated.
And slowly introduced to our boys.

[bobbys girl]

That's great news! Bob and Barbara are wonderful people aren't they?

I hope you get Buster sorted, that there are no problems with his liver and that he is soon able to join your family.

Hugs to you and fusses to Buster and your other boys