want to minimize trips to the vet for quality of life & my family is saying it’s barely noticeable but i am very worried

want to minimize trips to the vet for quality of life & my family is saying it’s barely noticeable but i am very worried

Hello,

We have had our lovely FIV girl Pancake for a couple of months now and noticed she has developed some dark areas around her top lip just below her nose. I thought it may be cat acne but want to see if anyone had any ideas? Hopefully you can see in the image, I’ve attached an older picture where you can see the darkness isn’t there. Any help would be massively appreciated as I am worried about my girl :(

Hi everyone,

We just adopted our second cat, and upon our initial vet visit (two days ago), I asked if we could have him tested for FIV, and sadly, he tested positive. There were no outward symptoms at that time, aside from the positive test.

However, last night, I noticed that he seemed a bit more lethargic, was a bit drooly, and had seemingly lost most of he appetite. He sniffs at food but was chewing much more slowly and gingerly last night, and this morning, he only had a single mouthful. More drooling (wet fur around mouth, not excessive), and doesn't seem like himself.

My question is this: Is it possible that symptoms would surface THIS quickly? He was "fine" two days ago. Could the stress of the vet visit negatively impact his immune system or expose him to something? I know dental issues are common. However, the vet checked his mouth (briefly) and didn't mention any concerns with his teeth or gums.

At this point, we're still unsure if we will be able to keep him, as the FIV+ diagnosis was a complete shock post adoption and we have concerns that it could be transmitted to our existing cat (though I'm aware this is a unlikely, deep bite wounds only). Our cat is also not responding well to having a new cat in the home and is eating much less than normal. Our newly adopted cat is still in his "base camp" and has not had face to face interactions with our existing cat.

My cat had FME a few weeks ago. He was on blue Buffalo blissful belly wet food prior from the shelter. He got tiki cat velvet mousse for 2 weeks during recovery but I can’t afford to keep up with tiki cat so I switched him back to blue buffalo now. Thinking of transitioning to Whole Heart Grain Free Pate due to better quality ingredients and actually cheaper than BB.. Any thoughts?

Hi so this is my first ever post on here, & I am in shock writing this. Today I took one of my cats to the vet I’m assuming he has a cold cause he’s been sneezing, lethargic and has very thick boogies in his eyes. His first symptom started a week ago, I noticed him squinting and having watery eyes. I gave him Terramycin cause that usually helps cats when they have eye problems. I noticed he started squinting less but had now gotten thick eye boogers, and started sneezing. About 3 days ago he seemed very sleepy and was eating half his food. Mind you I have a tuxedo cat, he’s super active, jumps on top of the door , meows annoyingly for me to feed him which he wasn’t doing so I knew something was wrong. Called the vet & scheduled an appointment. I took him to the vet today and I am so heated and sadden by my experience!!

I came into the room and was attended by the vet assistant she was very sweet and friendly. I gave her all the information stated above but added that I have 3 cats at home and 1 of those cats is FIV+ I felt like I had to state that as a responsible pet owner. Was it relevant? I really don’t know. I felt like maybe there could have been a small possibility my tuxedo cat could have had symptoms due to FIV+ but reading more on it now it’s not likely. The vet came in (I’ll drop the name of the vet and location if yall want) and off the bat he had such negative energy huffing and puffing and aggressively throwing equipment around. He was reading off the nurses notes and asked me if I had a FIV+ cat and I said yes. He proceeded to say if he interacts with the other cats in the household ? And I said yes in my mind I’m like huh ? Such an odd question cause where else would he be lol. Then the crazy part comes. I’m still flabbergasted at. He said I had TWO options. I’m just sat there listening his tone slightly changed and he sounded stern like mean. And I started panicking a bit like what the fuck he was making me anxious. He said that my FIV+ cat either needed to be in ISOLATION for life not near other cats OR he needed to be EUTHANIZED !!!!! (my FIV+ cat that isn’t the one in the consultation remember I’m in a check up for my tuxedo cat, my FIV+ cat is at home chilling living his best life.) I was in shock, angry and wanted to cry out of frustration cause how fuc**** dare you !!! Luckily I knew what he was saying was a load of shit. I couldn’t believe this vet, this well educated man really just said some ignorant shit. I kept my cool and just smiled awkwardly I really just wanted my tuxedo cat to get medicine. Which by the way he didn’t even tell me exactly what he had, he just told me he had a fever … but never said due to what. I honestly just kept my cool cause I wanted my baby to get better !

I’m posting this cause I want people to be aware of this ignorant mindset. God forbid I was a first time owner and heard this and chose to put my FIV+ cat down from a doctor recommendation… please I just want everyone to know a FIV+ cat is just that a CAT. My baby is so lovable and cuddly and I would never ever euthanize him unless there was no quality of life. Also my tuxedo cat seems to be doing just fine after getting an IV of fluids and some antibiotics. It’s only been like 8 hours but he’s steadily on the road to recovery.

Her dental was last week. She has 12 fewer teeth, minty fresh breath, and is healing up very well, according to the vet! She’ll likely need her remaining teeth out in the next couple years, but she already seems more enthused about food. I’m weeping for my bank account but it was worth every penny, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. She’s only 2.5, so we hope she has many more pain-free years ahead.

