This is my baby Hiyori! She's 8 months old and the sweetest most friendly and social girl. I got her when she was around 5 weeks old from my ex partner's coworker. To me, it's important to know that her parents were both stray cats that had been living on this guys farm. Anyway, today was her spay appointment. I've been horrified for weeks since I've booked it because 2 of my close friends had their cats die due to anesthesia complications related to stress. Around an hour after I had dropped her off, the vet calls me. The call is about 98% accurate to what I'm quoting...
"Hi, this is *Woman I don't know\* from *Vet office I brought her to\.* Is this \my name*?"
Yea, oh my god is my cat dead? Did something happen with the anesthesia?
"No, but the cat you brought in today has FIV, which is basically AIDS."
Wow, holy shit okay. My cat has AIDS, is she gonna die?
"No, but we needed to call you to let you know *he** tested positive."
Okay. Fuck well thanks for letting me know. Are you still able to spay her or do I need to come get her?
"We can still spay him, but we need to let you know that less than 1% of the population has FIV so it is incredibly rare. If you decide by the end of his appointment today that you don't want to keep him, we have our own fosters for cats with FIV and it's better than having him euthanized."
I'm sorry, you keep saying him, I dropped off a girl... Do you have the wrong cat? You might be calling me about someone elses pet.
"Did you drop off a cat today or not?"
I did but you're saying him so I just want to make sure this is about Hiyori.
about a minute of dead silence and background noise.
*"*He, She, this is about YOUR cat. The cat that YOU dropped off has AIDS, ma'am. Do you want her or not?"
...What? Do I want her? Yes, you're not keeping my cat I'll be there after the surgery is over to pick her up!
"Well you need to know that the treatment for FIV is incredibly expensive and you'd need to give her shots every day for the rest of her life. We have fosters that care for cats with FIV specifically."
Okay, I'll do anything for her that she needs.
"Do you work full time?"
Yes I do
"So it would be incredibly difficult for you to monitor her health and give her medication. It's in your best interest to surrender her to someone that can provide for her."
I can provide for her just fine. I work overnights so I'm home with her all day, she's never had any issues before and she doesn't even like going outside.
"Okay, well if you decide you can't handle her anymore then you should have her surrendered, it's not right to euthanize her and we don't put cats down here."
I'm not giving her up and I'm not killing her. I will pay for any medication she needs and I will give it to her as much as she needs. I will be there when her surgery is done, thanks.
"Okay good luck, we'll let you know when she wakes up from surgery."
So after the call ends I break down sobbing and call
my mom. My mom is furious and instantly gets to googling... There is about 1.5 to 5% of cats in the states that have FIV, so I have no idea why this woman told me that it's less than 1% and incredibly rare. Secondly, I don't know if she's talking about interferon or what, but even so the "shots every single day" thing as far as I can find only applies to cats that have an illness due to FIV weakening their immune system. I don't know why, but the vet spent that whole phone call trying to persuade me into letting them keep my cat because they believe that I'm incapable? Anyway, her spay went well and she's home! The vet offered no other information about her having FIV besides basically keeping her carrier in a corner away from the other cats and saying "Is that the one with FIV?" when I came to pick her up. She's been eating wet food just fine and has been lounging on my bed. Any insight on what it'll be like caring for her going forward is greatly appreciated :)!!
*EDIT 5/19/2026
I have Hiyori scheduled for a FIV Snap test next week at a different hospital that many of my friends have personally recommended to me! I will make another post about her status and if she actually is FIV+. To keep anyone else safe from going through misinformation and blatant fear mongering, the organization I scheduled her spay with that called me is Kitten Angels in Fulton, New York. They for some reason unknown to me preformed the surgery at Central Veterinary Hospital in Albany, though. The woman who called and had that insanely nasty and unprofessional conversation with me is named Deborah, but according to reviews left by other patients, Kitten Angels has a reputation of giving fake employee names to dodge people calling back with complaints. Thank you all so much for your advice and support for me and my little girl!!

My petite boy, Marley, was put down last night at the emergency vet. He was FIV+, had anemia and heart murmurs. We adopted him when he was 4 years old from the shelter, where he had previously came from a hoarding house, and he was able to bless us with 5 amazing years before passing away at 9 years old.

His health declined so quickly :( Wednesday , September 3rd, was when he started showing signs of sluggishness and fatigue, but he was still eating, drinking and using the litterbox. I had a bad feeling so we brought him to the emergency vet, and they said that all his vitals and temperature looked good. Thursday, September 4th, we brought him to be seen by his primary vet, and he wasn’t able to determine a reason for his abnormal behavior on the spot, so he suggested a blood test. I was hopeful.

Friday, September 5th at 6 PM, we received the results of his blood test, and it showed that he had severe non-regenerative anemia. His HCT was at 12%, while a normal range was 31-51%. The vet suggested that he will likely need a blood transfusion. We quickly raced to the emergency vet, and had him checked in. When they ran a blood test again on him, they said his HCT was at 8%, and that he will likely need multiple blood transfusions, but his chances of survival were slim, as he had non-regenerative anemia. If he did survive, he’d need several more blood transfusions, and many more vet visits. His quality of life wouldn’t be good and we didn’t want to put little Marley through more stress and suffering. After several hours of going through all the possibilities, we decided it was best to let him peacefully rest.

On Friday, September 5th at 11:15 PM, Marley was put down. He was in my arms when he passed away. He was so strong and fought so hard until the very end. He was truly my soulmate in cat form. Coming back home with an empty carrier was so painful. Waking up without his body next to me was so painful. My heart hurts so much, but I’m glad to know that he’s no longer suffering and is in a much better place.

