I took in a very young cat from some friends who they thought she might be
pregnant. As it turns out...she was and had one kitten. After the kitten
was weened I took moma to the vet to have her fixed and she tested positive
for FIV. I didn't think to have her tested prior to bringing her into my
home because I trusted my friends to have taken care of their cat. Dumb
mistake. My problem is now all of my cats (17 - all indoor) have been
exposed although they have all tested negative. I found a home for both
the kitten and moma but they soon started fighting a lot...so I started
reading up on FIV and what I got out of it was that as long as the kitten
did not bite any of the other cats that everyone would be fine. I decided
to bring her back home - against my vets recommendations. She gets along
very well with all of my other cats. I had her tested again when I took
her in to have her fixed and once again she tested positive.
I have no intention of having her put to sleep nor do I plan to find her a
new home - I am going to keep her. Now...my question is how to keep her
healthy as well as my other cats.
I have been giving her kitten vitamins but would human vitamins be better
with say Vitamin C added? Should I give the same to my other cats? I do
not keep her away from the other cats because she gets along so well with
all of them. My cats all act as her moma and all of these cats are my
children (my vet calls me the crazy cat lady)!
Any other suggestions would be helpful.
Phil P. - 28 Feb 2005 02:38 GMT
> I took in a very young cat from some friends who they thought she might be
> pregnant. As it turns out...she was and had one kitten. After the kitten
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> very well with all of my other cats. I had her tested again when I took
> her in to have her fixed and once again she tested positive.
FIV tests in kittens younger than 6-8 months are very unreliable due to the
strong possibility of detecting maternally derived antibodies. IOW,
antibodies may be present in kittens although the virus is not.
Have her retested at 6-8 months.
Phil