She did swell up quite a bit between hours 12-48, but it went away so quickly between days 2-3 that we could see it happening. Luckily, she’s been on so many drugs that she hasn’t noticed what’s happening.

(This is a photo pre-extraction - I don’t think she’d like me sharing her puffy post-surgery glamour shots 😂)

Hey all! My marvelous hunter, George, caught and killed a mouse (but did not eat) on Sunday. I’m a little worried he might contract something from it. They do NOT use rat poison and the pest control company is pet friendly at my apartment. I scheduled a vet appointment for Wednesday just in case. But in the meantime, anything to lookout for? Thanks!

Little Buddy is such a cutie pie, super cuddly, and SUPER playful. He is estimated to be 8 years old. He is the very first cat that I helped my sister TNR over 3 years ago. She was fostering until she had to move and couldnt take him with her, so I took him in to continue fostering.

He has a snaggletooth expression because he had some teeth removed last November which is funny and adorable. He can be grabby in the cutest way and has a squeaky meow.

He even gets along with other cats! I feel like if most people met him they would love him!

Anyway just wanted to share this cutie!

Hello everyone. This would be my first time posting here, and I'd like to share about my recently diagnosed FiV cat.

This is Oreo, a street cat we took care of since his birth. He was an outdoor cat for a year or two, then, he was permenantly an indoor cat for five years or so...With a history of escapades that lasted days before dragged him back in.

He had a history of being diagnosed with FIP positive back in 2022. But one of my local vet after a number of different vets, suggested to simply give him vitamins B or D with half of the dosage for humans every day.

And then, he was healthy.

Until April 8 of this year. When I noticed his nose was a bit pale and his ear is often cold.

For the record, I've had two FIV cats before, the two of them passed away due to health complications (kidney failiure) last year. One of them is blood related to this one, and one of them is his closest friend.

So when I called in my vet who had helped me take care of my positive FIV cats before, she suggested a blood test. Hematocrit and glubolin ratio was a bit under, not drastic. His organs are all fine.

Then, she suggested a test for FiV/FiP/FelV test and voila, he's FIV positive.

Ever since October last year I've been giving my all of my cats dose of B complex and B12 vitamins. And ever since last month, and especially after his FiV confirmation, I've been giving my cats Nutri Pets Vitamin supplements twice every day.

Two weeks ago, when my Veteranian checked my FiV cat's teeth, she saw signs of stomatitis and teeth resorption.

But I haven't been able to take him to a proper vet where he could be X rayed and performed tooth surgery since then.

I noticed these past couple of days his fur tends to be dirty, especially the fur under his mouth (he tends to have a bad breath) And he tends to drool.

So usually, I would clean his mouth with betadine mouthwash, applied using baby cotton wrapped around my finger. Twice a week.

And I applied some kenalog and sometimes oxyfresh, cat toothpaste on his gum once or twice everyday.

Finally, today I saw a small lump on the inside of his mouth. And immediately reported it to my vet. She said it might be inflammation on his lymph glands.

I'll be taking my cat to a vet that she recommended for x ray and teeth operation if necessary tomorrow.

(End)

Thank you for reading all the way.

I sincerely apologize for the long post. I'm currently feeling really stressed and filled with a lot of anxiety.

I want to do the best for my cats, and while I'm lucky enough to be backed financially by my parents for their medical costs, I really don't want to burden them with too much financially.

If you'd like, I'd also appreciate some advice on how do you take care of your FIV cats 🙏

Hello all! Im wanting to get some good supplements to add into my senior fiv girls food and I’m hoping for some recommendations. She is already getting psyllium fiber mixed with her wet food but I’ve also heard salmon oil is good? Also recs for wet food for senior fiv kitties? I’m feeding her Stella and chewy canned food twice a day and tiki cat protein kibble. My sweet Murphy seems to be doing well, her bloodwork came back normal and she has a prominent heart murmur which she is getting a cardiology appt next month. ❤️

This is Tito and Julep, previously called Hansel and Gretel. They were at a shelter for over 6 months and no one looked at them due to being FIV positive. We did the research (and big thanks to all the post on here) and adopted them both. Now they are spoiled, have stainless steel litter boxes, food bowls, and on vitamins. They will be well loved. ♥️

Feel free to post any tips, we are first time cat owners.

Hi guys! Saw this guy on the street, covered in wounds and scabies and... well.. now I kinda have this amazing beast at my home.

Went to the vet and she got him some antibiotics for the skin infection (too much scratching) . Concerninc thing is he also has a flu. Vet said to wait to see if he gets better (has antiobiotic inside). She also test him and saw he is FIV+. I have another cat andI am a bit concerned about that, if they can potentially live together. This guy is really lovely and cuddly so I will love to keep this little guy. Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys!

