pet problems

Well, I have to say one of the big concerns for me is the other beings that share our home-- 5 of us, which means 3 cats. They are varying ages with all being rejected somewhere or feral. That means staying very aware of their health. We have always had cats since we got married. Having pets that many years, we are familiar with loss. We just don't want to hurry it.

Tigger loves finding new places to sleep-- probably a product of his feral years. This was a box that we had no idea would become one of his perches.

Our orange male, also one-time feral after being dropped by a previous owner in the country. Some city folks appear to think country will help their cats survive. Not so. In Tigger's case, he did pretty well for several years (we're not sure how many) before we recognized he needed to be adopted by us. We had him tested, shots given, and neutered. That was five years ago and all went well until recently when he had trouble eating. He had lost 3 lbs. We took him to the vet for major blood work, etc. (i.e. about a thousand dollars overall including meds). He had gingivitis, which is an early indicator of the real problem

That's when we learned he had what is sometimes called feline AIDs (Feline immunodeficiency virus is a Lentivirus). That scared me big time until I researched it. I was angry at first that we'd had him tested for feline leukemia, and it showed negative, but these tests are not the same. Generally they don't test for FIV as it's far more expensive and not as common. It is there most in previously feral cats, who have been in fights as it's spread by biting. I felt reassured that our other cats were not at risk since Tigger is not a biter in our home-- though he'd been in fights previously.

It turns out that cats with FIV can actually live full lives, but it takes being aware of symptoms as secondary infections is what will kill them. It was not good news but knowing he won't infect our other cats (unless he bit them) has been reassuring, as feline leukemia is far more easily spread by saliva, etc. and he doesn't have that.

Now, he has an abscess in his leg after beating the mouth problems. He's been eating well and staying active, but we just need to aware that an immune problem can be a big deal on many things. He'll see the vet Monday morning.

Our oldest female cat began throwing up yesterday-- new worry. It might be a new food she had eaten-- but it's another thing to keep an eye on. Loving pets, family members as they are, requires that.

I thought that this doctor's recommendations for keeping pets healthy was good for dogs or cats. We often don't know all -- though it'd be good if we did.

Recommendations for keeping pets healthy