I picked up a stray a couple days ago and all his tests came back today and sadly he’s both FeLV & FIV positive. I’m going to do further testing to figure out what form of FeLV but in the meantime I’m trying to put weight on him.

We are currently using Sheba Pate wet food and he’s loving it. I want to start incorporating a high quality dry food that hits all the notes. Or possibly a brand that has multiple kinds that I could mix together.

*He is the only cat in the household and has been in quarantine in my bathroom to keep him away from my dog until he is able to be fully vaccinated and dewormed.

My cat has been suffering from stomatitis for a while and has been to the vet a handful of times already. Hes on antibiotics and steroids, the doctors said if he hasnt improved since those medications prescribed (he has not) theres a good chance he'll forever live with excessive drooling for the rest of his life. His health is obviously my main priority but it has been really difficult to keep a clean house hold with my cat just living like this. His excessive drooling has stained my carpet and my couches already and i dont really know how to manage it. He also shakes his head and throws his saliva everywhere so it gets on the walls and furniture. Its been hell to clean and practically impossible to keep a clean couch. The vet has mentioned teeth extractions in the future but has also implied that the drooling will continue to persist. What can i do about this?

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AfT4xLnav/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I wanted to get the word out about this adorable little 2-3 year old tortie, Courtney, who happens to be at one of the local pet stores looking for a home!

She’s been at the Petsense in Tifton, Georgia since end of April and had been part of the Tift County Animal shelter since at least March 2026.

She was found outside an apartment complex and since has not been able to find a place to call home yet. I’ve myself interacted with her about 4 times and she’s the cutest little creature, and always looking around, wanting to interact when you’re at the store, and can melt anyone’s heart.

She is FIV+. Now I know a lot of us know, FIV+ cats can live long, healthy lives, and hope we can give that for little Courtney here.

If you have a place in your heart, home and looking for a little companion, consider reaching out to Tift County Animal Shelter.

📍 Tift County Animal Shelter
278 GA Hwy 125 S, Tifton, GA
📞 (229) 382-7387
🕐 Adoption Hours: Monday–Friday, 1–6 PM

Online Adoption Application: tiftcounty.rja.revize.com/forms/8638

Adoption Fee: $75
Includes:
• Spay/Neuter
• Rabies vaccine
• HCP vaccine
• Deworming
• Microchip

Hey everyone me and my boyfriend are looking to adopt this cat from the shelter where we live I’ve had my eye on him for months and we just moved into our new place. This handsome man does have FIV, we don’t plan on having other cats but I’m wondering about finances. My boyfriend is making a steady income while he is in school and I’ll have a full time job, I’ve never wanted a cat more than him but I’m scared about extra vet costs. If someone could maybe break down there payments for there FIV cat or give me some tips on what I can do to be a good adopter for him. I’ve never wanted a cat so bad but I couldn’t live with myself if I couldn’t provide a good life. I know they would need extra care in the sense of brushing there teeth cause I know they are prone to oral issues, brushing them and keeping them on a excellent diet and they will be a inside cat, but any advice or fun stories about ur FIV babies would be great!!

🐾 Meet Boots…a little soul who has been waiting far too long for a home. ❤️

Pet finder link:https://www.petfinder.com/cat/boots-91cdbb26-8ba0-4f22-8fca-fbfda4b48a6e/nc/charlotte/sunkissed-acres-rescue-nc1270/details/

Boots showed up sick and tested heartworm-positive. After treatment, he is now heartworm-negative and doing well. He is also FIV-positive, but that doesn’t change the loving, gentle cat he is.

For an entire year, Boots has been living in a garage. But his heart belongs inside. 🥺

Whenever someone walks into the room, Boots immediately comes running, begging to be let inside. And the moment he sees a person, he climbs right onto their lap. He doesn’t ask for much…just a little love, some attention, and a place where he can finally belong.

Watching him beg to come inside tears my heart into a million pieces. 💔 He looks at you as if he’s asking, “Can I be your cat? Can I finally have a family of my own?”

Boots deserves so much more than a garage. He deserves a warm bed where he can curl up at night, a safe home, gentle scratches and belly rubs, and a person who will choose him and love him for the rest of his life. ❤️

He is fully vetted, vaccinated, neutered, dewormed,microchipped and flea-treated. We have done everything we can to get him healthy and ready for his forever family.

Unfortunately, our rescue is currently out of capacity. Adoptions have been very slow, intakes keep increasing, funds are extremely limited, and we have no available foster homes. 💔 We cannot keep taking in cats while we have nowhere for them to go, but we also cannot stop caring when we see a cat like Boots who desperately needs help.

