Adopting a cat - what should I test for?

[Dawn F]

doesn't sound too bad, like you say he's been through a lot and is probably wondering what on earth is going on! 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Am sure he will settle down in time, fingers crossed

[Meezer Mum]

well, the tests came back negative and my 'new' almost-14 year-old Meezer is now at my home and the integration starts!

he is adorable  , but a little cranky at the moment.  he saw my other cat, Castle, a little too soon and has been a bit unsettled since. they didn't fight or go for each other, it was just hissing and growling nonsense. they didn't show any 'attack' body language either i.e. flat ears, lowered tail, puffed up fur - it was just hissing and growling, then they both scarpered. there was one incidence of contact a couple of hours later though...Timmy had his back to the lounge and Castle crept up behind him to sniff his bum, Timmy spun round and Castle whapped him on the head, then they both ran away again 

i think Timmy needs to build his confidence up and get to know me a bit better too.  poor little fellow has been through so much, he must feel very disorientated.  i am therefore keeping them apart again and will somehow manage them so that Timmy gets to learn his new home without meting Castle again yet.  I will also sit in rooms with him and quietly read whilst he explores. 

I hope I can give him the home he deserves...i hope he likes us all eventually..i want him to feel safe and loved, not scared..

[Ela]

know that seems heartless but if one of my existing cats went to the vets and was told he'd got it I'd never ever forgive myself.

I don't think you are heartless just cautious as many cat owners would be. Heatless means devoid of compassion or feeling; pitiless. That is not you. I am sure you like me would do everything possible to help a FIV cat and find it a suitable home.

[Corporal Smokey]

Have to say in your case Meezer I'd check it out. Otherwise you'll always wonder  and you may find yourself over-cautious without meaning to.

If I had an empty house then I'd be happy to fill it with FIV or terminally ill puds but as I already have two non-FIV furbs I couldn't bring myself to take the risk.

I know that seems heartless but if one of my existing cats went to the vets and was told he'd got it I'd never ever forgive myself.

In my very limited rescue experience, the boys with the battle scars tended to be unneutered or were neutered late and they were more prone to fighting and the ones who tended to be FIV+. I've only been in rescue for just over a year though so it might be coincidence, I'm sure there are others who know far better than me.

Good luck, hope all is well and your house is filled with Siamese chatter 

[Ela]

i don't mean to come across as FiV-phobic, i just worry about my boy and don't want to expose him to even a small chance of danger

-

I understand, although we take in many FIV cats and find homes for them all and believe all FIV cats should not be PTS unless they are terminally ill and suffering, there is no way I would put any of my cats at risk without testing even though the chances are passing it on are very small. I personally would have any tom who has battle scars tested for FIV & FeLV.

just theres quite a few of us who dont view fiv cats like the plague.

Please don't think I view them like the plague, I absolutely don't, but even if there is is a .9999.999% chance of passing it on I will not put my little ones at risk. That does not mean I would not find a suitable home for the little one and pay for life any vet fees.

[Dawn F]

did anything ever come of this meezer mum??

[Yvonne]

Sorry to hear this Nessa - that was a lovely story and I am sure that Garfield appreciates all that you did for him.

As for FIV I had never really heard about it much until I came on this forum, I hope that Timmy will find a home soon.

[nessa (A C S )]

LONG

Last year I took in a very sweet ginger male kitty  who we named garfield, we only had him a few days when he got adopted sadly it went terraibly wrong and poor garfield was the one to suffer as a punishment by his new mom food was withheld for pooping on the sofa for  the love of god he was only a baby
I got the calll and demanded that he be brought back to me ASAP.
Garfield was pretty ill and nearly died that night in the coming wks he way up and down. Deep down I knew something was wrong But I never expected him to be FIV pos I knew then that I would never find a home good enough for garfield....one vet told me to put him to sleep as I was playing with fire another vet was so supportive it was then decided that Garfield would live out his days with me and the other cats, I then went on line and read up on owning an fiv cat I spoke with people that owned them. sadly garfield didnt get to live with me very long he died this year on the 11th July at 13:01 in my arms at home, I had phoned the vet as I knew that he was in pain my little man cried whic is something garfield never did so I knew the end was near garfield was supose to be give a humane passing at the vets but we never got there my ginger man who had been so full of live a few day before chasing butterflys in the garden died in my arms...to say I was heart broken was an understatment......did I regret keeping him alive knowing he was FIV...NO. but I would have loved more time with him I still miss him so much. When Garfield wasnt sick he used to sleep on my bed.
So please no matter what you decide to do test or not test......Do what you are doing now research find out all there is to know about FIV.
Sorry it was so Long and I hope I have made some sense I am crying as I type

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Well hopefully he isnt positive....but you would be right to do alot of reading up on it if he is.
Speaking to you vet is a good idea although it depends how he personally feels about FIV cats. My last vet felt that all FIV cats should be PTS and certainly wouldnt recommend a NEG and a POS living together......where as my current vets feels totally the opposite way.
Found this on CatChat -

Can FIV-positives and FIV-negatives live together?
The most recent research carried out at Glasgow University's Companion Animal Diagnostics indicates that the chances of FIV being passed from one cat to another in the same household is approx 1-2%. This means that if you have 100 cats (!) in a house with 1 FIV positive cat, only 1 or 2 could be expected to become infected. Even when FIV was passed on, as in the Glasgow survey, none of the cats actually died of it.

