Caring for a Sick FIV Positive Cat

Our FIV positive cat Brinkley is sick. When he came to us as a foster (failed foster) in January 2012, Brinkley brought with him an upper respiratory infection from the shelter. This isn’t anything new, as almost all of the cats from that shelter leave sick. We knew going into this that Brinkley, being an FIV kitty, would require some extra care.

Caring for a FIV+ cat
Caring for a FIV+ cat. Collage by Elisa.
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

On Monday evening Brinkley quarantined himself from the rest of the cats. He made his way back to Laura’s bedroom, where he went to bed in a purple padded cube that he likes. Laura went to check on him during the night and offered him food. When he turned that cute little nose up at Sheba canned, she knew he was sick. Plus it’s unusual for him to be out of the living room area. Although not a lap cat, he prefers to be around the other cats.

Laura called me at work around 4 a.m. and I made plans to have him at the vet when the clinic opened at 8 a.m. This is the first time he’s ever been sick since the URI he brought with him from the shelter. Brinkley did well on the 30 minute drive, which is unusual. He doesn’t like to ride and he doesn’t like being confined to a carrier.

So there I stood outside, in 20 F. degree temperature for 20 minutes with a sick kitty after having worked all night, walking around in the same freezing temperature. I arrived at the vet early so he’d be the first seen. We were led into the exam room by his vet right at 8 a.m. After a basic exam where his temperature was checked (it was 104F), his lymph nodes checked and his chest listened to, and questions such as whether he lived outside (he’s indoor only) or had he been around any sick cats (we’ve had a good year health-wise) were answered, I received the diagnosis I expected. Brinkley had an upper respiratory infection. Thankfully, we’d caught it early.

I’m so proud of our boy. He didn’t hiss or growl or try to bite or get away. Brinkley sat on the steel exam table like the good boy that he is. The vet gave him an antibiotic injection, and sent us home with a bottle of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate (Clavamox®, Augmentin), which he’ll start on Wednesday morning. This is the drug that saved our Greenville shelter calicivirus kittens. I purchased a few cans of Prescription Diet A/D Critical Care as well, then stopped at the Tractor & Supply store on the way home to pick up a can of powdered KMR milk.

Laura opened a can of the A/D food immediately and prepared to syringe feed him (the vet said he didn’t need sub-q fluids). When she sat the food down, Brinkley decided he would eat it without any help from his human servants. He’s resting well, and should be back to his old self in a few days. He’s in Laura’s room in quarantine where he can rest without being disturbed.

I asked Michael if it would be okay for me to write about Brinkley being sick. I wanted to share how we aggressively treat any sick cat, because we’ve saved quite a few since starting this routine. Of course, it would be good to ask your vet, but this is what works for us. If a cat is unwilling to eat, and we can tell we’re dealing with something respiratory, the A/D food is given every two to three hours. It doesn’t have to be much. Just a small syringe or two is enough.

Sometimes Laura will mix the A/D food with the KMR milk, and sometimes the KMR milk is given in place of the food. Don’t use a cheap store cat milk, as it may not be as easy on the digestive system, and it isn’t a complete supplement like the KMR is. If only the KMR milk is used, around a few small syringes every two to three hours is enough. Hydration is critical with any sick cat, and this routine also helps a sick cat regain energy lost fighting an infection.

I also wanted to let cat lovers know that having an FIV positive cat isn’t a death sentence. A lot of people are afraid to keep an FIV cat with other cats. This is a recent article someone shared with me about how FIV cats have little chance of infecting a healthy cat. It takes a deep bite wound to infect another cat. Brinkley is very calm and tame, and lives with the rest of our cats since he isn’t aggressive.

I read somewhere awhile back that FIV positive cats usually only live around two years after diagnosis. I don’t believe this, but can’t remember the website to reread the information. We’ve had Brinkley for almost three years, and he’s been a healthy 16 pound cat the entire time. Many, many shelter cats are killed because fosters, rescues and adopters just aren’t there or don’t have room or are afraid. In my area, Suzy’s Zoo for FeLV and FIV positive cats saves dozens of these cats from high-kill shelters on a monthly basis. FIV cats have a good chance at adoption, If they can survive the shelter without becoming ill or being euthanized because of their status, or because they become too sick.

Please remember Brinkley the next time you see an FIV cat at your local shelter or favorite rescue. They make just as good a pet as a healthy cat, and will give you years of love. The rule of thumb is to catch any illness early, and see a vet at the first sign of a health problem. If any of you with an FIV positive cat have any recovery secrets to share in treating a sick cat, please tell us all so we can keep our special needs cats healthy.

