Cat diagnosed with Feline Aids today

angeline

My beloved cat has been diagnosed with feline aids today. She is just over three years and is healthy in every way except she was losing teeth. This led to a blood test which confirmed feline aids. The vet said she had a cat in to her who lived to 22yrs and was diagnosed with feline aids. But my baby is young. Can she still live a long life?

Irishchick

Yes she can but she will now be immunosupressed for the rest of her life so will likley suffer from more infections than normal.

Is she spayed?

angeline

Hi Irish Chick. Yes, she was spayed quite young. She never mixes with other cats, seems very healthy except for the tooth loss. I'm worried that because she has been diagnosed with it so young that she'll die younger? I've spent the day googling it since I found out.

Irishchick

angeline wrote: »

Hi Irish Chick. Yes, she was spayed quite young. She never mixes with other cats, seems very healthy except for the tooth loss. I'm worried that because she has been diagnosed with it so young that she'll die younger? I've spent the day googling it since I found out.

No it doesn't nessecarily mean she will die younger. Many FIV cats live long lives when they contract it at a young age.

You might just find that she is more succeptible to the flu and other bugs.

She is spayed so you don't need to worry about it being transferred sexually to other cats.

Just treat her as normal but make sure to bring her to a vet if you ever notice her off form. Catching things early is important with FIV cats.

iguana

If she isn't an indoor cat already I'd suggest making the transition to get her used to staying indoors. That way she will be an awful lot less suscetible to infections. Also FIV isn't just sexually transmitted, it's much, much more transmittable than HIV, it's most usually transmitted by bites and scratches. If you let the cat out to wander there is a very good chance that she will infect other cats.

Tbh, indoor cats live much longer anyway. The average lifespan of a roaming cat is 4-6 years, the average lifespan of an indoor cat is 20-25 years. For a cat with a compromised immune system keeping her in is the best way to protect her and increase the odds of a longer life.

Themadhouse

I am sorry to hear that. But its not the end of the world if you have an understanding vet. Quite a few of my friends have FIV cats and one lives till he was in his 20's.
Can I ask what the vet recommended you do?

Does your cat wander outside? If she does you should consider keeping her indoors only. I see she is spayed but if she gets in a fight with another cat she can pass it on. Also If she comes incontact with a cat with cat flu or some other illness she could pick it up easier than normal.
Lysine is excellent for immune systems and I would highly recommend starting to use it on her food. Gum disease is also a problem as you now know so you will have to keep a very close eye on that.

WIth a proper understanding of FIV your cat could live for yrs. Its not a death sentence.

angeline

Thank you all so much for your reassuring and informative advice. I live on my own and am so attached to this cat. I love her like she is a human. She never roams. If I do let her out she literally only stays in the back garden and it's always supervised. My vet didn't recommend anything really. I will certainly get lysine and put it on her food. Anything that will help.

Delancey

I had a cat with FIV who seemed in great health then in the space of 2 days he ' crashed ' with a staggering weight loss and lethargy - Vet had to PTS.
Basically they can live with FIV but can rapidly be taken by an opportunistic infection.

ceegee

We had a cat with the same disease, he was a stray that we took in, seemed perfectly fine for ages but the rapid deterioration once he became ill (weight loss, lack of energy/vitality) was heartbreaking - the time between realising what was wrong and him having to be PTS was very short - Id imagine things have improved in the last 10 yrs though and early diagnosis will mean you can avoid dangerous situations. In my case we werent aware of the risk of this disease until it was too late

ferretone

So very sorry to hear your beloved pet has been diagnosed with FIV. But, as most others have said, this really isn't the end of the world for a kitty as well-loved and cared-for as yours. Very good to hear she is spayed, and mostly indoor already. However, if you do want to keep bringing her back into your garden, I would honestly recommend enclosing it.

I've heard too many heart-wrenching stories from friends who only took their cats out into the garden for a little supervised time, but that they suddenly got a scare, and then ran off. In your cat's case that would put her at more than the usual risk, because of her immuno-compromised status, and I can see from what you say that she is very important to you, so would really urge you not to take that risk, small as it seems to you right now.

Even if you can't enclose the garden, completely indoor kitties do not have to be unhappy kitties. We have 2, one started in a massive colony, and from her point of view, escape from there meant peace and happiness, and she has shown no signs of ever wanting to go outside again.

The other, however is a completely different prospect. I found her in the bonnet of my car, aged around 3-4 weeks, reared her and kept her. She is a very high-energy missy, and has outwitted a few visitors in escaping to the outdoors. But there is an adorable cat-killing staffie/grey cross living at the end of our lane, so we always made sure to recapture her very fast! With lots of games and interaction she is slowly becoming reconciled to her indoor life.

It does help that the odd mouse manages to get in the house, and she is fast becoming an even more accomplished mouser than the older cat, who is no slacker when it comes to that! But of course that wouldn't be a good thing for an FIV cat, so you're going to have to do all the amusing games yourself. All the best with her, she does sound an absolute darling

cocoshovel

Happened to my friends cat. I dont think it lasted more than a year after diagnosis. Im not trying to scare you or anything, just saying.

x Purple Pawprints x

Some cats can live for years with FIV. It's good that she's been spayed so she can't pass it on to other cats sexually. If she's not an indoor cat it might be a good idea to make that transition. Cats with FIV can pick up infections a lot faster than other cats so keep an eye on her and take her to the vet if she doesn't seem herself.

angeline

I've read on several sites on the net that the usual cat food is not sufficient for a cat with FIV, that they need more vitamins and minerals and better nutrition that you don't get in even the best cat food. I've been googling trying to find out exactly what to giev her. Must try to find a vet with more knowledge of feline aids and how to help them prolong their lives.

ladyjuicy08

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html