FIV positive 11yr old barn cat. What to do

[Lieslot]

Hello folks.
Our barn cat has been pretty sick for a couple of days, lethargic, not eating, fever etc.
He also got into a fight with another cat, came home last night covered in blood and an abscess.

Took him to the vet this morning and just now got the call he has what’s called Feline Aids.

They are going to treat him, but vet said when he comes home he will need to be an 100% indoor cat.

I’m sitting here, trying to figure this out, but for a cat that has been living outdoors for 11 years, does come inside for food, cuddles and a nap on the coach or drink from the kitchen sink (naughty, naughty)…; I cannot see how I can force this cat to become an indoor cat.
In all those years we’ve never managed to keep him in for more than a few hours, only in winter when temps were extreme, he decided that spending the night in was a good idea, but he was straight out in the morning or even meowed me up at 3am to go out.

What to do … I feel so sad.
Should we consider euthanasia?

Also can someone tell me with certainty if a FIV positive cats pose no health risks to humans?

Thank you!!!
:sadsmile:

[Ruth0552]

A FIV positive cat definitely poses no health risk to humans. Here’s a link to a reputable site with info on FIV. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/brochure_fiv.cfm

Some cats adjust well to indoor only life. The problem really is that he might get in fights with other cats and transmit FIV to them. Do you have other barn cats? Are there other inside cats? Any idea who he got into a fight with?

[Alagirl]

I feel your pain.
I had this Tom, he just showed up, gorgeous kitty.
I don’t remember if it was leucemia or feline AIDS, but he was sick. Seemed like once I knew, his health deteriorated rapidly.
I waited too long to have him put down, like, by days. Because he was such a cool cat.
I think there is really no way to turn this outside cat into an indoors one. Heck, I wanted to keep my cats indoors, but they beat me to the door, as kittens.
How is his quality of life when he is confined?
Giving him a good end, before he is in dire straights might be more merciful than making him stay indoors.
Or build him a ‘cattery’ off the barn…

[Lieslot]

Thank you Ruth.

We have a serious cat problem here, further down the road there’s a cat hoarding place, with as a result many stray cats.
When driving past the house often there will be 20+ cats sitting there on the porch.
Some of these cats have been trying to invade his territory, he has been having fights with different ones.

I cannot see how he can become an indoor cat, he will be dead unhappy :(.

What is the risk if I just let him out and take up his usual life?
Risk to him?
Risk to other cats, would be they get FIV too. But my guess many of those stray cats here have FIV, many look underweight, poor coat & sickly to me.

[Lieslot]

I think there is really no way to turn this outside cat into an indoors one. Heck, I wanted to keep my cats indoors, but they beat me to the door, as kittens.
How is his quality of life when he is confined?

Honestly, each time we had to keep him in for the night so we could take him to the vet for his yearly shots etc, it was a nightmare. Meow meow,… want to go out.

When he had an infected paw years ago and had to stay in, we couldn’t manage either, so I let him out & refreshed his bandage each time he came in.

When the vet says “treat”, what do they mean, will he become FIV negative again?

[Lieslot]

Does anyone know the answer to this please? Thank you.

FIV-infected cats should be confined indoors to prevent spread of FIV infection to other cats in the neighborhood and to reduce their exposure to infectious agents carried by other animals.

This quote is from the Cornell article, “exposure to infectious agents”, does that mean that say if he is vaccinated for something, his vaccination status is not protective anymore due to the FIV?

Ughhh, I’m such an emotional mess right now .

[Zu_Zu]

[B]* He must come inside to prevent his spreading this ! to others…

AND

to keep him as far away from infections … his immune system has been compromised and always will be weak.

He will adjust eventually to indoor life !

YES HE WILL because he has to in order to live safely now…

Takes more than over night to adjust … he will miss his freedom but he will adjust with time…

Jingles & AO for this dear cat ~

[/B][B]* this is not only about his health but the health of all the other cats in the area…he should not be allowed outside for both reasons ~ NO more contact with other cats !

If he can not be kept from other cats … ALL OTHER CATS ! ALL.THE.TIME. he should be pts …but I know there is an indoor home for him [/B]:yes:[B]

Just invite him inside for the rest of his life and keep all the cats safe ~ IMHO
*yes most likely this is running through the stray cats in the area and that’s why he now is FIV positive and always will be …

wrap him up in ‘home’ love and keep him comfortable …

I’m sorry he has contracted this horrible disease/ condition [/B]:([B]

[/B]

[Perfect10]

FIV is not a big deal unless it is an outdoor cat like yours. Even then it is not a risk to that cat, just others. FIV is spread via deep bite wounds. It is a zoonotic disease and is not transmittable to humans. Your kitty should become an indoor kitty for others’ safety.
I understand the concerns about bringing him in, but I went through this recently with a client. Her outdoor cat tested positive for FIV. She did not want to try to bring him in and euthanized a perfectly healthy 9 year old cat. I will admit, I judged her hard. If she had tried and after a few months had said he just isn’t adjusting well, then I would have understood. But to not try? A life was wasted.

