r/FelvCats

Hi everyone,

I adopted the sweetest baby three days ago and took her to the vet today to get her spay site checked. She was all good in that regard but they wanted to run a few tests on her to make sure she is well before her vaccinations coming up. They did a snap test and a faint positive showed up so that had bloodwork done and sent to the lab.

I am freaking out. I can’t help but lose my mind rn and the more I read about it, the more it works me up. I am just here looking for some comfort and advice. The baby shows no symptoms and I have another cat that has been around the same areas as her so now I am worried about him too. He is vaccinated and after getting the news we got him a booster as well as a few other vacs.

My stepfather in law in a vet and he basically expressed to me that she will not be okay and that i should just give her back to the adoption agency. Of course i will not be doing this but tbh the way he said that threw me off a cliff. My husband and I agreed that whatever happens, we will give her the best life filled with love.

Aside from that she is gaining gradual weight. She is a very hungry and thirsty girl with tons of energy. The vet said her gums also looked good after I expressed to her that she would nibble on her litter.

*english isnt my first language so please try to understand *

Any advice?

little background this is cheddar and i brought him in as a stray in jan of 2024. he randomly showed up just super emaciated and sick. i spent a lot of time with him to get him back to health and he had several vet visits. he’s been strictly inside since i brought him in. apparently he was never tested for fiv or felv even though i’ve now learned he should have been. and i am extremely frustrated that he wasn’t, considering everything i’ve found out.

last week his appetite starting decreasing and i noticed on friday he was trying to go to the litter box more. he was able to pee so it wasn’t a urinary blockage but i still planned to take him to my vet on monday since they’re closed f-s. saturday he had what i think was a stroke. it was awful he collapsed, started drooling, crying, and shaking. it didn’t last more than a minute and he had trouble walking right after.

so i called the emergency vet and rushed him over. his bloodwork showed he is fiv and felv positive and extremely anemic. they offered a blood transfusion but told me it was no guarantee that he would feel better. i would have done it but i couldn’t afford it. so instead we did an iv and a couple of shots and they gave me lixatinic and mirtazapine to give him at home.

so he’s been back at home today three days and i feel like he is just getting worse. he’s not eating very much at all and i got him all different kinds of wet foods to try and he’s eaten a few bites of dry food and two packs of churu puree but that’s it. he’s still drinking a lot of water. he keeps going to the litter box and not going and pacing around. he keeps losing his balance and collapsing for a few seconds and then will get right back up. at nighttime he seems worse and he has more episodes of the collapsing than during the day. he keeps jumping up to his favorite sleeping spots but also has been on the floor with me a lot, i’ve been trying to get him to stay on the floor instead of jumping up there. he has been sleeping a lot. he hasn’t been as affectionate with me and i’ve spent every second by his side since we came home from the vet. he just doesn’t seem like himself.

i really want him to pull through i love him so much. i’ve never had to go through anything like this so it’s really hard and i don’t want to make the wrong decision. i don’t want him to suffer though. i guess i just don’t know how long i should wait before making a decision on humane euthanasia. that is something i never wanted to consider but again i can’t watch him suffer. if anyone else has experienced this i would love to hear any advice.
please be kind this is extremely difficult for me.

Back in January 2025 we adopted Kuma at 5 months old. He was born FELV + (progressive). We had him for barely a year and a half before we had to put him down today…He was only 2 years old. It was all so sudden. About two weeks ago I noticed he seemed to have pain in his chest area when I picked him up. He was also no longer jumping on the bed but rather using his nails to climb on it. His breathing got weird as it seemed he was breathing from his abdomen. Went to my regular vet at 1:30PM today. They took X-rays and his chest was full of fluids…We went straight to the emergency where they explained his prognosis was not looking good as the fluid was likely due to cancer or a heart condition. Even by hospitalizing him and removing the fluid, it would likely come back. We saw the writing on the wall and knew what we had to do…

He was the most cuddly and loving cat I’ve ever had. I’ll miss his overwhelming affection and his tendency to cause all kinds of mischiefs!

We love you Kuma 🙏🏻😔🩵🕊️

My sweet FelV cat Atticus passed two January’s ago. He was diagnosed with kidney disease in September and then lived until January. He was only three. He was so special and loved forehead kisses. If you called him he would run from wherever he was, jump up and press his forehead into your face. He was mischievous, loud, and tender hearted. It was so hard to say bye but we had from September to January to prepare and when he passed, we had his sister cici to keep us company. On Monday I brought cici in for a check up and they told me her lungs were filled with fluid and I had to put her down. She was just four. For the rest of my life I will view my timeline as split in two: before and after the vet said those words. Cici was my everything. She was my best friend, my baby, my world. While I am glad she never suffered or had months of meds like Atticus, the suddenness makes it unbearable. Cici had the biggest heart and she was brave and trusting. She was so pure. I cry all day, I don’t eat, I don’t sleep. I call out to her and beg her not to leave me here alone. I can’t go on without her. I don’t want to. My baby cici please come home. I need you.

I found this little guy a few months ago. He tested positive for FeLV and FIV, the vet says he’s probably 7-8 years old, and he’s been getting antibiotics and painkillers every two weeks. He’s also on vitamins and can only eat soft food, but he’s not really improving.

The vet says this can happen with the disease, and that getting his teeth cleaned and extracted could really help. But he still has sores in his mouth, he can’t groom himself properly, and I honestly don’t know how much pain he’s in.

He also gets these bleeding episodes when the effects of his meds wear off. They usually happen around every two weeks, which is when he gets his next round of medication, but this time it’s only been a week and he’s already bleeding again. This morning I woke up and there was blood all over my bed

I’ve been trying to save up for his dental extractions, but I’m going through a really rough financial situation right now (like, struggling to afford food myself kind of rough). So I’m starting to worry about how good of a life I can realistically give him.
At first I thought maybe I could find someone to adopt him, but I honestly doubt anyone would want to take on a cat with these health issues.

I’m just really worried that he’s suffering, and I don’t know how to tell if his quality of life is still okay. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have experience with FeLV/FIV cats or cats with chronic mouth pain. What signs should I be looking for? How do you know when they’re suffering too much?

she is felv positive and we thought she had something stuck in her throat. got xray today and they said it’s a mass related to her felv. please find image attached: https://imgur.com/a/DRIm3tT

as usual with felv , they said the prognosis is poor and it’s only a matter of days. i don’t want to just watch her wither away. what are my next steps. the vet is always so vague at this stage. it’s frustrating. this isn’t my first felv cat, so i’m prepared to do so. just want to figure my options out

This is my new cat Fish, unfortunate he tested positive for FELV and isn’t doing well. For the first month i had him he was asymptomatic but unfortunately he is very sick now. For the past month and a half we’ve been fighting to keep his fever down. I’m constantly taking him to the vet for high fevers (105.6 was his most recent). He’s been on 2 rounds of antibiotics and he’s now on his 3rd. He’s also been on a round of anti virals. We break the fever with subq fluids and some nsaids and a week later it’s back. I’m really out of options here especially financially. Has anything helped your cat fight fevers that i can try? He’s on L lysine daily, i mix his wet food with water to keep him extra hydrated, and he has a water fountain to encourage drinking. I’m at a point where me and vet are considering humane euthanasia. I’m worried for his quality of life and I’m also a college student so funds are limited for constant treatment. He has such good days and it pains me to think about letting him go. When he’s well he’s the sweetest thing. Purring and drooling from happiness (and it is from happiness lol paid the vet 60$ to figure out why he drools!). What are some things that keep your symptomatic babies happy and comfortable? And is there anything i can do from home to help manage fevers?