I inadvertently have become responsible for a (not so) feral recently ex-tomcat who just went through a full dental extraction. Due to the no teeth thing, he can’t really go back outside.
I already have one indoor, FIV- cat, who is an enormous softy.
One vet has said having both cats together will inevitably end up with FIV- becoming +, even without FIV+ being able to bite, because it’s in saliva. From everything I’m reading, this seems enormously unlikely, as deep bites seem to be the major transmission vector. However, indoor FIV- cat was here first, and has to take priority.
Experiences? Opinions?
I HATE that the vaccine is no longer being used.
That said - I have had two with FIV. One I lost in 2019; the other is still just fine at 6 years of age. She hangs out with her siblings, and there have been no issues. We don’t know why only those two of the litter contracted it but everyone else (including their mum) tests negative. She sleeps in a separate crate from the others, but they share food and water dishes, and there are no issues. It’s always in the back of my mind, but the risk is so low, I just can’t worry about it.
I would make sure they get along before you leave them unsupervised, and if you feel there’s a risk, you can always leave them in different rooms when you’re not there, or in their own crates.
This is a good general overview:
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We had three FIV+ cats. The first was a semi feral barn cat that the previous owners had left behind. After a year or so he went from healthy looking to skin and bones in about 48 hours, and died before we could get him to the vet. We had several indoor-outdoor cats at the time, and they were not affected.
A few years later a coupe of female cats turned out in the barn. We captured them, and took them to the vet to be spayed and get vaccinated. One of them was FIV+. For a while we kept her in a different part of the house so she would not interact with our other cats. We even adopted another, known FIV+ cat so she wouldn’t be alone. But after a while we let them in with the other cats. They both lived about 6 years. They shared food and water with the other cats, and none of the were affected.
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I have no personal experience and minimal professional experience despite being a tech for 17 years, we just don’t see alot of FIV+ cats where I am. But in my research and understanding of FIV it does not get transferred via just saliva, a deep muscle puncture is required, so I would have no problem adding a FIV+ cat to my home if it had no teeth. I would still do a slow introduction.
I work with a receptionist with an FIV+ cat who had another cat before she found out he was positive. They’ve lived together for 4 years, we tested the presumably negative cat last year because if chronic stomatitis and she was still negative.
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