Which stage of FIV is my cat in?

Question

My kitty was recently found to be FIV positive. One day he was running around outside, playing, eating, and being his usual energetic self and the next morning he couldn't even stand up. I rushed him to the vet and it turned out that he was FIV positive and had a rare blood parasite called Haemobartonella, which caused severe anemia and jaundice (this all appeared literally overnight).

After two blood transfusions and a few days in the hospital, and antibiotics to kill the parasite he was doing amazingly well...although he had a stroke in the hospital he recovered within a week. they saved his life and I was able to take him home in great condition (he initially had a 50/50 chance of surviving!)

He is doing pretty well now, not too happy about staying indoors but otherwise ok. I let him out on a leash for a bit every day in the yard, which I am not too sure if I should be doing but it makes him much happier.... the only real problem I'm seeing is the swollen lymph nodes under his chin. He's been on antibiotics for 2 weeks and has one to go.

The vet gave him a guarded prognosis, 1-5 years. Does this mean he is now in the chronic stage of FIV or is it possible that it's still the latent/subclinical stage?

Answer 1

With FIV, just like HIV, it is the contraction of other diseases that kill them.  So, if you keep your cat INDOORS, away from all other cats, feed him a good diet, and keep him active he could live a long, happy life.

I think your vet is being guarded because your cat is having a tough tim fighting off the current infection.  If he pulls though and you can keep him healthy, you can have him around for another 15 years!

FIV is just one more reason to keep cats indoors.  They only get it from other cats.

Let's hope for a positive outcome!

Answer 2

Hi there... in all honesty, it's difficult to provide an accurate answer and it would be such a disservice to you to say anything.  Only your veterinarian would be the best individual to provide the best diagnosis/prognosis.

I thought perhaps you'd be very interested to join some FIV cats discussion forums.  There are so many other owners of FIV cats who can provide helpful tips and support to you: http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=FIV...