It’s worth a shot to keep him inside. Or like some have suggested, build him a safe outdoor space- the barn and a fenced area, maybe? I would second guess myself if I euthanized without at least trying to keep him inside if he were mine.

To answer your question, he is immunocompromised. That’s what the article is saying. His vaccines still protect him, but he is susceptible to upper respiratory infections and other infections. He is still protected against rabies and distemper.

eta: He does not pose a threat to cats he gets along with. AT ALL. In fact, there was just a study published that said FIV cats pose no risk to their housemates. The only risk he poses to other cats is if he is fighting with them.

[DogIsMyCopilot]

The problem that I see in your case is that your cat may transmit (or has already transmitted) FIV to your neighbor’s group of cats, who then act as a reservoir for the virus. Any successor to your cat (or any other FIV negative cat that has contact to your neighbor’s) will automatically be at risk of being infected.

If at all possible, I would not only keep your cat inside from now on, but also see if you can find an arrangement with the neighbor that she gets her cats tested and confines the FIV positive ones. It would benefit both you and her to break the spread if FIV.

As for your cat, he might have lived happily with FIV for many years. Many cats live a lifetime with FIV and die of unrelated causes, but the prognosis instantly becomes worse worse once the cat shows clinical signs. There are a few studies out there that show treatment with antivirals has little influence on life expectancy, so I think I would just treat it symptomatically (e.g. make sure he is well hydrated, eats a balanced diet and has minimal stress).
There’s no harm in giving it a try to keep him indoors. If you try it and after a couple of months he is still miserable, you can always re-assess at that point. But if you euthanize him now, you will never know.

[Ruth0552]

I’m betting your cat got FIV from the hoarded cats.

Your cat’s immune system isn’t as good as it should be. He’ll develop infections quicker and easier than usual, and he will be more susceptible to viruses.

Is there no TNR/Rescue group that can help with the hoarded cats? Call the humane society, or the local board of health.

[Callista17]

We had an FeLV outdoor cat. He was a stray that wandered in. We knew right away after his vet appointment, and we had indoor cats. We kept him outside because there were no other cats outside, just made sure if we brought in his food dishes, we put them into soapy water right away. We probably had Brownie about 6 more years, and he was adult when he came to us. He had a heated box with foam in the garage for winter time. Awesome cat…

[js]

I agree with Ruth0552, the cat probably was infected from one of the hoarder’s cats. Humans CANNOT get the virus. It is a highly species-specific virus that infects only felines.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/brochure_fiv.cfm

Can I become infected with FIV?
Although FIV is a lentivirus similar to HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) and causes a disease in cats similar to AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) in humans, it is a highly species-specific virus that infects only felines.

[Lieslot]

Thank you every one!!

Yes, I also feel he got it from one of the hoarder’s cats. I will talk to a few neighbors to see what they think about what we can do about that situation, who to contact etc.

I discussed it with my husband last night. We cannot let him go right now, it just feels to unreal he’d be gone.
So yes we will give it a go as an indoor cat for at least 2 months. And re-evaluate then.
I should be allowed to pick him up later today or tomorrow from the vet’s so I will see what I hear from her on what else he needs.

Thank you for the vaccine explanation, I understand now.

He is such a sweet cat. He came to us as an abandoned. He showed up at the barn 10 yrs ago and was eating dropped grains from the horsefeed. He was so skinny & tiny. I guessed he was very young, likely only one year old.
I started feeding him each time he showed up and after about a year he started following me inside. From then on we took him to the vet for vaccines etc. Vet said he was neutered, so he must have been someone’s kitten before.

Since then he lived mostly outside; an excellent hunter, he even caught bunnies & squirrels to my dislike. He sat out fights with a fox twice his size, a real fighter. But he enjoyed coming inside for cuddles. Sometimes he came in daily, sometimes we didn’t see him for 5+ days in a row.
He is very affectionate to humans however, but will not tolerate any other cat or dog.
Our neighbors were visiting with a bouvier (large dog) one day, he attacked the dog, he jumped on his back and put his nails in him. He’s has gone for the neighbor’s lab too when the dog was coming onto our deck.
HIS territory is HIS, lol.
We used to have a greyhound, who was very cat tolerant, luckily they accepted each other, well the greyhound liked my cat, but my cat always hissed at him.

I will keep you posted

[Zu_Zu]

[B]
He will be fine inside (with some time )

• and you will enjoy his wonderful company even more than before !

((Hugs)) for your worried heart ~

Bless you for loving him SO much ~

• looking forward to your ‘he’s settled right in’ update ~

Lieslot … this will be better than OK with some time and patience ~ promise !

Jingles & AO !!! [/B]

[Lieslot]

He’s home, but he’s so poorly, so much worse then when we dropped him off.

He keeps his eyes squint/shut most of the time and he walks awkwardly in the hindend, if he were a horse I’d think he’s neurological.
He sits in a random spot in the kitchen, trembling and looks so unwell, with his eyes closed.
He doesn’t want any petting or contact .
He barely touched his feed and only took a few bites, because I just sat there with him.

Please tell me this is only temporarily. How could he be so much worse then when we dropped him off?

