Please help me make the best decision for this poor cat.?
The cat I trapped today, Feral, 1-3 years old is infected with Notoedric Mange, mites living under the skin. He also has FIV positive. I was hoping to neuter him, find him a home, but now, not sure what to do. I have two pets, living in an apartment, I have the cat in the cage in my bathroom. What should I do, would it be wise to release him, but he still needs two ongoing treatments for the mage, revolution (according to the doctor, but his is the extreme case, usually revolution I thought is for mild mange cases) Anyhow, choices are to ask shelter if they can keep him for a month, until he gets his treatment, and then release him to the same place. Second, to put him to sleep, not release him due to his FIV positive, etc. I don’t know what to do, I can ‘t keep him for the risk it has.
Do not release him till his treatment is done, just keep him seperate – this is CURABLE except the FeLV – if you hanD this cat to a shelter, the only words they hear is FeLV and they”ll put him to sleep.
dont release him till he gets all of his treatments. i dont like the idea of putting animals to sleep though =(
References :
I would take him to the vet, get him fixed up, then have him for sale or post ads and things, or once he’s fixed up you can let him go.
References :
I would take himto your vet & have them help him, im sure itll be costly, but if you dont want him ut to sleep i suggest this & then if you cant keep him when hes back to health, find him a good new home… Good luck… thats so sad :/
References :
kitty lover
awe i would hate to put him to down so i say use that only as a last resort. i wouldn’t release him because he probably would just get sick again so i think that you should fix him up and then give him to the shelter or see if petco or something like that would put him up for adoption there.
References :
Please don’t put him to sleep. I attached an article on FIV positive cats. They can live perfectly normal happy lives, though it’s best that they live in a good loving home with proper veterinary care and not on the streets. In most cases if neutered they can even live safely with FIV negative cats without spreading the disease so long as they don’t mate or have major fights. Please consider finishing his treatments and finding him a home with someone who understands the disease. You can start by contacting the website, petswithdisabilities.org, they can help you find him a good home.
Thanks for helping this poor little cat!
References :
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/cats_fiv.cfm
http://www.petswithdisabilities.org/catadopt.html
LOOK ON THE NET FOR A KITTY FIV SHELTER. I FOUND A FEW I LIKED WHEN I MYSELF RAN INTO THIS PROBLEM. IF YOU TREAT THE MAGE AND NEUTER HIM A GOOD SHELTER WITH OTHER FIV CATS WOULD TAKE HIM. AND YOU MAY HAVE TO BEG AND CRY TO GET HIM IN. IF NOT, IS THERE A ROOM OR AREA IN YOUR HOUSE FOR HIM TO STAY OR U CAN BUILD A OUTSIDE KITTY INCLOSER ON PART OF YOUR BACK PORCH. MAKE SURE HE STAYS COMFY AND DONT RELEASE HIM OUTSIDE BUT DO KEEP HIM APART FROM YOUR OTHER CATS. FIV IS TRANSMITED THREW CATS BITES. ALSO A KITTY WITH FIV AND LIVING OUTSIDE WOULD BE EXTRA HARD ON HIM. IF I LIVED NEAR YOU I WOULD BUILD HIM A BIG OUTSIDE INCLOSER THING IT WOULD BE COOL HE CAN HAV A KITTY DOOR LIKE A DOGGIE DOOR AND COMFORT OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. AND THE FERALS (MOST OF THEM) TAME DOWN IN TIME. I DONT BELEAVE IN PUTING ANIMALS ASLEEP UNLESS THEY ARE IN SERIOUS PAIN THAT CANT BE RELEAVED.
References :
with a cat with fiv if left back outside it will spread to other cats,oif you cant find a indoor home its best to put to sleep
References :
A feral cat, FIV positive and with mange, does not sound like a good candidate for rehoming to me. He could only live outside if he is truly feral, and every time he fights with another cat and bites it he is likely to pass on his FIV. You are sure he is feral, not just a domestic cat living free?
References :
It is possible to find a home for an FIV positive cat. They can live long healthy lives as long as they are well cared for. Of course it would be harder to find him a home but not impossible.
Also, it is possible for FIV positive cats to live inside with negative cats as long as they are all spayed or neutered. It’s not easy to spread FIV so as long as he doesn’t mate with or have serious fights with your cats the risk that your cats would get it is very, very small. It’s not like FeLV that can spread via food bowls and mutual grooming. I know of several people that have FIV+ cats living for a long time with negative cats without spreading it to the other cats.
I’m not familiar with the type of mange your talking about but if it is contagious maybe you could keep the sick kitty in a spare room or even in the bathroom until the mange treatment is done. I would not let him out with the mange untreated.
Imo I think you should foster him or find another foster home for him until he find a forever home. It can be done. (I assume that he’s a stray and not really feral, ie. wild) Alternatively contact local rescues and good shelters to see if they can help. Shelters and rescues adopt out FIV+ cats all the time. If you put a lot of effort and creativity into finding him a home you will.
If you feel that you must release him or put him down I would recommend that you send an email to Alley Cat Allies to ask what they think you should do. They have experience with releasing FIV+ cats. If he’s in a managed colony with a good caretaker I believe that he could live a decent life even with his disease. But then again there is the risk of him spreading the virus to other cats although that risk is reduced now that he’s neutered.
Good luck
References :
It might be the best to put him down because even if you do get him all the treatment he might still die i know how horrible it is to have to put animal down but you don’t want it to spread to any other animals
References :
Do not release him till his treatment is done, just keep him seperate – this is CURABLE except the FeLV – if you hanD this cat to a shelter, the only words they hear is FeLV and they”ll put him to sleep.
References :
FIV cats can live full lives, up to and over 15 years of age. They won’t spread the disease if they don’t bite (yes, I have had FIV cats in the past and no they did not infect our other three indoor cats even though they lived side by side with them 24/7 for 12 years, it’s not an easy disease to pass if the cat is not aggressive).
Treat the mange, keep the cat indoors while this is done. If the cat is neutered, their urge to fight is greatly reduced. In fact, the two full tom cats we did take in (the FIV ones) never threatened or fought with the other cats we have–they behaved themselves very well. Of course there was no female in heat here (all ours are fixed) so that didn’t trigger anything.
Contact any feline rescues in your area (google ‘feline rescue’ and your city’s name or call any shelter, animal control or vet and ask who’s in the area) and talk to them about them taking the cat if you pay for the meds for treatment. If the cat gets treatment for the mange, he’ll be ok for release after neutering, or can become an indoor pet.
References :