I suspect that Gurly and therefore all of my cats are positive, seriously. the porch cat tested positive and Gurly was all over his food and water when I snatched her up. I'm gonna get them all tested but I'd like to hear from you guys what difference it makes if they are positive now that they are all inside and not likely to be exposed to diseases? Am I nihilistic or stoopid not to be more freaked out by this?
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Philadelphia
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Re: FIV
Mon, August 2, 2004 - 7:32 PMUnlike FeLV, FIV isn't too easy to pass on. Basically you need some serious bite wounds. I remember Kumquat's WAB saying something like two cats would need to get in a knife fight with each other to infect one another. FIV also doesn't fuck with the immune system quite as badly as FeLV does.
It's good to get tested just so you know. I'm fairly sure Gurly can't get it just from sharing food and drink.
Don't give the vaccine, it's shit and doesn't cover one of the major strains. -
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Re: FIV
Mon, August 2, 2004 - 7:51 PMyeah, get gurly tested, but typically it would be as unlikely to pass fiv from cat to cat via food/water bowl as would be to pass hiv by sharing a water with someone.
however, if one tests positive, i've read many things that state that can still have a very happy and full life, up to 12 yrs usually.
my vet and i suspected that tate had fiv or fip for a while, but alas it was just some serious food allergies and a blood parasite.
oh, yeah, big no and the vaccine, that goes for fip too. really pretty useless -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 4:17 AMThank you both I haven't found a good vet here. I'm broke and thankfully they have been healthy. I got them all fixed and their shots before they came indoors and that was basically it for the white coats. When I took freddy the porch cat in to the vet and he tested positive they told me it was spread via saliva which is why I thought she woudl have contracted it from him. he's un neutered, but she was such a crack head back then I doubt he tried to "get with" her. Her eyes are runny and I read something yesterday that said that's a sign of illness, sometimes. I'll take her in and report back. -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 5:22 AMi wish all your babies the best of luck - it can be really worrying when you don't know - but like kim said they can still live a happy long life with fiv.
however i thought max and snowy had fiv because they used to have runny eyes - but they tested negative and it's suspected that snowy has some kind of viral thing that makes her eyes act up every now and then. so don't worry too much babe, best of luck x -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 9:16 AMThanks, she's got tons of energy, shiny coat, bright eyes, good appetite. she's a doll and a demon.
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 9:24 AMenergy is the key, if she's still active i'd bet that she's healthy. i know when my cats are sick by them acting lethargic and too sleepy.
however with cats, sleepy is like so this season
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 9:49 AM"When I took freddy the porch cat in to the vet and he tested positive they told me it was spread via saliva which is why I thought she woudl have contracted it from him."
I won't be an arrogant bitch and say your vet's sort of full of it by claiming that FIV can be transmitted just through saliva... But as far as I know, you need some good, hard bites to get enough virus in the bloodstream to transmit this shit.
An FIV FAQ can be found over here: www.v63.net/fivcats/pages/faq.html
I'm not a vet. I just want to play one on TV. Sigh.
Runny eyes can be a few different things. It could possibly be because of one of the flu viruses (rhinotracheitis, aka feline herpes virus). It's not serious in healthy adults, a bit more cause for concern in very young kittens. A few other causes of runny eyes can be allergies, something lodged in Gurly's eyes (like a speck of something), too much dust or pollen in the air, chemical irritants like scented plug-ins.
Just keep a close eye on her and get her tested. -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 11:31 AMnot to worry about the "arrogant bitch" thing. I appreciate the info and will check out the web page right now. -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 11:48 AMThat does put my mind at ease, I wasn't that freaked out to begin with though. I made an appointment for friday with the swanky vet. don't tell! -
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Re: FIV
Tue, August 3, 2004 - 8:20 PMJust to put your mind at ease (even though Gurly is probably just fine) my stepmom's cat Zeke had FIV and lived to be 19 years old. So even if she has it (which she probably doesn't) it isn't a death sentence.
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Re: FIV
Wed, August 4, 2004 - 3:12 AM>>I'm not a vet. I just want to play one on TV. Sigh. <<
ha ha. like dr. quincy for animal planet! yes! -
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Re: FIV
Fri, August 6, 2004 - 9:20 AMI'm a veteran of cat illnesses, here, and FIV is one of the few Lupin and Carmilla didn't have. My old neighbor in Houston had a cat with FIV, though, and she was healthy and happy. I did a lot of reading about FIV when I was researching leukemia and, like everyone says here, cats can live long healthy lives with it.
Still, we're hoping your kitties are negative. Keep us posted, though. -
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Re: FIV
Fri, August 6, 2004 - 2:06 PMYEA...that's what my wab said. Knifefights! Knifefights with lots of blood and spit and blood and the later ensueing puss from all of the abscesses!
*ahem* But yes...cats with FIV tend to live just as long as regular cats.
-K Mellon -
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Re: FIV
Fri, August 6, 2004 - 6:54 PMJesus H.
Fred, the porch cat, did look like that once a while back. Dis-gustinck!
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