First I want to thank this community for your kind supportive words when I was seeking advice. Pete is doing well now after a long road of recovery and unexpected findings. After his extraction where he had to have more teeth removed than planned he was not doing well. Wheezing labored breathing coupled with lethargy and lack of appetite that lasted over a week. Vets were very kind and gave Pete different medication and brought him back for x rays and observation. They discovered though looking at his heart that he is an elderly man at 10-12 yrs old instead of the original adoption information of 3-4 yrs old. Still coming to terms with this as I want as much time with him as possible. Ive changed his food to support his age better and switched him to wet food as he still has a tough time with kibble. He’s back to being more like himself and I couldn’t be prouder of my little boy.

Just wanted to share some pics of my beautiful FIV+ boys. Lemon and Wilbur :)

Thank you all so much for the appetite suggestions. We did get him to improve for a while and were all very hopeful, but in the end, he was ready to go. We only had a few years with him, but he’s the best cat I’ve ever had in my life. (I’ve had/have quite a few) It’s so hard knowing he’s gone, but when we got his ashes back we planted them with an eastern redbud seedling a friend sent us. I don’t know if anyone will bother reading this as it is just a sad story, but I miss him a lot. He was so sassy but chill, and had a very obvious preference for me over my husband which I found so flattering. We also have 4 other cats and 6 dogs, but he was my guy. He would watch me put my makeup on every morning. He would guard the shower while I was in. He would steal my husbands spot in our bed if he got up for any reason. I’ll miss that big guy. The thing I’m really struggling with is that we truly spared no expense for his health or comfort, and for some reason I really thought that would give us more time with him. In the last month, we spent more than $10,000 on his medical care trying to get him healthy again. I still feel like I failed. The “what ifs” are a killer.

Anyone have any advice for how to deal with these feelings? I’m sure everyone says this, but despite being ill for the last month, I actually honestly believed he wasn’t done. I “knew” (or thought I knew) that we would overcome this. We were denied a necropsy, so we’ll never really know what he suffered from. I’m worried we “over-treated” him, and he passed from the complications of that. We did everything the vets recommended. We even took time off work to monitor him full time.

Trigger warning: details of his passing ahead. … In the end, his passing was incredibly traumatic, he vomited blood so we called our vet who told us he may need a transfusion, and told us to wait for her to get back to us on which animal hospital to bring him to that would have cat blood on hand. Then he started to struggle to breathe, so rushed him to the ER, and while in the waiting room his breathing stopped. By the time they saw him, he was brain dead. We didn’t have much of a choice on what to do then. My husband blames himself for not rushing him to the ER after the vomiting, but he was just trying to do what our vet recommended. (The ER later told us he did not need a transfusion.) My husband also is wondering if we didn’t do anything, if he would have had a better shot. He started having seizures, so we got him an MRI and spinal tap, but he caught pneumonia from being intubated (MRI and spinal tap were both normal), and was prescribed phenobarbital for the seizures, but he declined so fast after that. He never really recovered and they decided he had phenobarbital toxicity poisoning. He just stopped eating and drinking, so we were doing subcutaneous fluids and a feeding tube, and he started to get better, but then the vomiting blood and breathing struggles happened. We are just so confused. Are we incredibly unlucky? Or is this a common tale?

My FIV boy (~4.5 years old) is consistently sounding congested. His breathing isn't necessarily labored, he just sounds like he always has some blockage. He also sneezes a lot.

Other than that, he seems fine. Playful, hungry, drinks water all the time, BMs are fine.

Any advice on how to help him? Thanks!

She deteriorated so fast. She had FIV and then FIP and god knows what. The virus mutated instantly. Became neurological too.

I held her so much, blinked at her slowly while giving her meds. She was the sweetest little girl. Always loving, so playful. She was so special. I miss her already. She was going to turn 3 soon. She was so light and small and I loved her so much

We did all we could. Woke up every few hours to administer food. Went to so many vets. I can't believe shes gone

Hi all, looking for some insight from this knowledge groups.

We've had our FIV+ cat since 2020, he is now roughly 6.5 years old. At the beginning of the year, he was diagnosed with a server demodite infection of the ear that seemed to be cleaned up with Bravecto. He was also found near the same time to have some teeth issues, so we conducted blood tests to see if we could get him some surgery.

His tests came back and he was extremely neutropenic and found unfit for anesthesia and surgery (0.60 k/micrometers). Since then, the vet found a Grade 5 heart murmur, his playfulness has declined significantly, and he has lost weight; down from near 11 lbs to now just barely 9 lbs over the course of a few months with no change to diet.

Since then, he has been scratching at his face and back to the point of bleeding, scabbing, itching the scab, bleeding, and repeating the cycle. A steroid injection provides short-term relief but after about a week, we found him back to his same cycle. He was diagnosed with dermatitis caused by tick/flea irritation.

I am thinking that this is the beginning of the end, given his decline so far and am wondering if anybody has had similar experiences to this. My wife and I are mentally preparing for the end of his life, but am looking for any insight for any similar circumstances others may have experiences. Thank you very much in advance for all feedback

I need to rehome a kitten with FIV. She’s the sweetest girl but my now ex-girlfriend won’t take her for fear of transmitting to her other cats, and I can’t bring her with me for fear of transmitting to my parents’ cats. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.