Title: Chucky, My FIV+ kitty
Donald - June 4, 2010 12:28 AM (GMT)
Hey all!! Remember my garage kitty, Chucky?
Well. He was favoring his left front paw this afternoon and was in some pain. So I got him to the vet to see if he had a broken bone or a severe bruise/sprain. After all, he would NOT let me examine his foot! :P Well, what it turned out to be was a bite wound starting to abcess. His temp was around 104.3F so he was trying to fight it off. Chucky got a shot of the antibiotic, a dose of Revolution, and a combination FeLV/FIV screen. Well, as you know, he is FIV+.
This does not mean he goes back outside. He is upstairs isolated from my current 7 cats. He has his own food bowl and water bowl. He will NOT be allowed to mingle with the other cats except under the closest supervision and only if their food/water bowls are out of reach.
It is not my intention to keep him as a permanent cat despite my affection for him. He is, however, a VERY loving cat. So after i have PetGuards neuter him, I am going to foster him so that he can find a forever home where he will be the only cat allowed. I am sure that there is somebody willing to have a FIV+ cat as an only cat and give him lots of love. Because he has lots of love to give. I really had wanted to give him a forever home with me. But he really deserves a home where he does not need to be confined.
So is there any other advice you can offer about keeping an FIV+ kitty in the house? As I said, he will be confined to the upstairs away from the other cats. But any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Well. He was favoring his left front paw this afternoon and was in some pain. So I got him to the vet to see if he had a broken bone or a severe bruise/sprain. After all, he would NOT let me examine his foot! :P Well, what it turned out to be was a bite wound starting to abcess. His temp was around 104.3F so he was trying to fight it off. Chucky got a shot of the antibiotic, a dose of Revolution, and a combination FeLV/FIV screen. Well, as you know, he is FIV+.
This does not mean he goes back outside. He is upstairs isolated from my current 7 cats. He has his own food bowl and water bowl. He will NOT be allowed to mingle with the other cats except under the closest supervision and only if their food/water bowls are out of reach.
It is not my intention to keep him as a permanent cat despite my affection for him. He is, however, a VERY loving cat. So after i have PetGuards neuter him, I am going to foster him so that he can find a forever home where he will be the only cat allowed. I am sure that there is somebody willing to have a FIV+ cat as an only cat and give him lots of love. Because he has lots of love to give. I really had wanted to give him a forever home with me. But he really deserves a home where he does not need to be confined.
So is there any other advice you can offer about keeping an FIV+ kitty in the house? As I said, he will be confined to the upstairs away from the other cats. But any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Donald - June 5, 2010 12:17 AM (GMT)
By the way, it should be noted that the test was done in-clinic and the results were back in 5 minutes. I take it that Chucky received the Idexx/SNAP test, correct? Well, I do plan to follow up with a Western Blot test after his neutering. His neuter will take place on Tuesday the 8th.
For anybody here who has done the Western Blot, how long does that take? Also, how much does a feline Western Blot test cost?
For anybody here who has done the Western Blot, how long does that take? Also, how much does a feline Western Blot test cost?
my4kitties - June 5, 2010 02:50 AM (GMT)
Don, you really don't have to keep Chucky separated from your other cats. FIV can ONLY be transmitted from mother to kitten or by a deep bite wound. Sharing litterboxes, food bowls and water bowls would be okay. Now, if you had said that Chucky tested positive for FeLV, then I wouldn't be typing all of this.
As far as the Western Blot, can't help you there. I'll PM you with information on someone who can.
As far as the Western Blot, can't help you there. I'll PM you with information on someone who can.
Donald - June 5, 2010 03:08 AM (GMT)
Hey thanks, Renee. My concern is the littermates. They play very rough and Pepe as well as liverwurst do have deep bite wounds from very rough play. When I am not at home, I just do not trust them yet to be around him. After all, Chucky has been inside for just over 24 hours.
Of course, the littermates basically just play with each other with the exception of Spunky and Lilly Anne. Lilly Anne really seems to be the only cat bothered by the littermates and Spunky seems to be the only littermate that really bothers Lilly Anne. Since Spunky and Lilly Anne can sometimes get rather rough, I am concerned about Spunky and Chucky.
But after neutering, I will allow them to get more interaction time. For nearly an hour, I allowed him to lay with my on my bed while the other cats were free to come and go. Nothing really happened save for the occasional hiss from the others.
Of course, the littermates basically just play with each other with the exception of Spunky and Lilly Anne. Lilly Anne really seems to be the only cat bothered by the littermates and Spunky seems to be the only littermate that really bothers Lilly Anne. Since Spunky and Lilly Anne can sometimes get rather rough, I am concerned about Spunky and Chucky.
But after neutering, I will allow them to get more interaction time. For nearly an hour, I allowed him to lay with my on my bed while the other cats were free to come and go. Nothing really happened save for the occasional hiss from the others.