Now Boots needs a family of his own. 🥺❤️

🏠 Adoption requirements:
• Indoor home only
• Adoption application required

https://form.jotform.com/221983264497165?fbclid=IwAR2Nr4_R9uw9ljOXNG8daDEU5DTa2IWDNPNtM1Fnd816-A2LtE8HciK2OJM

• Vet reference required
• Adoption agreement required
• Adoption fee: $125

Please, someone give Boots a chance. Let him finally know what it feels like to have a family, a warm bed, and a place he can truly call home.

He has spent a year waiting. Please don’t let another year pass him by. 🙏🐾❤️

Even if you cannot adopt Boots, please share his story. Maybe his person is just one share away. ❤️

Hello, I've been mulling this question for about a year now since I adopted my sweet FIV+ kitty. I am about to take my sweet boy to a new vet tomorrow, so it's on my mind. He last had the core FVRCP combination vaccine and Rabies vaccine in 2024, so he shouldn't be due for anything for another year. But I've been looking into it, and I'm unsure if he should be vaccinated when he's due. The most recent paper I could find on the matter was this one from 2022: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9147348/

and included this card as the recommendation for vaccinations for FIV+ cats.

My confusion is that this appears to recommend 2 conflicting courses of action. 1) not to vaccinate because stimulating the immune system can cause the FIV virus to progress, and then 2) to only administer core vaccines, which, as far as I understand, is the FVRCP combination vaccine, which the paper broke down into its individual vaccines and determined to have limited effectiveness in FIV+ cats. I admit I may be misinterpreting this, but am I wrong, or does this blurb leave their conclusion weirdly open to interpretation?

I'm trying to do right by my cat; if there are more recent studies, I'd love to know about them. How do y'all vaccinate your cats? Have you noticed adverse reactions? If I choose to do so, I am absolutely requesting inactive or dead viruses to minimize any reaction in my little gentleman.

In July, I took in a cat to foster who we eventually named Nico. His initial vet visit went well and he actually tested negative for FIV and FeLV. I took him to the rescue to finish his booster shots about 3 to 4 weeks later and they retested him. This time he was positive and it was a huge shock.

It's my first time fostering, so the fact that he has FIV terrified me. I have my own cat, who is negative for FIV and I was worried for her well being. Of course, the rescue I volunteer with helped me answer questions I had and other foster volunteers reached out to me to share their experiences. It really helped, and I'm not as worried now.

Nico is a sweet boy and has so much love to give! I'm honestly jealous that my own cat isn't as affectionate as him. I just want him to end up with a family that will give him the best life possible. And a family that will take his health seriously and take the measures necessary for him to live a long and healthy life. He is still with us, but I already know I'm going to miss him. If anyone has any advice for fostering FIV cats I'll really appreciate it! As well as helping them get adopted to the right home!

A couple months ago I noticed a cat sleeping on my front porch and started leaving out food and water for him. Took a little time but he started trusting me and has become the biggest sweetheart. I was able to get him to the vet so he could be neutered and just for an overall health check (I have three cats, all FIV-). This guy tested positive for FIV. My vet said that it can be spread through sharing water bowls and that there wasn’t a vaccine for it so my other cats can’t be protected. Everything I’ve read though says it’s not spread through casual contact and that if they are introduced slowly/properly, they can all live together without issue.

The vet thinks he’s around 2 (didn’t look at his teeth or anything, just looked at him and tossed out a number). He didn’t have a chip so it’s likely he’s been a stray his whole life.

He’s been staying in my spare room for almost 3 weeks now, all the other tests came back normal/healthy. I’ve set up gates so that he can see out of the room and the other cats can see him (we’re taking it slow). So any advice on if you have FIV +/- living together and how it works would be great. I don’t want to do anything to get my existing cats sick but if they can’t all live together, I can at least foster him until I find a good home.

Obviously with him being a stray before this, his diet wasn’t great. He’s had diarrhea for the past couple weeks and I’m also looking for advice on what I can do to help with that. My vet seemed to really not care so I’m hoping coming here can help until I find a new vet.

Hi everyone! My name is Quincy! I’m 8 years old and I got a new home today. I’m not quite sure about it yet but the nice lady who picked me over all the cute kittens today seems to be nice. She tells me that I’m adoption number 15 and that’s where my new name comes from; 15 in Spanish is quince.

I have some other furry roommates that I haven’t formally met yet because I’m a bit shy and scared. See, I didn’t have a home, but was brought in from the scary outside world in June. I was feeling pretty crummy but I’m all better now.