In another survey a few years ago FIV was not passed from cat to cat in the same household at all. There is also an ongoing study by the Celia Hammond Animal Trust where FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats are living together, and regular 'spot tests' for the virus are carried out. Several years into this study no cases of transmission have yet been found.

There seems no reason, therefore, not to have FIV positive and negative cats in the same household, provided they are not fighters. If two cats in one household fight, they should be kept apart, given behavioural therapy or one re-homed, regardless of their FIV status. So, this is obviously a decision to be taken on a case by case basis, depending on the natures of the cats involved.

[Meezer Mum]

thanks all.  if he was positive my partner and i would need to read up on FiV, familiarise ourselves with the condition and talk to our vet to see what he advises before we made any decision. i really don't know enough about it right now to answer that question, but if our Vet assured us that there was no risk to Castle then I can't see why not.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

My 11th cat turned up here as a stray, un-neutered and with battle scars etc
It is highly likely that he is FIV+ but the fact that he is now neutered he posses little risk to my lot. (or anyother cat)
FIV is alot harder to pass on than people think, It has to be a deep bite to pass it on and i would have no hesitation in having a positive cat living with my lot.

If this cat proves positive will you still home him ??

[Rosella moggy]

When I found Freddie at RSPCA, he had already had an in house test which was negative. I remember discussing with our VN whether I should retest him and get it sent to Glasgow to be absolutley sure. I had also lost a cat and was certainly not myself at the time.

I have to say I now hang my head as I admit to this. Just to think there was ever a time when I may have given up the opportunity to bring our boy home   

[Millys Mum]

I generally mean the cat world, sadly many use it as a death sentence  
I think you should test because your in a situation where your going to worry yourself rotten. Guess my point was that there are a multitude of things cats can pass onto each other. I was encouraged to blood test ^george^ before adopting (for fiv) but he ended up dying from something that people dont routinely test cats for. Fortunately the rest have zero titres so he didnt affect anyone else but it could have gone horribly wrong. More so than if he had been fiv positive!

[Meezer Mum]

no, he is a meezer, that went out sometimes, but not much according to his deceased-owner's brother.  and he has a couple of possible battle-wounds on his face though (adds to his charm), they may not be battle wounds though, and just scars from an innocent injury.

i know am being overly protective, but will still do the FiV/FelV test - just for peace of mind.  i can't worry myself about every single illness or virus under the sun or i ill go crazy! 

he really is a cutie, have been thinking about him loads today

[candyshandy]

What is his background - was he a stray?

[Meezer Mum]

i don't mean to come across as FiV-phobic, i just worry about my boy and don't want to expose him to even a small chance of danger - this is probably because i have recently lost a cat and my emotions are quite heightened too.  and i know very little aboit all of the various viruses that go around....so these other two you mention, should i test for those too? 

[Millys Mum]

If they were biting then something could pass but normal introductions are handbags at dawn type events that involve bad language and flailing legs.
If your unsure then you should test him for your own peace of mind, just theres quite a few of us who dont view fiv cats like the plague.

I worry more about other things such as corona virus, campylobacter etc. Id rather a fiv cat than a fcov one anyday.

[Meezer Mum]

what happens though if the new cat is FiV and i don't test - and he and my existing cat start fighting regularly during i.e. integration not quite as smooth as possible?  surely that would be a health risk to my existing cat?

[candyshandy]

Mine don't have the FELV vaccination so I felt it was more than necessary

[Desley (booktigger)]

i also dont bother, and none of the strays I have picked up have made the vet suggest it, although not sure if that will change this week with the latest foster. Two of my cats have been tested, one before i adopted her as the vet suspected something underlying, and one due to an unknown high temp. It is around £35 at my vet to get them tested (they only use glasgow), and you have to wait 10 days for the results. As mine are older, the only things I do are full bloods, vacc and chip

[Millys Mum]

One of mine was tested but not by me. The other 5 arent and if they did turn out to have fiv it wouldnt change anything as i would have neg and pos cats together. The chance of tranmission is very low, cats that fight regularly are most at risk hence why alot of fiv cats tend to be entire male strays who are defending a territory. Once neutered and well fed they dont need to fight and bite each other.

So i generally am against testing, theres some cats tho that you look at and think oh yes.

[kris]

I probably wouldn't test, especially if they are going to be indoor cats, I would guess the chances of spreading disease is small in that case. I did have the stray that turned up tested for FIV and FELV but that was because he was a stray and seemed to have been for a fair while and had some health needs anyway (dental work needed, ear tumours etc) also my fred is not vaccinated. To be honest even if he had been positive for FIV I still probably would have taken him.

[Mark]

We have 4 rescue cats all from different places and different times and have never tested.

[Yvonne]

I quite agree, why bother?  What would be the benefit of knowing?  If Timmy turned out to be positive wold you decide against adopting him?

I have four, they have never been tested and they never will be.

The choice of course is yours but don't forget that in house tests are not reliable and it can be quite expensive to send tests to Glasgow.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

And I am the other way, I don't test !

[candyshandy]

I have always had the FIV/FELV test prior to any being introduced to mine - just a precaution really.

[Meezer Mum]

Just want to make sure I am not being over-cautious...but should I have Timmy, the cat that I hope to adopt, tested for FiV before he comes to my home and starts mingling with my existing cat?  I think Timmy has been outdoors (but not a lot, and hardly at all in recent years apparently) and he has evidence of a battle on his face (scarred nose, torn ear).  He will be an indoors cat at my home.

Any other advice most welcome

Thanks x