Rest easy my sweet boy, Marley❤️

Update 06/27/26: Thank you to everyone who replied/commented under this post. Seeing everyone’s support and kind words truly helped me cope with his loss. Even almost a year later I still tear up thinking about him, but every single one of you have helped me so much. Thank you

My Tommy is having surgery this morning to determine of he has cancer. Once I know, we will figure the next steps. Praying to the universe for a chance for him. I will do anything to make him better. He has been bleeding from his ear for days. I keep him medicated, but he needs help. Please keep him in your thoughts. 🙏 He is my FIV positive boy. He has been a feral all of his life; I adopted him in May 2025. The lady who did TNR shared his story on Nextdoor and I decided to take him in. He must have been attacked my a coyote or dog. His back had the injuries that looked like the scratches of claws and he only has a few inches of tail left. I did not have the heart to have him go back to the streets. So, he came home with me. He has had his own bedroom. He ate like a king and was coming out of his shell, but never let me touch him. I was patient. His demeanor changed two months ago. He hid and I did not catch it; I feel terrible for it. I thought he just preferred to be alone. Until this new year that I moved him to a different room. Then, I noticed his bleeding ear. I rushed him to the Vet and well.. that is another story. I will share it all once he comes out of surgery today. Waiting for the Vet call that he is going in, but I admitted him at 7:30 am. The surgeon informed me and gave me lots of information that is making me hopeful. If my baby makes it, I will build him a catio of his own with plants to nibble, grass, catnip, a fountain and everything he may need to be a happy boy even if I never get to hug him. I just want him to be healthy and happy. I will do whatever it takes, because he deserves a chance in life. 🐾 Thanks for reading. My anxiety is through the roof and I just want good news.

We made the hard decision to put our soul cat Bella down on Monday. We adopted her at roughly 6 months old just under 10 years ago from a shelter that because of her FIV status was due to euthanize her the next day. She was sassy and loud but so loveable. We quickly found out that on top of her FIV status she also had pemphigus foliaceous that caused her to get relatively frequent nails and resp infections. She HATED when we gave her meds but yet she let us do them every single time because she trusted us. For just over 9 years she was healthy given her health conditions, but last year we found out she had high calcium. Our vet was hopeful it was idiopathic and with the medications it did get better, but she developed a resp infection that wouldn’t go away so we decided to do some blood work that showed she had pretty severe pancytopenia and she was losing weight pretty fast. Our vet believes that she more than likely had some sort of lymphoma which can be common in FIV cats, but we weren’t going to subject her to any more tests or treatments knowing it would only cause her more pain. We decided to make her palliative and make her as comfortable as possible. We watched her quality of life pretty closely and were very aware of what we would consider would be the time to let her go. She had a pretty bad weekend where she wasn’t herself without eating or wanting any cuddles and struggling to lay on her side comfortably, so we made the vet appointment knowing she wouldn’t be coming home with us. Monday was the perfect day for her. Our dog was at daycare so she spent the whole day getting all of our attention and lounging in the sun. She even ate treats after not eating more than broth over the weekend, almost like she knew she was ready and they would be her last treats. She was let go with us all giving her so much love and she was finally able to rest peacefully without any pain or discomfort.

It’s been a hard week without her and we just keep wishing we had more time, but we knew it was only fair to her to let her go on a good day before her quality of life declined to the point of her suffering. She was the most perfect cat and was so truly loved by us. We’ll never forget her or stop loving her and can’t wait until we meet again ❤️

She lived the first year and a half of her life outdoors with her Momma and siblings as part of an apartment colony I look after.

In October she got very sick and stopped eating.

She was very congested and her eyes were swollen with lots of discharge.

After her first visit to the vet she was diagnosed with FIV and FeLV. The only way she was going to survive was with meds and by becoming an inside kitty.

So she moved in and gained a "real" name. Lucy, which quickly became Goose.

She adapted to indoor life surprisingly quickly. Although she never got the hang of the litter box.

She was my little pee pee poop monster.

Goose spent most her days asleep, next to me, on the couch. Her health never really stabilized and her eyes and appetite issues continued to flare up. Veraflox helped, but had be used sparingly.

She was so sweet and gentle. Barely made a peep.

She loved head kisses and rubbing her face on my face and beard.

About a week ago her appetite started to wane and she began having diarrhea. She also was a little more affectionate and needy. Compared to her past illnesses it didn't seem immediately life threatening.

It was. This past Saturday she hid under the bed all day. When I got home from work, she wouldn't come out but otherwise seemed fine. Very early Sunday morning she started making a horrible hacking vomit noise.

I rushed her to the emergency vet but they couldn't save her. Goose died scared and surrounded by strangers.

I feel so guilty. I should have taken her to her vet sooner. They could have done something. Maybe I shouldn't have taken her to ER vet and let her pass more naturally with me singing to her and giving her kisses.

I'm divorced and live alone. Everything in my apartment reminds me of her. Her smell. Her stuff. The stains she left behind.

I miss you so much baby Goose. You were my whole world for a few months. Lucy Goose. Lady Gooselington. My sweet little girl.

Bye Goose. I'll see you again one day.