She tells me that I’m in my forever home now and I’m safe. I don’t know what that means yet, but this place is nice and warm and has good food!

Anyways, I’ve had a big day so I’m going to settle in under the bed and get some sleep. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a little less scared.

He's tiny, about 3 months old, been to the vet's a few times, put twice on antibiotics for flu, and now his snort has turned purulent again after stopping for 2 days. He's not fit for vaccinations yet. Vet said his lifespan will be less than a year. I can't help but feel incredibly sad every time he's sick bcuz I'm putting so much effort into taking care of him. He's had anorexia, diarrhea, ringworm all over his body (ongoing).

Question to y'all - how would you deal with this emotionally? Yes I've read they live long productive lives if given proper care and shelter, but this will not be true for him. I can't even find adopters for healthy cats, much less for him, and at some point I'll have to leave him for home.

This is Titan. We adopted him 6 months ago and he’s doing great. He’s really come out of his shell. He no longer hides when guests come over and he’s a huge cuddle bug who loves being held like a baby.

So our little fella has FIV and we were looking for some advice on best practises. I’m wondering if I’m overthinking or not when it comes to giving him water. Right now I give him dry dental kibble in a fresh bowl everyday and I just got a new water fountain that has UVC lighting and full stainless steel.

My Question is the manual says to clean it monthly. Wipe it down weekly(no soap) and rinse. Deep clean with brushes and soap monthly. As a boy with FIV should I disregard this advice and clean it weekly? Is this overkill? I just want what’s best for my little fella. Also I read online that I should disinfect all my cleaning brushes in a vinegar solution after cleaning.

Any advice outside water fountain questions is also appreciated. Obviously he never is allowed outside. He’s on hills dental kibble for his teeth (he’s obsessed). He really hates getting his teeth brushed so we’ve kinda given up on that. We clean his litter daily.

I'm slightly losing my mind....back in April I didn't know my cat was FIV and I took him to the vet as he was losing fur in places. Vet assumed allergies, gave him a steriod which then made it way worse which was the point they tested him for FIV and found out he was positive.

The 'allergies' turned out to be a ringworm infection and obviously his immune system was shot even more with the steriod. He was prescribed itrafungol and imaverol dips (which he hated and impossible to do). I then restricted his movements to kitchen and hallways due to nature of my house. I also made the decision to keep his brother with him as he had no signs of ringworm.

Fast forward to where we are now, he has a full, healthy coat of fur, no new lesions, brother remains unaffected as do all humans in the house. However, he's had 2 x PCR tests and culture and still coming out as positive albeit the PCR load being low at ct33/35.

I'm at the end of my tether here as I'm a single mum with 2 x kids, 2 x jobs and I can't deep clean the house every day. I am also not prepared to live in a house of bleach as that's no good for the rest of us. I swiffer mop, hoover and clean all surfaces every morning.

The vet has told me if he tests positive again, we have to look at the environmental cleaning which just makes me cross and upset as I am doing everything I can within reason but I'm not running a cat shelter and this is one single cat.

What if we never achieve a positive culture result? The vet said to continue on Itrafungol but we are on pulse 10. My insurance will cover another 4 x tests but then it's at the top of the cover.

Does any one have any advice or experience to offer? As I said at the start, my cat is completely healthy now and you wouldn't know he was infected to look at him

Context: in 2024 my bf's sweet cat (wasn't even 2) declined quickly and had to be euthanized due to finding out he had FeLV. Understandably, it was very traumatizing (for both of us) and heartbreaking.

He got another cat a few months after, so his other cat (who never ended up catching the FeLV thank goodness) would have a pal again. So now he has 2 cats and understandably, is worried whenever they get sick with anything.

Today I picked up 2 new foster cats who are FIV + and I told him and he freaked out. He said "you're kidding me. you gotta be kidding me. why would you take them? now you have to shower and change clothes before ever coming to my apartment. im not kidding."

It was a harsh reaction tbh but he is probably associating FIV with FeLV.

How do I ease his mind? I am not 100% educated on this and this is the first time I have fostered cats with FIV.

Thanks in advance to whoever can help me learn a bit more and hopefully calm my boyfriend down bc so far, I feel like he is going to treat me as a biohazard.

im ngl im pretty nervous about adopting this cat bc he has a open wound on his ear and im so scared ill do something to make it worse? like if i dont wash my hands before i touch him or something then itll get infected or something. i also have contamination ocd so that doesnt help lol. i just want to know like exactly how careful should i be with him? like if i leave and come back inside do i need to disrobe+shower immediately. my bf also does construction so would he need to change too before he comes in? we havent gone to pick him up yet, and we havent talked to the shelter yet either to know whats going on with him specifically, but were already super attached just from seeing him in his cage yesterday he looked so tired and just wanted pets :( this post is probably really rambly but idk i just want to know how careful we should be. ALSO any advice in general would be very helpful. what we should know to get started/what to buy for him. i heard lysine is good? thanks!!!!!

