Hi, everyone! Thanks for letting me join your group. Sorry for the long post, but, I hope to find out more about taking care of an FIV+ cat. Fluffy was found by 2 little neighborhood girls who brought him to me, he could barely lift his head and weighed 4 pounds. He was 3-5 years old. At the time, I didnt know what was wrong with him, so I quarantined him, like I do any new cats I rescue. He was force fed 4 days and I gave him sub-q fluids for 3 days. On the 4th day, he decided he didnt want to be force fed any more and when he saw the food syringe, he wobbled over to his dry food and began to eat! I guess he said hed had enough! lol I did a few more force feedings for him until I was sure he was eating on his own. The little girls named him Fluffy because of his long hair. I call him Tuff Fluffy, because he survived. He could be a Rag Doll mix with his long coat and short face, plus his very loving disposition. You can hold him any way you want to and he wont complain. He generally wont start a fight, but he will try to end it. He can play rough and make my older cats mad enough to hit him. Ill call his name and he goes to the kitchen where his stuff is. lol He began walking and sitting up the next day. That was March 29, 2014. He now weighs 13 pounds and is a beautiful, loving, playful cat. He is neutered and gets 3 ccs of 3,000 mg lysine and 2 ccs of coconut oil a day. When he sneezes too much or gets congested, he gets a second dose of lysine. When he has trouble breathing, he gets antibiotics and nasal saline spray. I had him tested with an ELISE test and it came back positive, so I waited 60 days and had him tested again. Still positive. :( What I would like to know, is there anything else I can do to help him breathe better? He seems congested all the time. 2 vets said there is nothing I can do for him but treat the symptoms and keep him comfortable. BUT...he is so active! He runs, plays with the other cats and his toys, climbs the cat poles and towers and generally feels good, I guess? He just sounds awful! Thanks, I hope to learn a lot about how to care for an FIV+ cat. He lives with 1, 12 year old, 1, 11 year old, 2, 10 year olds, 1, 8 year old, and 1 2 year old special needs kitty. She had Herpes virus at 2 weeks old and never got over it. She gets the same medication as he does, only the nasal spray is more often as her nares were ruined by the virus. Both sneeze all the time! I do keep him away from the rescues that come to my home and will be re-homed. He is up for adoption, but only to someone who knows how to take care of an FIV+ cat.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:26:24 +0000