10 year old with diabetes and FIV+

Hiya! Not sure if this is the right place, but has anyone had an FIV+ kitty who also had diabetes? Our baby Diesel was just diagnosed with both last weekend. Our vet made it like we could do nothing but I'm really trying to see all options.

Thank you all.

 

There is not much to be done on the FIV+ front. You know he is immune compromised which may make care hard later on but if he is basically happy otherwise...I would treat the FD.... I mean why not?

 

This is the right place. I don't know if any members have experience with the two conditions, together, but there are incredibly knowledgeable people here who will try to help.

 

Hi Kelsey ! I’ll tag @HWright for you . If I’m not mistaken she has experience with an Fiv /diabetic .

 

Far as just the Fiv I’ve had two kitties with it . Pooh lived a long life of 18 with no unusual complications and I currently have BC who at 15 is doing well . It’s is doable

 

Thank you. Are there just more check ups and potentially more sickness? Unfortunately cost is a thing for us too. I never want money but right now I wish I had more. Anything to help him.

 

Neither of our guys ever had any complications or extra vet visits . Same care and food as other kitties. BC is our Office kitty and has no other cats around him for his health as much as theirs. You would never know either of them had Fiv at all . Just something to keep an extra eye on And I would absolutely treat his diabetes !

 

That’s so nice to hear. I have a FIV kitty as well. He is 3 years old and a former stray/feral. I am constantly worried about his health. I hope he will be like your kitties with a long and symptom free life . Did you keep your 18 year-old FIV kitty indoor with other cats?

 

Our first fiv ,Pooh, was diagnosed over 20 years ago when not as much was known ab the disease. He had been an in/ out cat til the diagnosis then we kept him in . We had one other cat , a gorgeous Siamese , and we did t separate them as they’d been together all their lives . Our kitty now, BC, has been an indoor kitty at my husbands office after finding as a stray 12 years ago and has no other cats with him . We feed high quality food and keep a close eye on him for any slight runny nose or other normal cat ailments . We also consult with a homeopathic vet by phone and utilize both allopathic and natural responses. I’d check as to latest findings on having fiv cats with other kitties .

 

I am transitioning Coffee (FIV) to indoor and I have 3 other indoor kitties. I started with him staying in the garage overnight (as fear of him getting hit by cars if he decided to cross the street since he is a 90% black tuxie) then short supervised visits inside. To my surprise, he is submissive to my other cats! Now he has longer supervised visits in the house, hopefully all 4 will get along.

There is immunotherapy available now for FIV. I am considering the treatment if he starts to show symptoms. Plus he is on supplements to strength his immune system and good food with lots of water !

 

Thanks, Beth and welcome and hello, @Kelsey58 and @PPCW, fellow fiv ❤️‘s.

Beth is remembering my civie Azalea, who went ahead in April, almost two months after her 20th birthday. She wasn’t diabetic but was ckd, and developed chronic stomatitis late in life. It was then that she tested positive for fiv (though had tested neg when she was very young so idk whether the early test was false neg and she was asymptomatic for most of her life or became exposed at some point during the years before our cats became indoor only but remained asymptomatic until late in life).

Oh yes, my cats, who were mostly indoor-outdoor, became all indoor kitties many years ago. When Azalea tested positive when she was 17/18 yo, I had all the other cats tested. They all tested negative.

My regular vets weren’t particularly knowledgeable regarding fiv treatment and immune support so I relied on and really appreciated the guidance from members here, my homeopathic vets, and from Joel Koehler and his fiv site and group FIVtherapy and Bud’s FIV therapy. Link here (and the link to sign up for the group is on the main page):

http://www.fivtherapy.com/

Another person who was very helpful (and she is also a member of the FIV group, has 3 or 4 FIV cats and is very knowledgeable about IBD and other conditions) was Laurie Goldstein. The members in the FIV therapy are also very knowledgeable about and face the challenges of co-conditions. I don’t think diabetes is specified on the website as a typical co-condition to FIV, but I can be reasonably certain that there are members who now or have had experience with FIV and FD.
Of course, ECID, so the protocol I put together for Azalea was helpful for her but might or might not be for another.

I hope this helps and if I can help with any questions, etc, I’m glad to help. I am sending heaps of vines for you and your sweet kitty. Lots of scritches, too❤️
Sina

 

Thank you all so much. I'll definitely check out that board in a few minutes.

Right now our vet has him on steroids, antibiotics and the insulin.

First he was only on the insulin and after two days his appetite came back and he started cleaning himself. He started moving more, looking for pets, and eating on his own. Then three days later we took him back to the vet, all his levels had dropped and he was also anemic. So I'm not sure of what's going on totally, but I think she gave us the steroids and antibiotics to help fight off anything that might be in there. She said she didn't want to give him steroids because it might raise blood sugar but at the same time her gut was telling her to.

Now he's purring again, being playful, alert,

We're taking him back tomorrow to check blood levels. I'm hopeful. Really hopeful. He's been more vocal and playful. Kind of crazy. When we brought him in there last Friday he was barely moving. Could barely open his eyes and the second eyelids were super apparent. Not eating, we had to force feed. His fur was all matted because he wasn't cleaning himself. Drinking water like crazy. He SEEMS more normal... if he was like this last Friday we wouldn't have taken him.

My mom is very much believing everything the vet said (she made it sound like it was the end completely) and to me it did not feel right. I wanted more knowledge in the subject before any decision is made. So thank you all. You've all been so helpful and I feel better about this.

We'll see what the vet says tomorrow and see what his bloodwork says.

 

Also... just for fun... here is our boy.

 

Thanks Sina and very sorry about the passing of your Azalea !

I have read Bud's FIV therapy before and the amount of info was "WOW". I will join the support group.

 

Love your boy...Kelsey. Happy boy!
I hope you’ll find the fivtherapygroup helpful. Great peeps there and the repository of information andapproaches are daunting at first...but hang in there.
What insulin is Kelsey on right now? Have you had a chance to check out the information “stickies” here infdmb? Are you home testing? Awesome repositories of information and knowledge here in fdmb too and awesome peeps and support heretoo.
❤️

 

Wow he is such a handsome boy, too! What’s his name? Love his curling tail. Sootie’s sister Guersey, who also was a tuxie, did that from the time she was a kitten. Her signature happy tail.❤️

I’m glad to hear that you’ll join the fiv group. They are amazing in knowledge and experience and support. Hang in there!❤️

 

His name is Coffee. Currently a whooping 18lb cat ! He is such a great cat, I don’t understand why someone would abandon him. When he adopted me, he already had his ear tipped. So he was on his own for a while and had to fight to get contracted with the virus. Such a gentle soul .

 

Hi! Wanted to update you all...

So he has been on the steroids, antibiotics and insulin for a little over 2 weeks now. He's shown massive improvement. Energy is back, appetite is back, he's gained weight, he's playful again, all of that. It's amazing. We got blood work done on Saturday... test now says he's no longer FIV+! We're going to see the doc in 2 weeks, take him off the steroids and see what happens. I'm so happy. Diesel is doing so much better.

I wanted to thank you all for your help. I've learned a lot from reading and your answers have meant so much. Thank you!

 

Thank you Kelsey for the great news update about Diesel. And great photo..dude with his ‘tude coming back.

Just curious: Are you home testing re bg?
Vines for Diesel’s continuing recovery.