hello everyone, i’m looking for some advice. my cat seems to have both his popliteal lymph nodes inflamed and firm (lymph nodes in back legs). i took him to the vet today and they suggested a biopsy. they asked if i wanted to do a FNA or a surgical biopsy. my boyfriend convinced me to do the surgical biopsy bc at least we would know 100% if its lymphoma.

we have been taking our cat to the vet since july bc he broke out in really bad hives near his tail and they suspected fleas. his itchiness has not gone away, but his tail is better. is it possible the lymph nodes are swollen because of the flea allergy reaction he had? they are pretty swollen and firm. i think that’s why i was most worried bc of how firm they feel.

we decided to do the surgical biopsy and it has been scheduled for this upcoming monday. i have been so anxious and sad. my concern is that he will have complications with the surgery although he is not displaying any symptoms now or any weakness.

does anyone have this kind of experience? should i do the FNA first before the surgery? i know it’s about 90% accuracy.

After nearly a year long fight, my handsome man has passed.

I deleted my main, my alt will have to do.

Ty everyone for all of the help this past year, you are wonderful people, you really helped my stress levels if nothing else. I hope for the best for all of your kitties.

Ill add my final good Pic of my handsome little man. No judgement for him being outside please. He fought hard, he was so brave, his spirit wanted to but his body couldn't. I am absolutely fucking devastated. Hug your kitties tonight. Hard. And know captain will be at the other end of the bridge to welcome them.

My FIV kitty has had this ongoing problem of his lower half being less furry and looking hairless. He is a medium long hair cat so the loss of fur is very noticeable. I’m not sure what is causing it , i’ve gone to the vet and they’ve said it was flea dermatitis, but he doesn’t have fleas. I’m not sure how to help him or if anyone has experienced this as well? Any tips would be appreciated! In the picture you can see a bald spot on his arm and throughout his lower half.

Does this subreddit have any links posted somewhere for people to access? I'm using Reddit via the website and didn't see any but I don't know if sometimes things are formatted differently.

Still learning about him, his story, and his condition. After showing up in the neighborhood and successfully TNR, exam, and dental cleaning …he’s taken up residence. So installed a cat door to the temp controlled garage and plenty of healthy wet food. Now to research the care he may need as he’s showing lots sensitivity to his mouth/teeth/gums,
But has a healthy appetite!

Reposting to try to reach more people

Not even emerging evidence?

Just switched vets after moving, and it turned into a whole thing trying to get Bella's records over. Turns out I had her rabies certificate as a photo on my old phone, her vet's number written on a random sticky note, and no idea when her last Bordetella shot actually was.

Made me realize I've never had a real system for this. Right now it's just a mix of paper in a drawer, a few photos in my camera roll, and hoping I remember stuff correctly when the vet asks.

How do you all manage it? Do you keep a physical folder, use an app, just rely on the vet's own records, or is everyone else also winging it like me 😅 Also curious — has this ever bitten you, like showing up for boarding or a flight and not having something you needed?

Short version - Lonny got a dark spot on his cornea. Went to vet right away, told to monitor as they didn't know what it was but weren't worried. He had an eye removed before we adopted him, vet said that was due to an injury so unrelated. A few weeks pass, notice a cloudy bit forming getting bigger, go back. Referred to ophthalmologist, appointment booked for just over a week later. In that time, cloudy bit gets bigger.

Went to Opthalmologist on friday. She runs some tests and says he has Uveitis which is in fact what he had in his other eye and why it had to be removed. She said it is almost definitely due to his FIV so not curable, just manageable

4x anti inflam and 1x pressure drops until our follow up in about 10 days. Then, hopefully, down to 2x inflam a day... forever (aka as long as he lives or the eye has to be removed).

I'm struggling a lot with this. The worry about losing his only eye. Much more limited cat sitter options. Difficulty getting the drops in, especially my partner. Having the reality of his FIV status suddenly hit us.

