Had some sad news in our family today, but learned something new I thought worth sharing.
I took Sammy, our male Siamese outdoor cat to the vet today, because he's been lethargic for several days and hasn't eaten or drank water for three days. I was terribly concerned that he might have eaten a mouse that ate the rat poison in our livestock feed shed. He'd been fighting with another cat(s) and had scratches on his head and face. The vet ran some standard preliminary tests first to rule out certain other diseases, since he wasn't showing symptoms of poisoning (yet). We still don't know if he got into the rat poison, but he DID test positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV, the cat equivalent of human AIDS).
In my understanding, FIV is transmitted from cat to cat usually by fighting, through a bite or other injury. Most often it's an outdoor cat that has not been neutered or spayed, but can infect indoor cats too, if they come into contact with any infected cat. The virus attacks the immune system. Cats can be infected for years before they show any symptoms, or may not show symptoms at all. What is does is make the cat susceptible to other infections. Since their immune system is compromised, they can't fight off infections that a healthy cat would have little trouble overcoming. There is no vaccine. There is no cure. Although some human treatments for AIDS are showing some promise in felines, too.
A cat with FIV can live a normal, healthy life, IF they are protected from other illnesses and injuries that could cause infection. They need to be isolated from other cats and kept indoors. Death from the FIV is usually because of a secondary infection. FIV cannot be transmitted to humans or dogs. (I didn't ask about other animals; please ask your vet if you are concerned.)
Because the risk of infection to our other cats is very high, and he appears to be entering the critical phase of the disease when his immune system is very weak, AND we have no way to isolate him and tend to his special needs for whatever time he may have left --- we chose to have him humanely euthanized today.
I'm devastated. Love you, Sammy. Go get some mice over the Rainbow Bridge.
Sammy was abandoned in the country and ended up at our door about 3 years ago. It took me weeks to earn his trust and get him to come into the garage for safety at night. But every morning, he'd want out. He spent his time roaming between our farm and two others. I got him vaccinated, and regularly wormed him and treated for fleas and ticks, but my husband declined to have him neutered. The vet warned me that intact male cats usually only live in the outdoors for 2-3 years. I suppose that we thought we could beat the odds by making sure he stayed well fed and had adequate shelter and basic health care. We were wrong. I never knew about FIV before today. Now I have to inform the neighbors; one of whom has several barn cats.
In spite of my sadness, I do have a bit of dark humor: It occurred to me tonight, while I was out back of the garden where our other deceased pets are buried, that I was in the pet cemetery alone, after dark on a full moon, with a dead cat to be buried.
Stephen King ring any bells?
I took Sammy, our male Siamese outdoor cat to the vet today, because he's been lethargic for several days and hasn't eaten or drank water for three days. I was terribly concerned that he might have eaten a mouse that ate the rat poison in our livestock feed shed. He'd been fighting with another cat(s) and had scratches on his head and face. The vet ran some standard preliminary tests first to rule out certain other diseases, since he wasn't showing symptoms of poisoning (yet). We still don't know if he got into the rat poison, but he DID test positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV, the cat equivalent of human AIDS).
In my understanding, FIV is transmitted from cat to cat usually by fighting, through a bite or other injury. Most often it's an outdoor cat that has not been neutered or spayed, but can infect indoor cats too, if they come into contact with any infected cat. The virus attacks the immune system. Cats can be infected for years before they show any symptoms, or may not show symptoms at all. What is does is make the cat susceptible to other infections. Since their immune system is compromised, they can't fight off infections that a healthy cat would have little trouble overcoming. There is no vaccine. There is no cure. Although some human treatments for AIDS are showing some promise in felines, too.
A cat with FIV can live a normal, healthy life, IF they are protected from other illnesses and injuries that could cause infection. They need to be isolated from other cats and kept indoors. Death from the FIV is usually because of a secondary infection. FIV cannot be transmitted to humans or dogs. (I didn't ask about other animals; please ask your vet if you are concerned.)
Because the risk of infection to our other cats is very high, and he appears to be entering the critical phase of the disease when his immune system is very weak, AND we have no way to isolate him and tend to his special needs for whatever time he may have left --- we chose to have him humanely euthanized today.
I'm devastated. Love you, Sammy. Go get some mice over the Rainbow Bridge.
Sammy was abandoned in the country and ended up at our door about 3 years ago. It took me weeks to earn his trust and get him to come into the garage for safety at night. But every morning, he'd want out. He spent his time roaming between our farm and two others. I got him vaccinated, and regularly wormed him and treated for fleas and ticks, but my husband declined to have him neutered. The vet warned me that intact male cats usually only live in the outdoors for 2-3 years. I suppose that we thought we could beat the odds by making sure he stayed well fed and had adequate shelter and basic health care. We were wrong. I never knew about FIV before today. Now I have to inform the neighbors; one of whom has several barn cats.
In spite of my sadness, I do have a bit of dark humor: It occurred to me tonight, while I was out back of the garden where our other deceased pets are buried, that I was in the pet cemetery alone, after dark on a full moon, with a dead cat to be buried.
Stephen King ring any bells?
I also put down my cat just recently, about two weeks ago. He was almost 17 and failing. It was definitely his time but I so didn't want it to be. I cried so much over the weekend that my face looked burned. The day after I put him down, I could have sworn i heard him meow outside my door when I was changing. My brain was so used to seeing/hearing him around that it was just making things up. 
loosing a pet is just so dang hard. 
