FIV...anyone have experience?

[MCHRKiller]

It looks like our Sake may have worse dental issues than we expected...I noticed that after she went in for another round of vaccinations she went off her food. I always feed dry and rarely some can, she went from eating 1/3-1/2 cup of her food a day to maybe a tablespoon or so of food. Well I decided to wait it out considering the vaccines can sometimes put them off food. I noticed today while giving her some treats she just had a lot of difficulty eating them, so I got her down and examined her mouth more closely. One of her main back teeth is chipped. I gave her some can food and she has eaten about 1/2 a can or so...and appears to be in better spirits now.

We also have more pet drama to report...my new neighbors found a small orange tabby on their patio. They asked if I wanted it considering they are allergic. It has a badly damaged rear leg and some random injuries. I spoke with the rescue whom I was getting the FIV calico from to see if she would take it in. She agreed to provide vet care and try to get its leg fixed or possibly amputated. She asked if I would be willing to take the cat if it could be rehabilitated to a point where it would be a house pet. Currently it can not properly clean itself or use the box properly due to the leg...it drags the leg through the fecal matter and cannot clean its rear. Depending on how all this pans out we may have 3 special needs kitties instead of just 2.

[fishmommie]

Oh, you're a saint. very lucky kitties.
So sorry they are going through such health issues

[gronlaura]

It looks like our Sake may have worse dental issues than we expected...I noticed that after she went in for another round of vaccinations she went off her food. I always feed dry and rarely some can, she went from eating 1/3-1/2 cup of her food a day to maybe a tablespoon or so of food. Well I decided to wait it out considering the vaccines can sometimes put them off food. I noticed today while giving her some treats she just had a lot of difficulty eating them, so I got her down and examined her mouth more closely. One of her main back teeth is chipped. I gave her some can food and she has eaten about 1/2 a can or so...and appears to be in better spirits now.

We also have more pet drama to report...my new neighbors found a small orange tabby on their patio. They asked if I wanted it considering they are allergic. It has a badly damaged rear leg and some random injuries. I spoke with the rescue whom I was getting the FIV calico from to see if she would take it in. She agreed to provide vet care and try to get its leg fixed or possibly amputated. She asked if I would be willing to take the cat if it could be rehabilitated to a point where it would be a house pet. Currently it can not properly clean itself or use the box properly due to the leg...it drags the leg through the fecal matter and cannot clean its rear. Depending on how all this pans out we may have 3 special needs kitties instead of just 2.

Oh my. I firmly believe that homeless and injured animals sometimes find the people they need. Cats with 3 legs do great, better than keeping an injured, unusable leg. And you have found an angel in the rescue person willing to take care of the medical aspect. Please keep us informed. This injured kitty is definitely in my prayers.

[Cyberra]

At least these special needs kitties have found a good home instead of being put down

[gronlaura]

at least these special needs kitties have found a good home instead of being put down

+1 big time.

[skittlebrau]

So much kudos to OP and anyone else who takes in special needs animals :) If you do intend to foster the injured kitty, I wouldn't worry too much, and if the injury is severe, amputation is a fairly quick recovery. Most animals do fine minus a leg. After surgery or if there are wounds, just be sure to use pellet litter (Yesterday's News works wonderful) until the incision heals, this is less likely to get stuck in the wound while it heals. As for worsening dental issues, my advice would be to try and take care of it sooner rather than later, however dental work can get very pricey fast. I believe in a lot of areas in the US, February is Dental month, and a lot of veterinarians offer discounts for routine dental work and extractions :)

[MCHRKiller]

She is going in to be spayed tomorrow, I am going to have the vet really get in there and look at her back teeth and see what is up. If she needs an extraction may as well do it while she is out. We are keeping up with the dental care and have switched her to wet food. This change alone seems to have helped. She eats the treats with less difficulty....I am assuming that having only hard food and weak teeth wasn't working out for her.

The rescue person is great...she has constructed a facility outside her home to house over 40 animals. She and her husband have pretty much dedicated their retirement years to saving animals. She has taken the injured cat into the vet...last I spoke with her she had not heard back from them in regard to how severe the damage to the leg was. I do know that the orange kitty has been neutered and vaccinated so that is one step closer.

[MCHRKiller]

Sake came through the spay just fine. We did run into 2 issues...#1 she was pregnant. Big shock to me as I 100% thought she was in heat last week. Maybe I just looked good enough for her make advances toward me during that time? Anyway...no worries about more kitties now. The vet looked at her rear teeth and the one in question has got to go. He will be extracting it next week when we have her sutures removed and get the last of her vaccines.

[gronlaura]

Well, that's one hurdle out of the way. Glad she's okay. Please post pics after she's done healing.

How is the red (not orange - cat colors are the same as dog colors) tabby purrrson doing?

[MCHRKiller]

Havent heard how the tabby is, spoke to the rescue woman on sunday. I will post photos of them tonight I took a few over the weekend.