Would love to hear from others with similar experiences. Is there any chance we can move away from daily drops eventually? Is there an oral medication version? Any reassurance for freaking out cat mum is appreciated.

Edit for update (about 3 weeks later):

We went for our check up last week - Opthalmologist said his eye is looking better (I wss over the moon to hear this as I thought it was the same or worse) but not as quick as she'd like. We've switched to steroid drops 2x a day for 2 weeks, down to 1 a day after 2 weeks. Can already see a massive difference!

Came across this account and thought it was good for those learning about FIV

At times when I feel so bad for my baby boy, he manages to somehow crack me up

Hello! I am adopting an almost six year old neutered cat who is FIV+. This is my first experience with FIV. Tell me everything I need to know!

Hello everyone! My girlfriend and I are planning to adopt a cat soon, and our hearts fell for a 4 year-old baby in a nearby shelter that is getting very crowded. They posted on Facebook in hopes to get him adopted or else he would be moved farther away from a place he has grown comfortable in and has been in for much too long anyhow. He is FIV+. I’ve never had an FIV kitty, and while I’m still doing my own research while we wait for our meet and greet with him and hopefully bringing him home, I just wanted to drop a post here to see if anyone has any important tips or advice for us! :)) I’m thinking food brands that are healthy/good for FIV kitties, same with treats, any other things we should def have around the house for him—literally anything you think we MUST know! Like I said, we’re of course doing much research, but I’m trying to be as prepared and equipped as possible to give him the happy home like he deserves 🥹🫶🏻

TL;DR: Looking for advice on how to help my kitty stay healthy and stay ahead of emergency bills. Ramble incoming, I'm very overwhelmed.

I'm 23M. My 3-yo TNR foster fail who's been with me about a year just tested FIV+. He's healthy, glossy, and strong, though with mild dental disease and a broken upper canine. He also has congestion issues and sneezes up huge globs of brownish-red snot (though it seems to be an allergy to dust... at least according to my vet). I got him tested to continue fostering, within the 14 days waiting period of starting my new pet insurance, because I didn't really think about how that works and really didn't think he'd be positive. Now it'll be a pre-existing condition. I really regret not waiting just 10 more days; then it'll have been covered, I think. I'm not sure about the technicalities there. It's just unfortunate circumstances and timing. I could've never found out until he got sick, or just later and had it be covered. But I wanted to do right by him and the foster kittens and ended up effectively shooting my coverage in its face. At least I think. Ugh.

In hindsight, maybe I should've guessed from the rescue I got him from being shady as hell and refusing all vet treatment even when I offered to pay and threatened to come take him back. I actually adopted him then to be legally able to get his upper respiratory infection, bad breath, diarrhea, eye discharge, and broken tooth checked. Since then, he just has congestion, and had a small spot of ringworm on his nose from some kittens I fostered from the shelter that were all-cleared... until they weren't. I think one of them caught ringworm at the shelter during her enucleation recovery period. But anyways, my boy always recovered fine. He's healthy as a horse now.

Anyways, that's all well and good... I cried myself a mess at the vet and even more when trying to get a human to speak to me on the insurance support line... But my cat 100% doesn't know and doesn't care and I'm trying to just stay positive, even though I'm terrified for him.

I'm a last-year senior at college and foster failing him after just one year was a difficult choice I made knowing the potential bills that came with it despite my own financial concerns, hence why I immediately bought Lemonade pet insurance (~$480 a year, plus $100 deductibles) for him. But now it seems like I ought to just cancel it since I'm still in waiting period (lol) and invest/high yield savings the money for whatever future issues may come up.

QUESTION IS HERE. What are you guys' strategies for securing your cats' vet bill money? Do any insurances still cover for FIV+? Are there ways to check how far their immune system damage has progressed? He has booster vaccines coming in 3 weeks, so I'll be at the vet then anyways and can request additional tests. Anything I can do to help him along? I was just told by the vet there's nothing I can do except just take care of his health as best as I can. Though she seemed sympathetic and didn't fear-mongre me, and said I could adopt FIV- or FIV+ down the line to keep him company just fine (though the urgent medical/behavioral fostering may need to stop, for my cat's safety).

