Hi! I adopted an FIV+ cat this past August. From reading online, I didn't think they would get sick too much more often than FIV- cats. I decided to adopt knowing that some might be turned off by his FIV status and knowing that I am lucky to be able to afford vet bills.

BUT this is the third upper respiratory tract infection he has had in 5 months. Each time, it doesn't seem to clear it on his own without antibiotics. I'm concerned he'll end up with antibiotic resistance over time if I keep doing this.

The first illness, he was given both oral antibiotics and eye drops for 2 weeks. The second time (several months later) his eyes weren't as bad and they gave me a supply of oral antibiotics only for 1 week (wish it could have been 2...didn't realize they only gave me enough for one). It's been a couple of months and he's sick again. I'm gonna take him in a few days if this doesn't start to clear again.

Some notes:

-He is an indoor only cat. I do not have other pets.

-He was swabbed for herpes one of the times and it was negative. One of the times he had a mycoplasma infection and the other time he was not swabbed.

-He was tested as FeLV- at the shelter. But I suppose if he had a very early infection, it might not have shown up.

-He mostly acts pretty normal during his infections thankfully (eating, using the bathroom, etc)...just maybe sometimes a tad less active.

-I'm going to start giving him lysine powder daily in his food (twice a day). The vet had me give it to him for the duration of the first infection, but I may as well just continue it forever since it seems fairly benign.

Thanks, guys!

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[–] allriledup@piefed.blahaj.zone 41 points 1 day ago (1 children)

i have no advice, but i just wanted to thank you for taking a FIV+ cat. they almost always get passed up at the shelters, because no one wants a cat who is gonna be sick every few months or whatever. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for taking him on knowing he's gonna have a lot of vet bills. <3

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Thank you! He was the sweetest, chillest guy there who wasn't afraid to be out in the open and relax in front of everyone. Knew I had to pick him. :) I guess he had been there for around 5 months before I got him. He's around 4-5 years old and I named him Lester. He bunts me all the time and when his eyes are teary and stuff he wipes them all over me still lolol!

[–] allriledup@piefed.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 day ago

honestly, the eye gunk thing would make me fall for him even more <3

[–] Hippy@piefed.social 11 points 1 day ago

My boy was fiv+ and he lasted 15 years after contracting it at age 9. He didn't get sick often and when he was younger he could go years without any issues but as he got older he developed kidney/liver issues and food sensitivity to even the best dry/wet foods. In the end he only ate tuna and boiled chicken breast. Every animal is going to be different and you just have to deal with things as they come up.

[–] bobo1900@startrek.website 25 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

We had two stray cats, one was confirmed FIV+, the other not, they didn't really get any recurring infection, but they both started having the same neurological symptoms: they lost control of their back legs and sphincters, had trouble walking straight and cleaning themselves so we had to do it.

I don't know if this is a regular outcome of FIV, or if it's even related at all, but you might want to look for gradual problems with walking and balance. Not much you can do unfortunately, but what I can tell you is they don't get any less loving, actually, they probably get more. His last days one of the strays went from barely staying close to a human unless being fed, to purr, pets and constant headbutts.

Good luck with your little fella, glad he could find a caring home.

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Awww poor babies. :(

Did they ever figure out the cause? I had not really heard of this as an outcome, just particular infections that can happen and tooth loss (my guy was already missing his top front teeth!).

[–] Janx@piefed.social 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Amazing. People like you genuinely restore my faith in humanity...

[–] bobo1900@startrek.website 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

To be fair, they started developing symptoms much later then when we took care of them. But yeah, we had a lot of cats in the years, 90% of them were strays (or in this case, one of them was actually kicked of their house and spent some years outside) that self-tamed over time lol.

[–] zorflieg@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We had an FIV+ for many years. He had weepy eyes now and then that we used to wipe but other than that he was very normal and not prone to random illness.

We have him lysine and forti flora later in life that seemed to help him. But that was for older cat pancreas issues.

He was an outdoor cat back then and strong generally. Our current cats are now indoor only.

[–] allriledup@piefed.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 day ago

FWIW, FIV+ cats should ONLY be indoors. They spread it through fights.

[–] fiat_lux@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

Lots of snuggles.

It seems like you already have a good handle on the rest already, even if 3 URTIs in 5 months is no fun for anyone.

It might be worth giving your house a thorough clean to see if that helps. Maybe there's a source of irritants (molds, pollens, that kind of thing) that is only really problematic for someone with a weakened immune system, and therefore more prone to secondary infections.

[–] Janx@piefed.social 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Sorry, I have no tips, just listen to a knowledgeable, caring vet. 😿 But I still wanted to say thank you for adopting and caring for your fuzzy friend, since they are unable to verbally do so. Wishing you the best in everything you do! People who look after people (and animals) truly are the saints of our world...

[–] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 4 points 1 day ago

Be meticulous with the cat toilet, and since he has issues with respiratory infections, make sure the cat litter does not create too much dust. Other than that, keep weighting the cat on the regular, since weight loss is an early indicator for issues. A yearly blood count, serum biochemical analysis, and urine analysis can catch issues early.

Thanks for taking a FIV+ cat in! My mother's two cats were FIV+ (she was helping out a shelter with harboring FIV+ cats, and those two stayed in the end), and they lived for years without major issues with regular screening and early prevention if issues popped up.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ours doesn’t have FIV, but she does get sick every few months. I put her in the bathroom with me when I take a shower and I don’t turn the exhaust fan on. It seems to help her. The steam I think helps reduce inflammation.

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

My guy follows me everywhere, but whenever I turn the shower on he runs away! He seems to be a bit scared whenever it rains too. The guy must really not like water.

But if I can get him to chill in the bathroom with the shower on, I'll give it a go.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 1 points 45 seconds ago

Mine did too for a long time, but we did it a few times and she realized she liked the steam so now she comes in willingly a lot of the time.

[–] Contingencyfork@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Speak to your vet about possibly administering interferon. As far as I know the evidence for interferon to treat FIV is iffy at best but have had a positive experience myself.

Don't forget that a lot of the symptoms that manifest (weepy eyes etc) are secondary and even if the interferon doesn't help manage the FIV you might see positive effects on any secondary viral infections.

Depending on where you reside, interferon can be VERY expensive though. There might be a cheaper oral alternative but I'm only familiar with the injectable versions.

Hope this helps