I'm fostering a FIV Positive cat...?

Question

It's been a few months now. She was an outside stray, so i took her and got her fixed and found out she has Feline AIDS. I can't take her to any shelters because they euthanize them there. She's a very sweet cat and i read online that they can live just as long as other cats. There IS a sanctuary in Boca Raton that told me they could take her but, Does anyone know of a website that will help me find another FIV positive cat owner that may want another cat, or a rescue that is willing to try and find a home for positive cats? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Bless you for taking care of this little sweetie!

I don't know of a website to find other owners. I had a stray 2 years ago that found me that unfortunately tested positive for FIV. My vet did not recommend bringing him into my home because of the ages and illnesses of my cats. He, too, was such a sweetheart and I fought hard to keep from euthanizing him.

I'm in Virginia and was fortunate to find a rescue sanctuary in the central part of the state that took him for me. They are Caring for Creatures.

There is also an agency, the Marley Fund, that mostly work with FeLV cats, but are starting to work with FIV ones, too. They have a link under their "Adopt a Kitty" for "FIV Courtesy Listings".

I have links to both agencies below. I hope they can help you, or provide some leads for you in your area.

Purrs and prayers for you and kitty.

Answer 2

If only the snap test was done (also called the Elisha Test), that has a known failure rate of 20% - it'll say that 20 cats out of 100 ones, all healthy, are FIV positive when they aren't. Some tests of this test come up even worse than the 20%.

If the test was the Western Blot, you have either a cat who DOES have FIV or you have a cat who was vaccinated against FIV. Since the vaccine has been out for three years now, cats are showing up at shelters who have been vaccinated but all the blood tests will show them positive for the disease even when they aren't.

So you either have a healthy cat which is coming up a false positive and is not FIV. Or you have a true FIV, or you have a vaccinated cat who isn't FIV. Quite a mess.

However, FIV cats will not spread the disease if they don't bite deep and draw blood (cat fight). They can be adopted to homes that have non-FIV cats and won't spread the disease if they aren't aggressive. There are two very good FIV cats lists on yahoogroups, and all the members there will tell you that we mix our FIV cats with our non-FIV cats and haven't had any disease transfer.

In my case we've had two former tomcats who ARE FIV positive living side by side 24/7 with three who are not, and in 9 years none of the non-FIV cats have gotten the disease. It's not that bad, considering how diseases go.

You give the FIV cats good food to help them build up their low immune systems, and they live close to normal lifespans. Two members on the list have 15 year old cats who have had it for at least 13 years. The greatest danger is sick cats being around the FIV ones, because it takes longer for the FIV guys to get rid of upper respiratory infections and other things they can catch from the healthier cats.

Answer 3

If the local rescues or humane society in your area use petfinder at all, they may be willing to list the cat on there for you, to find a good home while you keep it at your house for the time being.

Answer 4

What Elaine M said for sure! The New Jersey Veterinary Lab does the Western Blot test and it is very inexpensive. I would look into having that test done on that kiity.

Answer 5

Call the Humane Society and see if they will take her. Website has links to rescues in your area: http://www.hsus.org/