Associated: Modern treatmentsT-Cyte Treatment for FIV. Is there a lack of treatments to alleviate the symptoms of feline URIs?

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21 thoughts on “Caring for a Sick FIV Positive Cat”

  1. A beautiful article, Elisa.
    So many of us have had FIV cats.
    You are so right in writing that any sign of illness needs to be pounced on. URI’s, as with Brinkley, are one of the most common ailments.
    I can remember about 3 years ago taking 2 kittens in to a clinic I wasn’t familiar with (the TNR group wanted me to take them there) to be neutered, vaccinated, and tested in preparation for adoption.. When I picked them up, I was handed them in their carriers and told, “They are HIV positive. In case you don’t know, they have AIDS. If we had finished the test first, we wouldn’t have bothered to neuter them”.
    The outcome was that those 12 week old kits remained positive at 3 months but have very loving homes now and are thriving.
    But, some vet clinics are less than compassionate. This is the same clinic that blinded my sweet Dreama by over anesthetizing and ordered me out of the building when I went ballistic.
    They are no longer a partner in our TNR program.

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  2. Excellent articles! Thank you for mentioning us as well! We have been working with these special guys for many years and the education is making a difference! We do well adopting FIV kitties out (compared to the past where NO ONE wanted to “take the chance”). We also are seeing through the success of TNR and educated people now accepting FIV kitties into their homes, we end up with much fewer intakes now too! A private home envirinment is OF COURSE BEST for a kitty but we do our best to help them live happy and healthy for as long as possible.

    We also highly recommend a product called Viyo Recuperation that is like a tasty gravy the kitties LOVE that can help ward off dehydration and stimulate them to eat. You can give by syringe, just put a bit in a little bowl or top it on wet or dry food! 3 bottles in a box for about $30. Just remember to refrigerate after opening. (Warning! The kitties may try to steal the whole bottle after just smelling it! Lol)

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  3. Thank you for sharing! You helped educate others. Ironically, many adopters’ first questions are “Were they tested fr FIV & FeLV?” FIV & FeLV are a little different though, since FIV is harder to spread to other cats. Also, a trick I learned with sick cats is to use pedialyte. It helps boost electrolytes & hydration, & is pretty inexpensive. The trick w/ it though is it is only good for a few days once opened. I have two cats with feline herpes virus. Pedialyte mixed w/ Science diet a/d worked wonders when for them when I pulled them from the shelter as kittens. Thanks again for educating everyone.

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  4. You may have to check around for a rescue with FIV cats up for adoption. I know in SC that Suzy’s Zoo takes both FIV and FeLV. The rescue who took our foster Alto was in NC. Facebook also has several pages to promote adoptions.

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    • Laura’s the nurse in the family. She checks the cats daily and knows when one is getting sick. Brinkley hiding was our first clue.

      After reading all the horror stories of how cats hiss and growl at the vet I’m amazed our cats do so well when they have to go. Brinkley was an angel.

      People should give FIV cats a chance.

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      • We had a FIV+ cat in foster for a good couple of years. Beautiful girl named Maggie. Only problems she had was the odd snuffle. Briliantly someone saw past the myths about FIV and she was at last adopted by a couple earlier this year.

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        • Also there is an excellent free booklet called 80 FIV Cats written by the owners of an FIV sanctuary that is so worth reading for people who know little about the virus other than the early studies, which had flawed data.

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            • There are so many who would just suggest “euthanasia” in that booklet. Catworks accepted that for none of the cats they took in unless there was nothing that could be done. The most interesting thing is the illnesses that got the more elderly FIV cats were ones that affect a lot of negative elderly cats, not FIV related conditions. Enjoy the read, it is an eye opener on many attitudes in rescue and vet work towards FIV.

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        • The article linked into this one about FIV cats being kept with healthy cats was really eye opening. People who know of Brinkley ask me whether its safe to keep him around the other cats but he’s so calm and doesn’t fight so it is safe.

          We fostered a FIV ginger boy named Alto who was aggressive and didn’t like other cats. He lived in my master bath for 3 weeks until a rescue could take him-with the warning he needed to be an only cat. He loved people. I had contacted the shelter about taking him back and they told me he’d be killed. So the master bath was the only option.

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          • Yeah the 80 FIV Cats booklet more or less dispels the whole FIV+ should not be kept with negative cats thing. So many people are scared of the virus but a little bit of research shows that with good care, as Brinkley so obviously has, FIV+ cats can live long lives.

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    • The food and KMR are just as important. You can’t let a sick cat get dehydrated or it may die. Dehydration can happen very fast with a high fever. We keep sub-q fluids on hand but thankfully Brinkley doesn’t need them.

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