MaryChristine,I agree with you that the fiv+ boys are the best.My 3 fiv boys
are the sweetest babies and my fiv girl is a sweetie too.I will probably ALWAYS
only adopt fiv cats from now on.We have around 70 fiv cats at Sids and I would
say that 95% are very sweet.Of course as with any cats you can get grumpy ones
too.
Sherry
MaryChristine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
well, let's see--susan hoffman and i the co-moderators of the oldest FIV
group on yahoo; which is FIVCats2, for reasons that are way too complicated to
go into.
i am currently owned by two of the little beasts, and have been living with
them since 2002 when i moved into a FeLV/FIV sanctuary.
does that count as direct experience?
FIV has NOTHING WHATSOEVER in common with HIV: FeLV is much closer in terms of
how it's transmitted, it's course, and everything else.
the first investigators to isolate it did so in 1987, at the height of the
HIV/AIDS panic, and gave it a name that has killed far more cats than the virus
ever will. the only people who liken it at all to HIV/AIDS anymore are the
original researchers, who seem to have an investment in doing so, despite years
of research showing them to be in error. these folks use HIV/AIDS terminology,
which is pretty absurd, since H = human, after all.
the snap test is wrong 40% of the time, even in non-vaccinated cats; the
vaccine has not been proved effective in independent tests (another fine
product of Ft Dodge), and WILL cause any cat to test positive for life, even on
the confirmatory test, which is the western blot.
FIV cats, most of whom are male, mostly turn into, well, pussycats once
neutered--and couldn't bother biting anyone hard enough to transmit the virus;
when we get timid housecats in who actually DO test positive on the western
blot, one of our vets says that the cat was probably bitten on the butt trying
to run away.....
should a cat remain aggressive post-altering, filing down or removing the
canines prevents them from biting deeply enough.
FIVs are more prone to herpes infections and stomatitis than non-FIVs, it
seems, but basically they are VERY VERY healthy: sanctuary anecdotal info
(which, like with FeLV, is all there was for a long time) shows that FIVs are
healthier than any other population. yes, they get sick, but they respond to
treatment as well as any other cat.
most FIVs die with the virus, not from it, tho, of course, other things can get
them as well.
MC
On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 2:47 PM, Caroline Kaufmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Does anyone have any direct experience with FIV that they can pass on to
me? I know the gist of course, since I foster cats and have "met" and lost the
battle to- both Felv and FIP in the past year (ugh). I have heard that cats
with FIV can be fairly successful- live heathly lives barely affected by the
disease (is this true?), and it really is a lot like human HIV? I have also
heard this is the one retroviruses that is transmitted by deep bite wounds and
NOT casual contact?
I am going to help a man who has taken in a alley cat that hung around his
house for about 3 years that tested positive of FIV. He was clearly neutered
by alley cat advocates b/c he has a tipped ear. He says it's a wonderful,
approx. 5 yo tuxie. He has him in the bedroom for now (his only room with a
door in his house) because his own cat is an extremely aggressive, neutered
male and after 3 years of the tuxie hanging around outside, and being in the
house for a while now- they can't sort out their differences and they will
fight. He wishes he could keep the cat but with his cat- being such an
aggressive fighter, and the tuxie being a fighter when need be (alley cat
mentality)-- he just doesn't see it as possible due to transmission to his cat.
The cat did get outside and got in a fight recently- ended up with an abcess on
his ear- being treated by a vet, stint put in and he has a f-u next week- but
it was at that appointment that the vet found the FIV and said "segregate!"- as
they always do.
I am going to work to get the cat into our adoption program as a "special
needs" cat in the hopes that someone w/o other cats, with a non-aggressive cat,
with a docile female, with other FIV cats, etc., would be willing to take him
on. In the meantime, this man has agreed to continue to "foster" him in his
home while I work to help him out with the situation.
In the meantime, I want to build up my knowledge so that I have "talking
points" for potential adoptive parents and I can educate if someone w/o prior
FIV experience is willing to take him. The man seems to understand that he
could have a cat on his hands with something a lot worse (like Felv or FIP), so
he's definitely not an overreactor and he seems well-educated.
Any info that anyone has will be great! Especially PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and/or
accurate and trustworthy websites I can read and pass on to others!
thanks,
Caroline
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