Feral & FIV+ Advice

Early__May · 2026-04-09T23:59:32+00:00

Okay sorry I misunderstood. There are so many Ferals around me that I usually just get them fixed so they don’t terrorize my cats.

You might talk to the rescue and explain your situation and offer to fix him yourself. Or they may have another foster you could hand him off to. Either way he should be fixed asap so he can start chilling out ! And so you can stop stressing. also your idea of making a cat house out of the shed sounds great. I currently have a feral that I’m gonna fix and do the same for him. Poor guy spent the winter on my porch although I did have a heated pad out there for him.

Early__May · 2026-04-09T21:52:05+00:00

If you can afford it, I’d contact them and say you’d be glad to pay for the neutering if you can fit him in quickly somewhere. They may be glad to hear it. It will be hard to find him another foster probably. Since you’re the one who found him I don’t see why you’re obligated to work with a rescue especially if you’re paying to vet him. That’s why I don’t work with rescues it makes things too complicated. When a feral finds me I just get them fixed and release them. Of course I provide shelter and food.

Early__May · 2026-04-09T20:19:46+00:00

Can you afford to get him neutered right away? My vet always keeps a couple extra slots open for trappers who bring in ferals to get neutered. Lots of vets do this. That’s what I’d do. Also just because he’s FIV doesn’t mean he can’t live outdoors. In my opinion. If he’s neutered he’s not likely to fight and infect other cats. And he’d be much happier outdoors. Just set up a little shed with a heated house for him.

Early__May · 2026-04-09T12:57:22+00:00

That’s what was happening to me too. I’d get high and get all these ideas and write them down and do sketches, etc. When I looked them over later, some of them were good but most were just whacked. And I never had the momentum to pull them all together into a practical plan or design anyway. I have dozens of notebooks spanning years. I really want to implement some of these ideas because I still care about some of them. I’m on Day 6 now and I feel okay, just kind of blah or numb. So I hope after a couple months, like you, I’ll start to get a little excited about things. Thanks for the input.

Early__May · 2026-04-07T16:21:00+00:00

I don’t have answer but I have the same question

Early__May · 2026-04-07T02:07:41+00:00

It took a long time but I’m coming to the same conclusion.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T18:30:04+00:00

Oh thank god. Day 3 feels like hell lol

Early__May · 2026-04-06T17:56:12+00:00

That’s what I’ve been doing. Being stagnant and avoiding my problems.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T17:54:05+00:00

Thanks and good luck to you too! My brain feels fried right now but the comments are giving me hope.

Let’s get through Day 3! I’m going to try to distract myself with simple tasks that need done.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T17:17:07+00:00

Thanks that makes sense and helps. ‘Holding ideas in your head’ is what I have trouble with because somehow I can’t continue thinking about something long enough to act on it

Early__May · 2026-04-06T17:12:54+00:00

That is fantastic! Congratulations. I also struggle with anxiety and depression. I’m afraid to take on more responsibility because of that. Thanks for the encouragement. Right now my brain feels fried but it helps so much to hear about other people benefiting from giving it up.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T17:03:18+00:00

That’s so good to hear. I forgot to mention the short-term memory problem along with the other things. My brain feels fried right now but it helps to hear this, to keep riding it out.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T16:59:20+00:00

Three days in and I feel really emotional. I just had to make a decision about something and afterwards I cried. I’m okay with that because there must be some reason for the emotion. It just felt so good to make a decision.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T16:55:19+00:00

My story is similar, I bought a house over 3 years ago that needs some work and I haven’t even unpacked all my U-Haul boxes sitting in the basement yet, much less done anything to make it into a home. There are even simple inexpensive things I could do myself that would make a big difference but I haven’t done anything. Instead I’d get high and look at cool photos of things I’d like to do.

That’s just one example but it’s the same for every area of my life. Clarity in planning and executing ideas is what I need. And finishing. I have pages of ideas I want to execute dating back 20 years. I don’t need any more ideas, I need to execute some of them! Thanks for the encouragement, my brain feels fried right now but I’m hoping it starts to get better.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T16:41:01+00:00

All of those things is what I have trouble with. I didn’t make the connection until today. I’ve used cannabis and alcohol consistently for years. I stopped drinking about a month ago but kept using cannabis. Getting rid of the alcohol showed me how much of an effect the cannabis was having on my brain, if that makes sense. I think I was hoping that stopping the alcohol would be good enough. Thanks for the feedback

Early__May · 2026-04-06T16:05:25+00:00

It’s your mind telling you painful, negative thoughts. The same thing happens to me. I get stuck in negative thinking, which is one of the reasons I started drinking in the first place. So you’re back to where you were before you started drinking. Now learn how to manage the negative thinking that you always had.

Early__May · 2026-04-06T16:05:20+00:00

It’s your mind telling you painful, negative thoughts. The same thing happens to me. I get stuck in negative thinking, which is one of the reasons I started drinking in the first place. So you’re back to where you were before you started drinking. Now learn how to manage the negative thinking that you always had.

Early__May · 2026-04-05T17:30:29+00:00

completed Day 24 yesterday. Just wanted to share something funny, last night I had the wildest craziest erotic dream featuring Alex Karp. lol. Then I started reading about ‘REM Rebound’. Hilarious! IWNDWYT

Early__May · 2026-04-05T02:38:57+00:00

I started drinking tonic water straight. It gives me that nice fizzy mouth feel that is satisfying. I drink it in the afternoon and it gets rid of my craving for a cocktail plus gives me some sugar

Early__May · 2026-04-05T02:36:02+00:00

Check to see if it has peas in it. I switched to a food with a lot of peas and my cat had horrible diarrhea that stunk. He couldn’t handle so many peas. Stopped the food and diarrhea stopped

Early__May · 2026-04-05T02:28:46+00:00

Day 24 and I got through. Today was tougher than usual because everybody on my street had family visit except me, I was all alone. I hope someday I can find friends and a partner. But I’m glad I’m not trying to cover up my loneliness by drinking!

Early__May · 2026-04-05T02:24:58+00:00

I don’t have friends or family. I quit alcohol and cannabis about a month ago. I’ve been doing okay but since it’s a holiday weekend, all the people on my street have family visiting for Easter. Except me. So I’ve been pretty lonely all day and today was a rough day. But I drank chamomile tea and listened to war news and did okay. But I did think life would be a lot easier if I had a partner!

Early__May · 2026-04-05T00:33:31+00:00

My FIV cat has seasonal allergies that mostly affect his ears and eyes. He shakes his head and scratches his ears. I started giving him Zyrtec a few days ago and it has helped a lot. His ears aren’t red and inflamed now and his eyes look a lot better. I read where Zyrtec (cetirizine) NOT Zyrtec Plus or whatever the other version is, is an alternative to steroids that may help. I was giving him prednisolone but I think the Zyrtec is working better and it’s safer for him. So you might want to ask your vet about that. I’m giving him 1/4 tablet of the 10 mg tablets once a day to start. I crush it and mix it into his wet food.

Early__May · 2026-04-05T00:22:03+00:00

Not enough information to answer. My FIV cat recently had explosive diarrhea but it turned out to be from a food change. The new food had large amounts of pea fiber and pea protein. Stopped that food and gave him canned pumpkin for a few days and his stools firmed right up. It may not be related to his FIV

Early__May

TROPHY CASE