Newly diagnosed 11 yr old kitty
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 6:10 pm
Hi all,
I don't know how much traffic this site gets but I thought I'd register to find other people with FIV cats and share my story. Have just taken over the care of a neighbourhood cat who, quite frankly, was being given the minimum care by his owner. He's an outdoor boy but never had regular vet visits or vaccinations. I also noticed that some days she would forget to put food out. He would visit many other people in the area, and was well fed because of this.
Started feeding him regularly when I came back from a 5 week holiday over xmas and noticed he'd lost weight. The owner wasn't concerned and just told me he was old. He was about 9 at this point. She was elderly and couldn't afford treatment so I took him to the vet. He had a flea allergy as he was never treated for fleas, so started dosing him regularly myself. He put all the weight back on.
He's had a few fights with local strays over the years and could have had FIV for years. Noticed he had stopped eating and was sleeping a lot. Again the owner said he was just old and would "probably die in his sleep one day". I was pretty motified, as he visits me daily and didn't want to see him slowly dying in front of me. Long story short, I took him to the vet again, much to his owners anger and he was diagnosed with FIV. The vet was pretty grim, saying his WBC is so low he may also have cancer. But reading online I see that many vets are extremly negative about an FIV diagnosis and I remain hopeful. he is only 12 days into antibotics and prednicare. He has good and bad days but he's not lost that much weight, still about 4.8 kgs. Have taken over his care, and next week he'll have another blood test. I don't know if he has cancer or if the vet is just guessing as she didn't think he had FIV and was surprised when the test came back positive. He's not eating a great deal today but has days where he does. His fever comes and goes. But he's an indoor boy now, no more out in the cold for him.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with an FIV cat getting bone cancer. Or suspected cancer which turned out to not be the case. I don't think I'd want to put him through chemo if he does have it. Just hoping that he doesn't. Can they tell from one blood test?
I don't know how much traffic this site gets but I thought I'd register to find other people with FIV cats and share my story. Have just taken over the care of a neighbourhood cat who, quite frankly, was being given the minimum care by his owner. He's an outdoor boy but never had regular vet visits or vaccinations. I also noticed that some days she would forget to put food out. He would visit many other people in the area, and was well fed because of this.
Started feeding him regularly when I came back from a 5 week holiday over xmas and noticed he'd lost weight. The owner wasn't concerned and just told me he was old. He was about 9 at this point. She was elderly and couldn't afford treatment so I took him to the vet. He had a flea allergy as he was never treated for fleas, so started dosing him regularly myself. He put all the weight back on.
He's had a few fights with local strays over the years and could have had FIV for years. Noticed he had stopped eating and was sleeping a lot. Again the owner said he was just old and would "probably die in his sleep one day". I was pretty motified, as he visits me daily and didn't want to see him slowly dying in front of me. Long story short, I took him to the vet again, much to his owners anger and he was diagnosed with FIV. The vet was pretty grim, saying his WBC is so low he may also have cancer. But reading online I see that many vets are extremly negative about an FIV diagnosis and I remain hopeful. he is only 12 days into antibotics and prednicare. He has good and bad days but he's not lost that much weight, still about 4.8 kgs. Have taken over his care, and next week he'll have another blood test. I don't know if he has cancer or if the vet is just guessing as she didn't think he had FIV and was surprised when the test came back positive. He's not eating a great deal today but has days where he does. His fever comes and goes. But he's an indoor boy now, no more out in the cold for him.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with an FIV cat getting bone cancer. Or suspected cancer which turned out to not be the case. I don't think I'd want to put him through chemo if he does have it. Just hoping that he doesn't. Can they tell from one blood test?