09/01/2026
✨Sorry, it’s a long post, — but every part of it matters. ❤️🐾
🚨🐾 THIS IS EXACTLY WHY FIV+ CATS NEED US TO SPEAK UP. 🐾🚨
Yesterday morning, I already had several missed calls. 📱 I couldn’t answer, my phone kept ringing, and honestly, I had plenty going on already.
✨Then my phone rang again. 📞
😳Some days it’s like this, non-stop. I had just missed another call, and for whatever reason, I decided to answer this one.
I don’t know why.🤷♀️
I didn’t have the time. I probably could’ve let it go to voicemail, but for some reason, I answered.
And tbh, I’m so incredibly glad I did. ❤️
The woman on the other end of the phone was looking for help with a cat she had been caring for outside for the past couple of months. 🐈⬛
She had actually done the right thing. ❤️ She brought him to her veterinarian because she wanted to get him neutered, vaccinated, and finally bring him inside and give him a real home. 🏡
🩶Here’s where it gets interesting.
While on this call I learned he was already sedated when they tested him for FIV/FeLV. ( this means, he’s sedated now)
⚠️His FIV test came back positive. ⚠️🧪
And then came the advice that honestly left me furious. 😡
⛔️She was told that because she had two FIV-negative cats at home, she could not bring him inside—and that her “best option” was to euthanize him. 💔
LET ME REPEAT THAT…….📣
A three-year-old, otherwise healthy male cat was sedated on a veterinarian’s table, and euthanasia was being presented as the best solution to an FIV diagnosis. 💔
“And to me, that is a veterinarian who has become complacent—someone who is either too burned out, too unwilling, or simply no longer invested enough to keep learning and giving every patient the care they deserve.”
This is where I have to say something uncomfortable.
I have grown tremendously as a person, as a woman, and as someone in rescue. There was a time when I would have let my anger take over.
Today, I reminded myself that the person on the other end of that phone call wasn’t necessarily the enemy.
‼️She was being given information by the person she trusted to know better.‼️
Her veterinarian. 👩⚕️🤔👀
And unfortunately, outdated and inaccurate information about FIV is still being given to pet owners every single day. 😔 It’s sad😿
✅FIV does not automatically mean a cat is sick, dying, or unable to live safely with other cats.
Do you know?
✅FIV is primarily transmitted through deep bite wounds, and in*******se and peaceful household living between FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats is possible, particularly when cats are compatible, neutered/spayed, and not engaging in serious fighting. 🐾
( I have TWO in my OWN home. Who live with ALL of my FIV- cats).
There was absolutely no reason this healthy three-year-old cat needed to die because of a positive FIV test. 💔
I explained this to her. I answered her questions. I tried to give her the facts. Sadly, her ears were closed already.
And yes—I was angry. 😡
I was disgusted. I was frustrated. I was holding back a lot. Because helping this boy was most important, not my feelings.
But this quickly became more than a frustrating conversation. My knowledge was useless at the moment.
🚨It became URGENT. 🚨
She kept telling me she needed to know for certain that we would take him because otherwise she would have “no choice” but to EUTHANIZE him.
(naturally you don’t neuter a cat you may euthanize)
⚠️Because this wasn’t a cat who already had a rescue lined up.
⚠️There wasn’t another organization waiting to take him.
⚠️There wasn’t a foster sitting at home waiting for him.
⚠️There wasn’t some safety net underneath him.
There was just a 3-year-old cat at a veterinary office, already sedated, waiting for someone to say yes. 💔
And we had very little time. ⏳
So when she kept asking me, “Can you guarantee that you’re taking him?” I finally said, “You’re not really leaving me much of a choice.”
Because how is that a fair choice to put on a rescue??
You don’t want this cat to die.
We don’t want him to die either.
But suddenly, if we say NO, he dies. 💔
And that is an enormous weight to put on someone else’s shoulders—especially when this entire situation started because someone was given outdated and inaccurate information.
So we said YES. 🙏❤️
❌Not because we had room.
❌Not because we had extra money.
❌Not because taking another cat was convenient.
We said yes because he deserved the chance to wake up. 🐾 KMSR saying no, meant he didn’t.
But, he did.🧡
✅He woke up from surgery. 🛟
✅He was neutered instead of killed.
✅He ate another meal. 🍽️
✅He got to live another day. 🌅
✅He got a second chance. 🐾❤️
And maybe that’s why I answered that phone.
Maybe that missed call wasn’t supposed to be missed after all. ❤️📞
🐾 MORAL OF THE STORY: FIV➕ IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE. 🐾
If you are ever told that your FIV+ positive cat must be euthanized simply because of their diagnosis, please get a second opinion. 🙏 DO NOT do this.
📢Ask questions. Learn the current recommendations. Talk to someone who works with FIV ➕positive cats.
Because outdated information doesn’t just hurt people.
⚠️It can cost innocent cats their lives. 💔
🐈 Ask yourself, do we kill people with HIV,AIDS or Hep C? Of course we don’t, and they can live long healthy lives. So can cats with FIV.
And today, thankfully, it didn’t cost this one his. ❤️🐾 It was an unsettling close call though.
Before I end this, I need to give a HUGE & heartfelt THANK YOU to the KMSR team for sharing the same values, compassion, and belief that every cat deserves a chance. ❤️🐾
When it came down to it, none of us were willing to let this boy be put down simply because of an FIV diagnosis. We made room, we stepped up, and we said YES— squeezing in one more desperate patient at our sanctuary.
I also want to recognize the woman who started this journey with him. Though she surely knew my thoughts on her considering death, as a real option.
She did spend over $1,000 of her own money 💵 to get him neutered, vaccinated, tested, treated for fleas/parasites. She then donated, and transported him from Philly herself. 🚗🐾
I want to be very clear:
I know her heart was in the right place. ❤️
She cared about this cat. Her actions proved that.
The terminology was wrong. ❌The information was wrong. ❌And that information came from the person she trusted to know better. ❌
When we tried to explain that there was another option, she had already been told otherwise by a professional. 👩⚕️
I was angry because I know how dangerous that misinformation can be—not because I don’t understand that she loved him and was in a position herself.
Sometimes people aren’t trying to do the wrong thing.
Sometimes they’re desperately trying to do the right thing with the wrong information. ❤️
Thankfully, today, this boy had someone willing to say YES. 😻
Please help us keep saying yes. 🙏
Seek a second opinion before making an irreversible decision. Share accurate FIV information. Support KMSR through donations, fostering, adoption, or simply sharing this story.
Every share can help save a life. 🐾❤️
Until his forever family finds him, KMSR will be responsible for his food, care, supplies, and any medical needs. ❤️
If you’d like to help give him that second chance, you can donate, sponsor his care, foster, adopt, or simply SHARE his story. Every dollar, every share, and every open heart makes a difference. 🐾❤️
Here are ways to support KMSR.
Donate:
•Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/KittyMamas
• PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/1moresaved
•Zeffy: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/kittymamas-kmsr-emergency-medical-fund
• Website: https://www.kittymamas.org/
Thank you for helping us keep saying YES when these cats need us most. ❤️🐾