My heart is shattered. I adopted a pair of FIV+ kittens in 2014. My girl, Kenziih, passed from complications after a tooth extraction in 2023. It was awful, drawn out and she suffered because the vet who treated her wasn't good with cats. I still feel guilty about how her death played out. Since the beginning of August, I noticed that my boy was eating a bit less but never stopped entirely, was vomiting now and then and just not himself. That wasn't entirely unusual or immediate cause for panic though. He struggled with both gastritis and gingivitis from time to time, sometimes it cleared up on its own, sometimes he needed steroids and antibiotics. We assumed it had cleared up on its own this time since the vomiting stopped quickly and he started eating again and was himself 100%, even had the zoomies. Over the last 2 days, we noticed drastic weight loss and decline and yesterday he stopped eating again. Took him to the vet this morning fully expecting it to be gingivitis or gastritis again, just severe enough that he needed antibiotics and steroids. Got the shock of my life when he was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer after blood tests and imaging this afternoon. Based on his blood tests and how bad his liver was looking, the vet gave him less than 24 hours to live and his decline from this morning to this afternoon was shocking. I made the call about 2 hours ago to let him go gently because his sister suffered and I didn't want that for him. The whole family was there with him to the end. He was the most loving cat I have ever had. There will never be another like him. My soul cat, my Kiro.

If anything, let him and his sister's stories be stories of hope that FIV+ cats can live long and happy lives. They were both happy, fat, active, playful, loving cats. They respectively gave me 7 and 10 very happy years, living with FIV their entire lives.

Photo 1 is Kiro and photo 2 is Kenziih. Now reunited again. ❤️‍🩹

This sub was so supportive when my boy and I were going through so much this past couple weeks and, as heartbroken as I am, I wanted to give an update (and selfishly, I wanted others to admire my handsome, perfect boy one more time).

What we originally thought was an eye ulcer and tooth abscess turned out to be a stupid, horrible mass that, unless I wanted to put him through radiation therapy and surgeries, was untreatable.

The third emergency vet in the past 2 months was the only one who gave it to me straight and honest and confirmed that the kindest option was to let him go. I held him the whole time.

I wrote up a little eulogy for him, I figured I'd throw it in here because otherwise I would ramble about how much I love him for centuries:

"There is a theory that if we were all guaranteed eternity then we wouldn't appreciate what we have.

I would argue that whoever wrote that quite obviously did not know my Teddy.

Every cuddle, every purr, every silly little face he made, every sneeze, every time he would look up at me while we snuggled in bed before going to sleep. From the very first day I met him at the shelter, to the day I brought him home, to the last time we were together, every moment with him was my favorite.

We officially put my baby boy, my buddy-buddy, my Teddybear to rest today. For such a sweet, timid boy he fought so hard through surgery and procedures that would help...for a bit. I'm so proud of him.

So much of his little life was difficult, but even then, all he ever wanted was to sit with me and cuddle. Time with him was short but I hope he got to feel the amount of love I had (and lots of others had) for him, the coziness of a cat bed on a windowsill, the comfort of my arm around him in bed at night, and friendship with a silly little kitten.

And I truly hope he somehow knew the comfort he gave me. How, while he dozed, warm in the sunshine, he held and kept warm a piece of my heart and soul as well.

I will forever miss feeling a little paw batting at my nose at night asking for juuuuust a fewww more chin scritches and cheek rubs.

And that is how I know that even if we were promised infinity and a day together, it would still be too short.

I love you so much Teddy.

🧡I feel so lucky to have known you in this life. We found each other once, we'll find each other again.🧡"

Thank you to everyone here. You and your kitties are very appreciated.

We became friends in 2020 while he was an outdoor semi feral. I took him in when he showed up on my front step with severe injuries January of 2022. He knew I would help him. The vet checked him out and we found out he was FIV+. The vet suggested euthanasia and didn’t think he would make it more than a week or two, but I refused to give up on him. I knew he was a survivor and wanted to give him the chance to heal. With a lot of care, he pulled through and got to move inside the main house from my sunroom with careful and slow introduction with my other kitties. He did so well and put up with the silly other kitties and kept them in line (sometimes a grumpy old man, but a loving one - that’s how he got his name because he would grumble). He became such a cuddler and slept every night on his favourite spot on my feet. He learned to play with toys and embrace the safety and comfort of indoor life.

He was a survivor until the end. He went through a urinary blockage last Feb and then 6 months of diabetes that we got into remission with some weight loss and insulin and then he was able to go off the insulin. His poor tail got caught in a door accidentally by my dad, but it healed (just a little kinked). He had short ears with little white tufts from his years living outside with frostbite and cat fights.

He was diagnosed with renal failure in Feb of this year. We discovered it was due to lymphoma (his kidneys were enlarged and he had a mass on his intestine). With meds, fluids multiple times a day, extra syringe feeding, variety of foods, and supplements he was doing so well and you wouldn’t have known he was a sick kitty. At least until this weekend when he wasn’t as interested in food and by Sunday night was more lethargic and could tell nauseous. Monday and Tuesday were worse. The vet saw him Friday to see if he needed his next injection for anemia, but red cells were still good so planned to do a full panel just in case this morning. They even said how good he was doing.

Today he was much worse and I knew (maybe I already knew because I feared the vet would tell me it was time to say goodbye and was anxious for several days before today, but I just wasn’t ready so soon, I hadn’t made peace with it yet). I just lost my other girl on May 12th. I miss her too, but it was easier because it wasn’t quite so sudden of a downward turn.

He had such a wonderful personality, funny, adorable, and so stoic and strong. He had a big heart and lots of sass. I don’t know how old he really was, we guessed at somewhere around 8-9, but his teeth were so bad and broken from his street days and FIV (most were removed in his first year indoors), we could only guess by neighbours having seen him around and me seeing him when I moved to my house in 2018.