I will put a call into the vet again tomorrow to ask if this is normal and will he get better or worse?

[Callista17]

Give him time…if he’s used to wandering, I am sure the vet clinic, and cage was a shock. He probably didn’t sleep too much, and was handled when he didn’t want to be. Plus, you mentioned abscesses…were they flushed? Is he on antibiotics? All of that can be a little rough…but speak with the vet after a good night sleep for you both.

Give him some extra lovin’ and in a few days he’ll tell you.

Good luck Lieslot and barn kitty…jingles!

[Beethoven]

Has he gone to the same vet since you have owned him? Has he been tested in the past for FIV? I ask because if he was ever Vaccinated then he will always test positive and there is no way to tell the difference.

Did he get beat up in the fight? I reread and saw first post that he did. They can feel crummy with a fever and an abscess. It takes a good 24-48-72 hours on antibiotics for them to feel better. Did he get any fluids or an NSAID to help decrease his fever?

Did they run a full chemistry panel on him? What did the vet diagnose him with besides FIV?

As for keeping him inside, can you get him a friend? An already FIV + one? He will likely be more inclined to be happy inside if he has a friend.

Fun little powerpoint that I made about FIV while I was in vet school: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38651351/FIV.pdf

The orange and white and the black with star were two of my FIV (+) fosters who prepared my dog for my pack of cats back home.

[Lieslot]

Yes he got beat up pretty badly in his throat, looked like whatever attacked him meant a throat kill so to speak.
He is on antibiotics, but no NSAIDs.

Yes same vet as always and yes checked history he has been vaccinated for FIV in the past, actually she re-vaccinated him for FIV during his visit.
She tested him for FIV with the combined FeLe/Fiv/HtW test in the office.

Thanks for the presentation Beethoven, good point, how to be sure he has FIV if he was priorly vaccinated.
Is there any other way I can find out if he for sure is sick from FIV or not? It is important to his happiness really. I will keep him in, but if it’s not working I will have to say goodbye .

I had asked for bloodwork, but from the bill I can tell none was done.
He was diagnosed with nothing else. I had asked to test him for lepto but doesn’t look like that was done.
I guess take him back for bloodwork .

He meowed most of the night, this will make me very tired if this continuous :(, but so be it.
As far as I can tell from the 2 litter crates I have out here, he’s been holding everything up so far. At some point he will have to go somewhere.

This morning he looks a little better than last night.
I bought him salmon oil, digestive enzymes, probiotics, l-lysine & DMG to help him somewhat hopefully.

He’s sitting at the door trying to scratch it to go out, but he has no nails at present, they cut them down.

Ughhh, I know so little about cats, I’m much more on top of things with the horses.

[Ruth0552]

Oh dear.

10 years ago, last time I worked at a vet’s, there was no way to tell if the cat tests FIV positive because of vaccine or because of infection. The FIV vaccine is RARE. Most vets do not give it because of that exact reason. Are you sure he wasn’t given a Rabies booster or a distemper/combo vaccine- that might read as FVRCCP or some such letters on your bill. Most states require a Rabies booster when a pet comes in with a wound of unknown origin.

It’s possible that the FIV is finally starting to affect him but it’s hard to tell while he’s recovering from a fight and fighting an infection.

I’m very surprised that they did not do bloodwork if you asked for it. Maybe call and ask why it wasn’t done?

Are there other cats outside that do not come from the hoarder colony? If he got it from them, he’s not going to give it back, and they probably all already have it anyways. Is there anyway to erect a fence in the direction of those cats so he can stop getting into fights? Can you contain him in an are outside with a high fence or kennel?

For trying to transition him to inside only I’d have him blocked off from his regular point of entry/exit. Is there anyway to lock him in some larger rooms away from the door with some nice windows he can’t get out of? Maybe on the 2nd floor?

[Lieslot]

Oh, DUH on me, yes, thanks for bringing this up, I’m clearly not familiar with cat vaccines.
I checked again, he got the FeLV vaccine as well as Rabies.
His previous vaccines were also FeLV, no mention of FIV.
Apologies, I thought Fe leukemia & Fe Immunovirus were one and the same thing. Now I read it is not apparently.

I’m going to give him a week to settle from this wound/infection, finish his antibiotics and then take him back for bloodwork.
Perhaps she thought bloodwork wasn’t the right thing to do at present since he’s fighting an infection from this bite wound & abscess he had.

As for neighbors’ cats, there are 2 out there that I have spotted which are (just like him) huge & fat, clearly well fed and wear a flea/tick collar, so those must be owned by someone. The others are skinny, raggedy looking, definitely strays.

We can look into sectioning off a part outdoors for him, but this won’t happen overnight. We have a standard size dog kennel, but that seems so small.
I will not carry him in there now, I don’t trust myself being able to hold onto him. Perhaps my husband can do so tomorrow.

If only he uses one of the litterboxes any time soon, he’ll feel better instead of holding things up.
I’ve put him in there twice already, but he races out of it.
I may lock him in my basement with a litterbox, see if he goes there, perhaps he wants total privacy.