Dear Siouxsie, Thomas and Dahlia:
I have a 3-year-old neutered male cat who was just diagnosed with FIV. He'd been losing weight, but with no other symptoms, not even a fever. We took him to the vet because he had stopped eating and drinking; that's when we got the diagnosis. They gave me fluids to give under his skin, and I have been force-feeding him with a syringe. He hates this, but he has gained a pound.

My problem is he's becoming impossible to hold, even wrapped tightly in a towel. It's been 2 1/2 weeks now and he's still not eating or drinking on his own, but seems to feel fine otherwise. I'm afraid we may end up having to put him down if he doesn't start at least drinking before it becomes completely impossible to feed him. (The majority of his water comes from the cat food right now.) This cat was adopted as as stray and neutered at about age one.

We have a second cat who had been previously tested for FIV and found negative at the shelter. We retested him recently and got a negative result, but I'm afraid it might be a false negative because he seems to have some enlarged lymph nodes. We're vaccinating him anyway because we don't know what else to do. The two cats don't fight, but they have been living together for 5 months now, and they do lick each other.

I don't know what advice you might have, but I figured it's worth a shot.

~ J. Omega

Siouxsie: This is a tough one, J. You've got a cat that needs to be fed and medicated and he doesn't want to have anything to do with it. But we do have a few tips that might help.

Thomas: Is your cat not eating because his mouth hurts? If he's got an infection in his teeth or gums, it might hurt him to chew. In that case, you can help him by providing him with soft food to eat.

Dahlia: Is he not eating because he has a stuffy nose and can't smell his food? I know how that goes 'cause I had a snotty nose for weeks. I'm getting better now and so is my appetite!

Siouxsie: To make the food more tempting (and possibly less painful for sensitive teeth) you can warm up canned or pouched food by heating it for a few seconds in the microwave. This will make the food smell stronger and increase his appetite. Just heat the food until it's about body temperature and not until it's hot to the touch.

Thomas: It goes without saying (we hope) that you should remove the food from the can before putting it in the microwave!

Dahlia: You can add a little water or tuna juice to the food to make a yummy gravy. This will increase the amount of water he gets from his food.

Siouxsie: Cats don't need as much water as most mammals. We're evolved from desert creatures and in fact if we eat canned food and mice, we get literally all the water we need from those sources. Unless your cat is severely dehydrated or has kidney disease, you shouldn't need to go crazy with forcing him to intake fluids.

Thomas: You can tell if a cat is dehydrated by gently pinching the flesh on the back of the shoulder. If the flesh takes a long time to flatten out again -- rather than bouncing right back -- your cat is dehydrated and needs fluid supplementation.

Dahlia: Although it would be best to give really high-quality food to a cat ill with FIV, it's usually the stinkiest, nastiest, cheapest, tuna-based foods that whet a cat's appetite. Prescription diets usually don't taste very good to us, so we'd avoid that.

Siouxsie: Also, you can try tempting him with human foods that have appealed to him in the past. We know it's best not to feed cats human food, but right now your top priority has to be getting your cat to eat. He can't stay healthy if he doesn't take in some calories that he can burn to make his body work. Once he's eating again, you can get him back on a more regular cat food diet.

Thomas: People have successfully used chicken (cooked and not salted or spiced), beef broth (again, not the commercial stuff that's oversalted), organic plain yogurt, and stage 2 chicken or beef baby food (make sure it doesn't have any onion or garlic flavoring). Yummy! Just thinking about this makes me hungry. Dahlia, are you going to finish that kibble?

Dahlia: Your vet could also prescribe a medication to stimulate your cat's appetite. And yes, I am going to finish my kibble!

Siouxsie: We've heard of people spoon-feeding their cats to try and get them eating. It's more likely (we hope) that your kitty will be inclined to eat if he's not restrained and stressed out by restraint and force-feeding.

Thomas: There are vitamin and nutrient supplements that are very tasty; these can be given as treats or added to the diet as needed.

Dahlia: You were also wondering if your other cat is at risk for contracting FIV. While it is possible, we think that if your two cats aren't aggressive, the risk is very low. FIV is usually transmitted by bite wounds, because the saliva (where the virus is shed) is directly injected into the bloodstream. Licking shouldn't be nearly as risky.

Siouxsie: We wrote a whole column on FIV a while back, and it's got lots of information and links to other sites about taking care of FIV-positive cats. Some of those sites will surely have even more great ideas about how to get your FIV cat eating again, since this is a pretty common issue with FIV-positive cats.

Thomas: Good luck, J. We'd sure like to get an update on your FIV-positive kitty and find out if you've been able to keep him healthy.

Dahlia: Me too! Purrs to both of your kitties.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.