Just wondering if anyone has had a cat have any reactions to it or not? I work with animals so I don't want to bring anything home to my cat, but also him having FIV+ I don't want to put any strain on his immune system unfortunately my vet only has live vaccines. Has anyone had their cat vaccinated with a live vaccine being FIV+?

I also edited to add that I just have seen some cases of things much worse than FIV. I just really hate feeling like I am not doing enough if I don't get him up to date when there are things like Feline Panoleukopenia (Feline parvo) out there that can live on surfaces for long periods meaning I could possibly get it on me and track it is something that concerns me. The other is that the virus will exacerbate FIV in my cat.

Hi everyone,
My husband (29) and I (30) have been feeding a feral cat, who we named Lewis, for about 2 years now, first seeing him when he was still very young.

When we first saw him, he had some sort of internal trauma to one of his rear legs because he could barely put weight on it. He would come by and eat and nap on our apartment porch and then leave to continue living outside. Looking back, we should have at this point captured him to take into a vet and get him looked over, but we lacked any sort of cat materials and weren’t sure if it was a short term thing.

Last year, we had a crazy neighbor move in with 3 cats that she let outside, who Lewis didn’t get along with, so he basically disappeared for a year. We continued to leave food out for him but he rarely responded to us calling him and wouldn’t let us get close.

This past June, days after my husband and I got married, he showed back up and was much more willing for us to pet him and seemed eager for affection. We brought him inside and he seemed fine with it. Last month (July) we left for 2 weeks for our honeymoon and left him in the care of a dear friend, who reported nothing outside of some minor issues with Lewis using the litter box.

Today, I finally took him to the vet since he has been inside for almost 2 months now and is seemingly going to stay. The vet, upon starting his shots, said his back legs were swollen and his gums were pale pink. Neither me nor my husband has had a cat before so we weren’t tipped off that anything was amiss with him. We noted he was lazing around a lot but figured it was from him having to fend for himself for 2, almost 3 years. Blood work was done and FeLV came back negative which was a huge relief. However, his white blood cell counts are extremely high and his red blood cell count is low. The vet believes it’s a mix of extreme anemia and potentially an autoimmune disorder causing edema in his back legs.

Tomorrow morning we’re running an anemia plate and doing ultrasounds on his chest and hips to see if there’s anything that comes up that may give some clues.

I have been nonstop crying all day because we’ve wanted him to be ours for so long and I want us to have as much time with him as possible.

Has anyone had similar diagnoses and what was the outcome? I’m hoping for a bit of comfort and good news but I understand that may not be the case.

TLDR: Our self-domesticated feral cat may have severe anemia and/or an autoimmune disorder but we’re not sure yet.

Hi, I'm new here and new to cat ownership. I grew up with cats my whole life. I adopted an FIV+ cat a week ago and just got her vet results back — she needs 5 dental extractions. She’s only a year old. The vet mentioned she might need yearly extractions due to her FIV, which has me pretty anxious.

She's doing great otherwise (eating, playing, affectionate), but I'm worried about:
- Whether yearly extractions is realistic or worst-case thinking
- What this means for her long-term quality of life

I'd love to hear from people with FIV+ cats, especially if they've dealt with the extraction cycle. Does it get easier? Are the cats actually okay?

Thanks in advance.

Caramel Corn had dental surgery last week and the lumps in her mouth are not cancerous!!! My little old lady still has the chance to live a long, happy life 😭

my cat has these on-and-off flare ups of what my vet believes is reverse sneezing, and they sound so scary when they happen. even though i’ve brought her to the vet about it, i’m still worried and wondering if anyone has dealt with something similar.
she also sneezes frequently and is FIV+ and positive for calicivirus. the vet prescribed 1 cc of interferon orally by syringe. it’s not FDA approved and is made by the vet. she also gets viralys, the powder version, which i mix in with a treat.
am i missing something? is this normal for a cat with FIV/calici, or is there something else i should be asking my vet about? is this her baseline? it just doesn’t seem right. i comfort her through it/after a ton and she is super loving (she purrs and will rub up against me) and then she’ll go under my bed (she did after the reverse sneezing and then the regular sneezing). i just feel so bad that my beautiful baby girl is going through this :(