Need advice on newly rescued cat
A couple months ago I noticed a cat sleeping on my front porch and started leaving out food and water for him. Took a little time but he started trusting me and has become the biggest sweetheart. I was able to get him to the vet so he could be neutered and just for an overall health check (I have three cats, all FIV-). This guy tested positive for FIV. My vet said that it can be spread through sharing water bowls and that there wasn’t a vaccine for it so my other cats can’t be protected. Everything I’ve read though says it’s not spread through casual contact and that if they are introduced slowly/properly, they can all live together without issue.
The vet thinks he’s around 2 (didn’t look at his teeth or anything, just looked at him and tossed out a number). He didn’t have a chip so it’s likely he’s been a stray his whole life.
He’s been staying in my spare room for almost 3 weeks now, all the other tests came back normal/healthy. I’ve set up gates so that he can see out of the room and the other cats can see him (we’re taking it slow). So any advice on if you have FIV +/- living together and how it works would be great. I don’t want to do anything to get my existing cats sick but if they can’t all live together, I can at least foster him until I find a good home.
Obviously with him being a stray before this, his diet wasn’t great. He’s had diarrhea for the past couple weeks and I’m also looking for advice on what I can do to help with that. My vet seemed to really not care so I’m hoping coming here can help until I find a new vet.