More on FIV

As you all know, I have a FIV+ Mama cat and have been exploring various options.

I discovered that there is an FIV vaccine, but my vet refuses to use it because an FIV vaccinated cat shows up as FIV+ on all available tests. This could lead to Orpheus being put down due to a false positive. This seems ridiculous.

So I got a second opinion. The second opinion vet doesn't use the vaccine because there hasn't been enough testing done (I read something last night mentioning that the most prevalent strain on America's East Coast hasn't been tested with the vaccine). This vet recommended blunting the incisors: no sharp teeth = no deep bites, no deep bites = no FIV transmission. This would, of course, mean that she wouldn't be able to kill her own food, but she shouldn't be running around outside anyway.

That, plus a careful introduction of the two cats should mean problem solved.

She goes in for a spay on Tuesday (I think she's pregnant again - a co-worker is calling her a "slut". I've tried to explain that she thought she had found The One before her Tom left her. When he told her he made a mistake and still loved her, of course she took him back. She's very young. It's not her fault that he broke her heart again.)

The kittens are still very bad and growing bigger daily. Hopefully they'll test FIV negative and hopefully they'll do that before they're 6 mo. old.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. This has been a trying period.