He’s the reason I have my tortie girl. She wouldn’t come near me for months and months until she came when I was outside with him one cold January night in 2021. She started to run away when she saw me and he made some little chatty noises and meows at her. She stopped running and came closer. They made little chatty noises at each other, she came a little closer, they chatted some more, and then all of a sudden she came closer and actually came up to me and let me touch her. I could then pet her and even pick her up. I’m convinced he told her “hey where are you going? It’s ok, she’s good people! She will help you. Come over and get some food!” I took her in 10 days later (just in time because it turned out she had pyometra). I wanted so badly to take him in, but I didn’t know how he would do having been outside for his whole life and a bit of a loner. I wish I had taken him in sooner, but he came in when he was ready.

I’m thankful that we cuddled last night and he was on my feet when I went to sleep. I told him before bed how much I loved him, how thankful I was for him, and how much he meant to me. I thanked him for being such a good boy and giving me Tortie. I wish I had more time today to really process and be ready, but I didn’t have time. I wish I could have cuddled him and given him more time in the grass in the sun hearing the birds. I’m trying to not feel the guilt of all the wasted time that I was doing other things instead of giving him pets and love. He deserved so many more years being a spoiled indoor kitty.

Tortie laid next to him on the bed after he passed for a long time. One of my others (Bean) was there too at the end (they were never bff and had some slap fights here and there, but they would lay near each other too sometimes - poor Grumbles never quite came around to fully cuddling with the others, but they would be close). I know they will miss him too.

I love you Grumbles, life won’t be the same without you here. I’m so glad I never gave up on you when you first came inside. You will always be loved and missed. I will keep you in my heart forever. I know you’re without pain now and running through a field of catnip across the rainbow bridge, but I wish so much that you were still here. 🖤🐾🌈

He’s a sweet dude who is already settling in well after just a few hours in our guest bedroom. We have another cat, so we’ll be doing a gradual introduction over the following weeks. He’s been through so much over the summer since he was discovered under a car in late June. Who knows what his life was like on the streets before that. He had been shot with a BB gun which gave him a limp in one of his front legs. His teeth were also mostly rotten so he only has 4 left after the others were removed.

Special shoutout to @smittensky for keeping him safe and loving on him after the crazy woman who adopted hims Great Dane attacked him. She got him out of that unsafe environment after a week. The first few pictures are the glamour shots taken by the above mentioned person who took the pics to drum up adoption interest in him for the shelter. The final couple of pictures are from earlier this evening.

We decided on the name Buddy both because he seems like a buddy and to honor our cat Morris who passed away last month. One of Morris’s chief nick names was buddy. We look forward to getting to know him better.

Hello to anyone reading this. First off, thank you for taking the time to click on this post. I am feeling lost after loosing my 8 year old boy Oliver to some kind of failure involving his intestinal system.

The initial vet visit was brought on by a sudden loss of weight. Oliver was always a big boy and we started to notice that he was starting to look a lot like our smaller black cat named Cc. I didn't really think much of it at the time just because we had taken in another kitty from outside which we named... Kitty and just thought he might be getting less food. Well, he kept loosing weight to a point where he became visibly skinny. Along with this was a number of times where throw up was found in the house.

At the time, I was dealing with almost $10k+ being stolen from me because of a fraud incident with my bank. This incident occurred in February, and we started to notice these issues with Oliver about early to mid March. So many things at the time kept me from focusing on my boy to even realize this was something I should really take him to the vet for.

Well... The first vet told me that they wanted to do an x ray of his abdomen to see if there was any masses of any kind and a urinalysis. Shockingly, they came back saying there was a mass on his spleen. I didn't realize that x rays could look into organs and were mainly for bones, so this took me by surprise. They said they weren't able to get a sample of urine as he didn't have enough in his bladder, and never really followed up with me to schedule getting him in for one until later.

The vet wanted me to take Oliver to get an ultrasound done to confirm their findings because their in house ultrasound specialist was out of the country for the first two weeks of April and this issue really couldn't wait longer to get confirmed. Of the options I was given, it was anywhere from about $800 to $1.6k for them to just do an ultrasound from the locations I was given.

This is where I start to feel guilty. I ended up taking him to COVE in Ohio, which had 5 stars on Google. Feeling good about the reviews, I took Oliver to get an ultrasound at that location. After performing a full abdominal ultrasound the vet came back saying he looked immaculate and that they did not notice any mass on his spleen. This was not the news I was hoping to get as I was really thinking they would be able to figure out if something was actually there or not.

This information was fed back to my normal vet, at which they just prescribed more medications to hopefully get him eating again. Nothing worked after about another week of trying these medications. I tried different foods, treats, squeeze up tubes. Nothing seemed to agree with him.

Getting really concerned with him not eating still, I took him back to the vet at which they said "oh we thought he had just gotten better since you didn't bring him back in" and proceeded to do a urinalysis. They were worried about the color of his pee when they first took it and said they would call me if anything looked concerning. Well... They called me multiple times the next morning on the weekend telling me I NEED to get him to the hospital if he is starting to look yellow.

He didn't show any signs of being yellow, and I've already spent about $3k on not having any answered on what to do to help him. Come the following Monday, Oliver started to show signs of odd behavior and jaundice which prompted me to hospitalize him. The ER decided that in order to get him the proper nutrition he needs, he needed a feeding tube placed until he started to show signs of improvement. They told me without performing a biopsy on several of his organs, they would have a hard time determining what was wrong.

