Forgive me for starting a new thread for Jess when there is already on ongoing. I've just had the blood results back and apparently there is quite a high number of fiv anitbodies in her blood. Me being the eternal pessimist instantly thought, I'm going to have to put her to sleep and possibly the other 3 cats in the household. Now I've come home from work and have googled the conditioned and to be honest it doesnt seem all doom and gloom. Her blood is going to be rechecked but can somebody please give any personnal feedback on this condition. Jess is 12yrs, recently had a dental and is weighing in at about 6lb, when she first came to stay 8yrs ago she weighed in at 9lbs. Shes lost 1lb in weight since she had her dental. (June).
Thanks.

I have no experience of this but I believe that cats can live happily with it for years but are best being kept indoors so they cannot spread it to other cats in the area, plus you are not exposing them to illnesses and disease that could be contracted outside the home.

Fabcats has a bit of info on it and I find them to be very helpful and not all scary google doom and gloom, link here

Sorry to hear about the lastest test results BUT firstly you need to ascertain from your vet which test was run, though given the time limit it sounds as if it was the routine practice one. The usual ELISA test can be very unreliable, giving false positive results and needs to be followed up with the IFA test. Your vet will have to send the sample away.

Even if this throws up a positive result I wouldn't dream of putting her to sleep. Lots of people have HiV+ cats though to prevent transmission to other cats you'll have to keep her indoors. It is carried in the blood and saliva of infected animals and deep penetrating wounds need to be inflicted.

Did the bloodwork reveal any other abnormalities? I'm wondering about that weight loss.

I wouldn't worry too much about her HiV status until ( and if ) you receive confirmation via the second bloodtest.

My cat is FIV positive. He was diagnosed at about 1yr old and is now about 8yrs old and is absolutely fine. He has had no problems at all and is fit and healthy. No idea what sort of tests he had but he has now had 3 and they are all positive.

The prognosis for these cats used to be considered very poor and people were advised to have them put to sleep immediately but more recent research has shown that FIV is endemic in the cat population, most people with FIV cats have no idea they have it and the vast majority of these cats live a pretty normal lifespan.

It is also no longer considered necessary to keep these cats isolated from other cats - provided all cats are neutered and they don't fight (deep bites/puncture wounds are the commonest mode of transmition) there is very little chance of the other cats catching it.

Beware, some vets are not very clued up on the latest FIV evidence. Declan has had three tests because twice vets have insisted he cannot possibly have FIV as he is too healthy

Sounds like your cat needs further investigation before deciding whether she has FIV at all and if so whether that is actually the cause of her weightloss - even if she is FIV positive the weightloss could be completely unrelated.

Insist the vet checks her out properly for other causes and does not simply assume it is FIV (even if she does prove positive) that is causing this.

Hope you have good news soon.

Thanks for the positive feedback, Jess is eating at the moment which is a huge positve for her, I spent £13 in the local P@H fpr special treats for her as well as some R/C exigent. She's had about 10 biscuits ignored the treats but is absolutly loving the raw chicken breast I brought for our tea. If the result does come back positive I will refer to another vet hospital in the area for a second opinion.

Well a day of mixed emotions. Jess has been confirmed as having fiv. A vets visit, a thorough examination of her bowel. the lump has disapeared so it seams it was poo. Her bowel was inflammed and a bit 'squidgy'. The vet did say if he didnt know Jess had fiv he would be treating her for IBD so thats what we're going with at the moment. Anti-inflammatory, antibiotics and pain relief has been given. I've also got her some H/D which she turned her nose up at. Although I must add she is now eating small amounts of felix which she hasnt eaten for over a week as well as minced beef and chicken breast. I'm hoping this treatment will will help Jess turn a corner, we go back on monday for a follow-up and more injections. So paws and fingers crossed.

Is Jess your only cat Bobby? Edit: Just read you have another three, will you be getting those tested too in case it has passed?

I have known FIV cats have pretty long decent lives Its certainly not the end of the world

The only difference is obviously she cannot go out for risk of any transferrance, and if you have other cats they could be at risk of getting it also if they do not already

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Yes I'll be getting the other 3 tested as soon as the finances allow. She does go outside but for very short periods of time, poo, pee and back inside. She's lost her aggressive streak and would rather run than fight unless its next doors dog. We are slightly puzzled as to where she could of contracted it having had her for the last 9 yrs. I've never known her to get into a physical scrap usually a hiss and raised paw would be all it took to assert her authority.. It could well have been there since she was a kitten and the recent dental she had could have triggered it to develop.

Glad to hear the 'mass' has been eliminated but not surprised to hear about the IBD, think I suggested as much on your other thread. However, in view of intestinal inflammation-no doubt caused by her previous diet- I would try and stick to the prescription diet, at least for now. Do you mean Hills i/d? The medications will help but you also need to identify which food ( or ingredient in it ) which is provoking the allergic reaction, manifested as interestinal inflammation. Has she always been fed Felix?

Since weight loss is one of her symptoms ( due to malabsorption ) she need to stick to the diet in order to gain some weight! She won't be on steroids etc forever and longterm management relies on feeding a non-offending food!

No its a/d, not sure of the difference. The vet said it was a bit like junk food, lots of fat to help her put weight and sloppy so it doesnt take much effort to eat. She was my mums cat before mine ( 9 yrs in total) and shes always had felix, occassionally whiskas. I will e-mail Felix and ask if the formulation has changed maybe that might throw some light on the situation, and just keep perservering with the diet.