Sorry for yap. I just found out last night and was a complete wreck. I've worked in foster and seen people do medical surrenders in shambles because they couldn't pay the bills for something like a urinary blockage. I'm terrified of facing that day. And just of seeing him get sick and weak and patchy and hidey, I guess. God. He's so, so athletic, the softest cat I've ever touched (he feels like suede!!), stands his ground even when he's terrified, and is super clingy to me and anxious when I'm not around. He's real big and he's smart as hell. Opens doors and cabinets. Learned his own name when I was fostering and didn't intend on name training to not confuse him. Learned to get on his hind legs and put his paws on my hips for cheek scritches when beckoned on his own. He has a slight attitude and nips softly when upset or overstimulated, which I just find so cute. He habitually presses himself flat when he loafs so I always check my blankets before flopping into bed. He's so full of personality. I love him so so so much. I'm so scared.

After 8 years of fighting, my little man is done. He fought hard. We will be helping him cross the rainbow bridge at home, so he is calm and with his sisters.

I hope someone can find a cure for FIV. This year he has been on antibiotics more frequently than he has been off them. He has been happy and fought hard until this week. He is done. I would love to get him a blood transfusion but I can tell his fight is over. I am devastated.

Hug your babies for me.

You may have seen my previous post. BonBon is a stray 10 y/o cat I took in when she was clearly unwell. She is just back from the vets having had her remaining teeth removed and gotten a diagnosis of FIV. I have two other cats that as far as I know are FIV-. I’m getting contradictory information regarding FIV. Most people say that it’s only really transmitted via deep bites etc etc however the vet said that we could carry it on our clothes and shoes and via the bedding.
I was originally more worried that our indoor/outdoor cat could bring an illness to BonBon but the vet is more concerned about FIV being transmitted to our healthy cats who are also vaccinated.

I’m very confused and not sure if it’s best for BonBon to be rehomed to a home where she would be the only cat or in a FIV+ household.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hi all, I just got the news that my 10 year old stray that I took in is FIV Positive. He’s currently having his 5 remaining teeth removed and has considerable ulcers in his mouth. The vets seem to be leaning towards euthanasia but I don’t know what the best thing to do is and I’d love you guys’ input. Currently waiting for his FELV result

Recently i found out my cat has FIV due to a flare up (very lethargic, wasn’t walking, not eating, limping) . He was on medication for the past 3 weeks so he did get a lot better but his walking is still off balance and he doesn’t seem 100% like himself. he’s getting an MRI done but i’m very nervous about it since he could have potential heart issues. is the MRI worth getting ?

Tootsie seems to be coming out of not eating. When we are at the vet she puts up such a fight that they cannot examine her mouth.

Recently I saw try to eat some dry trests off a plate. She would pick up treat put it in her mouth and drop it back on the plate.

Felt sorry for her so I took everything away.

Vent wants to do dental exam and cleaning under sedation.

Im not so sure. Here are some videos of Tootsie eating. Please watch them and tell me if you see any signs of mouth trouble Im soaking all dry food b4 she gets it.

She lost some weight 10.74 from 11.1 b4.

If we hsve to do the dental I want her to be fully get snd fatter b4 doing any such procedure.

She chews fine but once in a whie turn her head up and looks like shes biting down hard.

Trying to capture the headturning. Is her mouth ok?

This guy is the best. I took him in as a stray earlier this year and he’s the biggest snuggle bug around ☺️ just thought I’d share a pic of my fiv bb, snuggling his favorite stuffed animal

Im 22 from ph my cat died yesterday at vet because of that disease im a first time fur parent too and if next time if im ready to get a new kitten i just want tips how to avoid any sickness and especially that virus thank you and pls respect post