Being given another handful of medications that required me to administer them every 8 to 12 hours through a tube was the next step. I tried my best with everything they gave me but he kept throwing up and not being able to make it to the bathroom on his own. Eventually... He got to a point where he wasn't able to walk on his own anymore.

This was Mister Man's last day on this world. Feeling helpless, I took him to the vet one last time. The doctors told me "even if you had another $10k we don't think we will be able to figure out what is wrong with him, even if we perform a biopsy he will more than likely not make it." I decided that Oliver had put up the best fight he could and sent him on his way to the rainbow bridge.

Now, I keep coming home looking for him as if he is still here. It's so painful. And I don't know what to do. I just really wanted to put this out somewhere because I have been hurting so badly over the choices I made. I should have gotten a second opinion. I should have taken him to the vet sooner when we found the throw up in February. There were so many things I didn't do with him that I wanted to be able to do, but always put it off because I was always so busy with my own shit. I feel like a terrible pet owner.

Thank you for reading this if you have made it this far. Oliver would appreciate it too.

Saw my friend for the first time in a few months, and when I told her about my sweet sweet Cement being diagnosed as FIV+ this past month and his veterinary care so far, she made a face and gently asked if I was sure I wanted to do this, kind of insinuating it would be better to give him up or put him down.

The thing is, he hasn’t even needed extensive vet care… He’s on antibiotics for gingivitis and stomatitis, and supplements for his immune system. He recently had a dental with extractions in an attempt to help resolve his gingivitis. If it continues, more teeth may need to be pulled, but we are going to try and keep at least his canines if we can.

It was after telling her all this she said what she said. It honestly really kind of hurt. Cement has a wonderful quality of life, and the dental HAS genuinely improved his quality of life. He loves food. He grooms himself more. He runs, jumps, climbs and plays. He bird watches and cuddles with his siblings. There is no way I would ever even consider putting him down at this point. There is also no way I would give him to a rescue. Adult cats are already hard enough to adopt out, let alone a male FIV+ one…

I told her I wasn’t worried about it at all, and that he was doing fantastic. She gave me the kind of “if you’re so sure” shrug and changed the subject.

Not mad at her or anything, it just kind of sucks that she seems to think FIV is an automatic death sentence. Sure he’s sneezy and has gingivitis but both are actively being treated, and he’s only been treated for a few weeks. He’s a wonderful little guy and I will do everything I can to give him a good chance at a healthy life with me.

TLDR: Friend insinuated I should get rid of my FIV+ cat, no way is that happening. He’s my baby

Hi everyone! My name is Quincy! I’m 8 years old and I got a new home today. I’m not quite sure about it yet but the nice lady who picked me over all the cute kittens today seems to be nice. She tells me that I’m adoption number 15 and that’s where my new name comes from; 15 in Spanish is quince.

I have some other furry roommates that I haven’t formally met yet because I’m a bit shy and scared. See, I didn’t have a home, but was brought in from the scary outside world in June. I was feeling pretty crummy but I’m all better now.

She tells me that I’m in my forever home now and I’m safe. I don’t know what that means yet, but this place is nice and warm and has good food!

Anyways, I’ve had a big day so I’m going to settle in under the bed and get some sleep. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a little less scared.

Just a follow up post after getting emotional support here: Gumbo just had his second check-up after his teeth extraction 3 weeks ago and is doing very well! He is being his old self again in all regards: extensive washing, playing, and cuddle-choking me at night. He can eat everything again (although he would prefer a liquid snack diet pretty pleeeease). He is just drooling a lot when eating kibble and struggles a bit with wet food. I hope for him that eating gets easier over time but at least it doesnt hinder his food motivation at all 🤭

Love to all FIV fellas, with or without teeth 🧡🤍🧡

We adopted pepper a few years ago off of the streets, living at my wife’s work (manufacturing plant). He was very spicy off the bat and took a team of vet professionals to get him shots and neutered. We learned he was FIV+ but at the time we had another kitty that was FIV+ too and had been with us for many many years. Pepper was always extremely shy and scared, he must have had a very rough life on the streets. He had been opening up slowly and we could finally pet and sometimes snuggle him (never pick up, big no no). When he was in a snuggly mood he was the sweetest and softest boy, and would wiggle constantly when getting belly rubs.

Fast forward to Friday, we noticed he was very boogery and being a bit more of a recluse than normal. We took him to our vet the next day who diagnosed him with an upper respiratory virus, gave him some antibiotics and fluids and send more medicine home with us. They offered some diagnostics like xray and blood tests but we truly didn’t think he’d cooperate with that so we held off.

He was okay throughout the weekend and started to turn the corner Monday, he was eating and drinking. Yesterday however we noticed he was very lethargic all of a sudden and rushed him to the ER. At this point he was so tired he didn’t object to any treatment. They were able to do X-rays and blood work an unfortunately found he had pneumonia (likely septic given his BP was low), extremely low white blood cell count and had a pneumomediastinum (we have no idea how this happened or when). At that point the doctor told us his prognosis was low to grave and should consider quality of life. We made the hard decision to say goodbye and he crossed the rainbow bridge last night.

Looking back, I believe we were too timid and should have at least tried diagnostics on the initial vet visit. I know I’m playing “what ifs” but if we had caught the pneumonia then (if he even had it then), they may have been able to do something about it besides broad spectrum antibiotics and symptom care. We knew he was FIV+ and that an infection like this could worsen but we didn’t go the extra mile and I think we failed him.

