Personal Experience with an FIV+ Cat?

This isn't the same situation, but perhaps it might give you an idea. My son was thinking of adopting a particular dog from a shelter. The shelter allowed him to take the dog to a vet, where we had a thorough exam. In this case we wanted a vet to give us her opinion about how the animal had been treated, and if the dog had any potential problems. The vet confirmed that from the way the dog interacted with her, it had been raised lovingly. She gave it a clean bill of health. There was something about how the dog looked at her when she approached it, some kind of dog-whisperer stuff about the dog not showing aggression or fear. She tried surprising the dog and it reacted in a friendly way. The dog turned out to be a great pet.

It's much like taking a used car to an independent mechanic prior to purchasing it.

So perhaps you can do the same thing - ask the shelter if you can take a potential pet to your choice of vet before committing. Ask about fees for infections, prescriptions, and ask if you'd need to book a vet appointment every time the cat sneezed. Ask the vet if he or she would adopt a cat in that situation.

I have owned 2 FIV+ cats. They acted exactly like the non-FIV+ cats we had later on (not at the same time). No extra illnesses.

I hate to say it but don't trust the shelter. We have adopted several times in the past from both shelters and breed specific rescue groups. Sadly these organizations were not always as honest or forthcoming as they should be; some were but don't make the assumption. The groups can get a bit too wrapped up in adopting out the animals.

Shelters wouldn't let us take the animal to our private vet; we were expected to trust their on staff vet's assessment. Rescue groups were more flexible and we can and did take our animals in for an assessment prior to adopting.

Even without a visit, you can still contact your trusted vet. If you do not have one, then call around a few clinics and see what the consensus is. We have gone to clinics which push different agendas and that can color their opinions and advice. We had one clinic which was a pull out all the stops, cost means nothing facility and as such they were prone to a positive spin on health prognosis and long term quality of life information. In another clinic we found they could be coldly indifferent and left the decision making in our hands totally.

Having adopted an animal with health issues, I would not step into that position lightly again. It can bring a big amount of responsibility which is both unknowable and unpredictable. You have to both live with and provide for the animal which as you know is a large commitment. Good luck.

I would ask my vet. He/she should have experience dealing with this and can give you the pros and cons on their overall health, how sickly they can be and how costly the sickness can be.

I'm not familiar with cats in my home but my daughter adores her cat. I have 2 dogs I adore. Thank you for adopting!!!

not personal experience, only hearsay. and what i gather is that yes indeed, if you are going to have an only cat and it'll be indoors, this probably won't be a big deal. the weakened immune system won't encounter much in the way of bugs that will challenge it, so barring all the usual disclaimers, you'll most likely be doing a wonderful thing, and shouldn't experience more time off for a sick pet than anyone else.
it would be a great idea, though, to check with whatever vet you plan to use and if possible get your potential adoptee checked out beforehand to make sure that he's otherwise healthy and has a reasonably good prognosis.
i hope it works out.
khairete
S.

what does the shelter say about them? i im agin some cats will be more sick than other, ans the shelter would know if the one you are wanting has been more or less sick thank its peers.

The older I get, the more practical I get. I understand that a pet is a commitment for the life of an animal. I understand that an aging pet will eventually have more health issues...we have had 4 that we have adopted and loved until they passed. However, I probably wouldn't adopt a shelter animal that had a lot of known heath issues. There is a good chance that the shelter hasn't been completely forthcoming about any health issues. My children are still young and it absolutely broke their hearts when our pets died. That being said, when we decided to adopt two cats this year, we chose very young animals that did not have any reports of a health concern. I know that a pet dying is part of the "circle of life", but I REALLY don't want to go through that with my kids again for a very long time.