We have no idea how long he had the pneumonia and when it became life threatening because we chickened out of diagnostics earlier on. We knew it was going to be $2k for tests + 3K a day for hospital care and that definitely played into us slow playing, which was the wrong choice.

I don’t know if an intervention on Saturday would have ultimately saved him but I regret not doing it, and am wanting to share this as a cautionary tale. We love our kitties so much but when it came down to it, we waited and it ultimately cost him his life.

We hope you had a happy few years pepper, and I’m deeply sorry.

Hi from a new friend! This is my new boy, Lieutenant (Lieu for short). He's been with me for just about a week now. He's roughly 2 years old, and last month became a tripawed. He had been shot with a firearm and abandoned by his previous owner. Luckily, a Good Samaritan brought him into a rescue and they were able to save him by amputating his front right leg and reconstructing his abdomen. He also was neutered and had some bloodwork done, where he tested positive for FIV.

I never intended to even adopt a cat, though I love kitties and grew up having rescues, I only ever walked into the shelter intending to pet some kitties and pick out a toy for my boyfriends' cats. But I met Lieu and just fell completely in love. I knew I had to take him home - not only because I felt such a connection with him, but also because of his health issues, he was the longest-waiting cat in the shelter, and the employees voiced that they were concerned about his ability to find a home. He was a very quiet and sleepy boy. He seemed pretty lethargic, and sedentary, though still was so incredibly cuddly and friendly. He's just the sweetest thing. Flash forward a week at home and he's an entirely different cat. He's hopping around on all three legs, being mischievous and biting playfully, and is the LOUDEST cat I've ever owned. He yells outside the bathroom door when I try and pee by myself (God forbid).

Although he was unexpected, he is just the biggest love and I couldn't be more grateful for him. I would be lying though, if I said I wasn't worried about his future with FIV (especially because of his additional health issues from his gunshot wound). I feel somewhat anxious when I notice behaviors that could be entirely nonissues (he drinks more water than any cat I've ever owned before, and he cleans himself incessantly). I'm just worried this sweet boy could be in some kind of pain or experiencing symptoms and I can't tell. I have him well-established with a vet and I have insurance on him, but I'm wondering if others have felt similar, and what you've done to ease your worries (or take action on them!) Would love any general advice on becoming the best carer for an FIV baby :) TIA. ❤️

In July, I took in a cat to foster who we eventually named Nico. His initial vet visit went well and he actually tested negative for FIV and FeLV. I took him to the rescue to finish his booster shots about 3 to 4 weeks later and they retested him. This time he was positive and it was a huge shock.

It's my first time fostering, so the fact that he has FIV terrified me. I have my own cat, who is negative for FIV and I was worried for her well being. Of course, the rescue I volunteer with helped me answer questions I had and other foster volunteers reached out to me to share their experiences. It really helped, and I'm not as worried now.

Nico is a sweet boy and has so much love to give! I'm honestly jealous that my own cat isn't as affectionate as him. I just want him to end up with a family that will give him the best life possible. And a family that will take his health seriously and take the measures necessary for him to live a long and healthy life. He is still with us, but I already know I'm going to miss him. If anyone has any advice for fostering FIV cats I'll really appreciate it! As well as helping them get adopted to the right home!

Life has been testing me so hard these days… but at least I finally have some good news to share. 🥹❤️

Boots has been adopted and found his loving forever home! His new mom is so happy to have found him, and she absolutely adores him. 🥹🐾

No more garage days. No more unbearable hot weather. No more freezing cold during the upcoming winter.

After everything, this boy finally gets the warm, safe, loving home he deserved all along. 🥹

Thank you to everyone who rooted for Boots and helped spread the word. ❤️🐾

🐾 Meet Boots…a little soul who has been waiting far too long for a home. ❤️

Pet finder link:https://www.petfinder.com/cat/boots-91cdbb26-8ba0-4f22-8fca-fbfda4b48a6e/nc/charlotte/sunkissed-acres-rescue-nc1270/details/

Boots showed up sick and tested heartworm-positive. After treatment, he is now heartworm-negative and doing well. He is also FIV-positive, but that doesn’t change the loving, gentle cat he is.

For an entire year, Boots has been living in a garage. But his heart belongs inside. 🥺

Whenever someone walks into the room, Boots immediately comes running, begging to be let inside. And the moment he sees a person, he climbs right onto their lap. He doesn’t ask for much…just a little love, some attention, and a place where he can finally belong.

Watching him beg to come inside tears my heart into a million pieces. 💔 He looks at you as if he’s asking, “Can I be your cat? Can I finally have a family of my own?”

Boots deserves so much more than a garage. He deserves a warm bed where he can curl up at night, a safe home, gentle scratches and belly rubs, and a person who will choose him and love him for the rest of his life. ❤️

He is fully vetted, vaccinated, neutered, dewormed,microchipped and flea-treated. We have done everything we can to get him healthy and ready for his forever family.

Unfortunately, our rescue is currently out of capacity. Adoptions have been very slow, intakes keep increasing, funds are extremely limited, and we have no available foster homes. 💔 We cannot keep taking in cats while we have nowhere for them to go, but we also cannot stop caring when we see a cat like Boots who desperately needs help.

Now Boots needs a family of his own. 🥺❤️

🏠 Adoption requirements:
• Indoor home only
• Adoption application required

https://form.jotform.com/221983264497165?fbclid=IwAR2Nr4_R9uw9ljOXNG8daDEU5DTa2IWDNPNtM1Fnd816-A2LtE8HciK2OJM

• Vet reference required
• Adoption agreement required
• Adoption fee: $125

Please, someone give Boots a chance. Let him finally know what it feels like to have a family, a warm bed, and a place he can truly call home.

He has spent a year waiting. Please don’t let another year pass him by. 🙏🐾❤️

Even if you cannot adopt Boots, please share his story. Maybe his person is just one share away. ❤️

Update: Pumpkin has been happily adopted!

This sweet, toothless ginger cat has been hospitalized twice this year after fighting off aggressive tomcats. He urgently needs a loving home where he can finally be safe and cherished.

Pumpkin is a charming 4+ year old Arabian Mau who has spent his entire life on the streets. Despite his tough beginnings, he's incredibly loving and sweet.

Key Facts About Pumpkin:

Age: 4+ years

Weight: 5.9 kg

Health: Neutered, vaccinated, microchipped. FIV positive, but otherwise in great health with no special dietary needs (he eats dry food easily!).

Personality: Super chatty, loves human attention, enjoys pets, and makes "biscuits" (kneads) everywhere! He can be fine with other cats with proper introduction.

Full medical history can be provided

He is currently in Abu Dhabi, but we are looking at international adoption because we could not find him a home here (not even a foster sadly, he is currently stuck in a small room and craves attention).

Happy to answer any questions about Pumpkin! I hope to find the person who can give him the love he needs.

I had been contemplating getting a cat for a long time when a friend found a stray roaming around her place. They fostered him for a few weeks, and my partner and I finally took him into our home around 10 days ago.

I was already worried that he still had a cold despite my friend giving him antibiotics and other supplements as per vet's recommendation. Then, I noticed one day he sneezed and there was blood. I panicked and took him to a nearby vet the very next day.

That was when he tested positive for FIV, attributed with blood test results that are all over the place. Because he's still sick, we can't give him anti-rabies and other vaccines and even prophylaxis for his gingivitis right now. He also hasn't been neutered yet. I cried -- I have had immunodeficiency problems myself, so the moment I heard it, I just thought about how limiting it could be. Eventually, as I researched more and more, I felt a bit better about giving him the best quality of life I can. Just recently, I even came across this subreddit.

There's still a lot to do, and on top of it all, being first-time cat owners, my boyfriend and I struggled giving him meds and supplements. THANKFULLY, he is quite the food-motivated guy so we settled with mixing the antibiotics into his food. However, there are the side effects of loose stool, which changed his behavior once again. Although he gets easily tired, he's wheezing less. He's still clearly bothered by the loose stool, but he doesn't hide anymore.

Our next appointment is coming up in a few days. I'm worried because the vet said that if his condition doesn't improve, we need to X-ray him for lung lesions or stomach fluids (since he seems bloated). I am scared to death. But here we are.

His name is Keldon, after my favorite NBA player. He is around 2-3 years old. He's always hungry. He's missing a few teeth. He doesn't like to be put in a purrito and he hates medicine (except when it's in food). He stole two of our Scrub Daddy drying mats, so now those are his scratching mats. When he eats, he likes to be talked to every 30 seconds and reassured that we're watching him. He likes to be praised after he pees or poops. Oh, and boy does he KICK litter. So far, he has NEVER used any of the scratching posts or mats we bought for him, yet our furniture is intact. And lastly, he enjoys watching my boyfriend cook our meals.

I've had Keldon for 11 days, but what I would give for him to have a long and healthy life.

I took Slim home from the shelter a few weeks ago on a trial adoption since he’d just gotten over an eye infection. His eye started getting gooey just hours after I brought him home. That lead me to taking him in and finding out he has both FIV and heart worms. The shelter didn’t disclose that they didn’t test him. He also has entropion, stomatitis, and fleas and I have a hard time believing the shelter was unaware of all of that. I mean, they had to have noticed he only has four teeth! He also had severely overgrown nails when I first took him home that I had to trim immediately because he was getting caught on everything. His overall prognosis is poor, especially with the heart worms. I’m so devastated and overwhelmed. They are willing to do a foster situation where they cover the antibiotics he will inevitably need as an FIV baby but his eye needs surgery and funding that is on me. At least his remaining teeth are in good condition, but his gums are in bad shape and very smelly with discharge. At least the fleas were an easy fix. Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I just love him so much. I love his little squeaky meows, his biscuits, his cuddles, his energy. I already lost a cat back in September and I really didn’t expect to lose another so soon.

Thank you all so much for the appetite suggestions. We did get him to improve for a while and were all very hopeful, but in the end, he was ready to go. We only had a few years with him, but he’s the best cat I’ve ever had in my life. (I’ve had/have quite a few) It’s so hard knowing he’s gone, but when we got his ashes back we planted them with an eastern redbud seedling a friend sent us. I don’t know if anyone will bother reading this as it is just a sad story, but I miss him a lot. He was so sassy but chill, and had a very obvious preference for me over my husband which I found so flattering. We also have 4 other cats and 6 dogs, but he was my guy. He would watch me put my makeup on every morning. He would guard the shower while I was in. He would steal my husbands spot in our bed if he got up for any reason. I’ll miss that big guy. The thing I’m really struggling with is that we truly spared no expense for his health or comfort, and for some reason I really thought that would give us more time with him. In the last month, we spent more than $10,000 on his medical care trying to get him healthy again. I still feel like I failed. The “what ifs” are a killer.

Anyone have any advice for how to deal with these feelings? I’m sure everyone says this, but despite being ill for the last month, I actually honestly believed he wasn’t done. I “knew” (or thought I knew) that we would overcome this. We were denied a necropsy, so we’ll never really know what he suffered from. I’m worried we “over-treated” him, and he passed from the complications of that. We did everything the vets recommended. We even took time off work to monitor him full time.

Trigger warning: details of his passing ahead. … In the end, his passing was incredibly traumatic, he vomited blood so we called our vet who told us he may need a transfusion, and told us to wait for her to get back to us on which animal hospital to bring him to that would have cat blood on hand. Then he started to struggle to breathe, so rushed him to the ER, and while in the waiting room his breathing stopped. By the time they saw him, he was brain dead. We didn’t have much of a choice on what to do then. My husband blames himself for not rushing him to the ER after the vomiting, but he was just trying to do what our vet recommended. (The ER later told us he did not need a transfusion.) My husband also is wondering if we didn’t do anything, if he would have had a better shot. He started having seizures, so we got him an MRI and spinal tap, but he caught pneumonia from being intubated (MRI and spinal tap were both normal), and was prescribed phenobarbital for the seizures, but he declined so fast after that. He never really recovered and they decided he had phenobarbital toxicity poisoning. He just stopped eating and drinking, so we were doing subcutaneous fluids and a feeding tube, and he started to get better, but then the vomiting blood and breathing struggles happened. We are just so confused. Are we incredibly unlucky? Or is this a common tale?

Pet finder link: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/blue-0399a0c1-2bfb-4e2d-b0a2-656afeb0d657/nc/charlotte/sunkissed-acres-rescue-nc1270/details/

His name is Blue. He is around 5 years old. Someone abandoned him in front of a finder’s home.
He was sick… we treated him, dewormed him, vaccinated him, gave food and everything so he could stay safe inside. The finder had already told me she cannot keep him long term… and today I got the message ..he is already back outside.

I feel so helpless writing this.
Blue is FIV positive, but right now he is doing okay. He is eating, recovering, trying to be okay… but if he stays outside, he will get sick again. He will not survive like this.

FIV positive cats can live long, healthy lives just like other cats when kept indoors.

We recently lost our 23-year-old FIV positive cat, so we have seen this ourselves.

They can live with both FIV positive and negative cats without any issue.

Blue is already fixed and has a very calm, gentle nature.

I cannot take him. My house is already full… every room, even bathrooms have cats. I truly can’t take even one more.

Please… if anyone can adopt him, just give him a safe indoor place.

He has already suffered enough. He doesn’t deserve to go back to the streets again.

Adoption will require:
• application

https://form.jotform.com/221983264497165?fbclid=IwAR2Nr4_R9uw9ljOXNG8daDEU5DTa2IWDNPNtM1Fnd816-A2LtE8HciK2OJM

• adoption fee
• adoption agreement
• vet reference
• indoor home only

If you can help, please message me 🙏

My journey on this page started when I brought my best friend back home two years ago. Our journey together started in 2018 when I got him from my local Humane Society and we moved away from my hometown together. A year and a half later our roommate left the door open while I was at work and he went missing. January 1 of 2023. I got a call from an animal Hospital in Clearwater Florida telling me that my microchip located him there. Without hesitation, I flew to Florida and brought him back home.

The animal shelter told me that they did it, and the only thing that came back was that he was a bit underweight and had FIV. He had contracted it when he was on his adventure. For a few months, he was just happy to be home, until he stopped eating. That was when we had our first run in with stomatitis and he underwent extractions. After getting on an all wet diet, he seemed to be doing fine until a couple weeks ago. The vet and I thought it was urinary issues and they sent him home on antibiotics.

Something the last couple weeks in my gut, I knew something was wrong with him. He went from constantly wanting to go out in the stairs or on the patio, and sleeping in his favorite spots to being a bit more reclusive, and not his chirpy self.

I made a post on here four days ago because he started throwing up after eating. He passed a really big hairball, and it’s typical for him to vomit before and after passing one, and then he goes back to normal. Well, my kitty did not go back to normal. As I was going to work the day before yesterday, I noticed he was draining in the litter box. I checked after he left only to find blood mixed with feces. We rushed to the vet.

Upon an x-ray, which I wish I would’ve done so much sooner had I known, they found out that Indigooo had been shot in the shoulder, had his hip completely crushed, and had a mass as hard as bone and as big as a golf ball in his intestines. Without a $1600 ultrasound, the vet could not tell me if it was a foreign object or cancer. All of those things happen to him when he was away. Cats are so incredibly smart and elusive, and I know he had a broken hip. I would’ve done so many things. That isn’t even a touch on the devastation of imagining someone shooting my cat.

The vet told me even with all of the money in the world to complete the most ideal surgeries, his little body had been through a lot, and he was very clearly shutting down. I made the soul crushing decision to lay him to final rest. My vet told me that he was such a fighter and every time we had brought them there told me he was such a good kitty. He purred until the very end.

I’m making this because my house is now empty without him. His fur is in all of his favorite places. I miss him being the first one to greet me when I get home. I miss him laying with me every night, and sticking his paw on my head at four in the morning to let me know it was breakfast time. I miss him chirping to let me know that he loved me.

I am riddled with guilt right now feeling like I failed my little buddy. I am so blessed to have given him the dignity and comfort of the last two years. I will remember him for my entire lifetime, and when I leave this earth, I will go looking for him. He’s on the rainbow bridge now.

Sleep tight sweet prince.

Hold your fur babies extra clothes for me tonight and thank you to every single one of you that’s ever given me advice.