Re-releasing FIV+ feral cat... help?

Hello.. hope everyone had a good Christmas....

A big black cat showed up at my house recently.. I caught him in a trap last night. He was very beat up and had big puffy cheeks. When he was sedated to get neutered today (of course he was a cryptorchid but that's another story...) I decided to test him and he came up FIV positive. I eartipped him and gave him his rabies shot but now he's recovering and I don't know what to do with him.

All my other cats are fixed... and are healthy and basically mind their own business. Should I just bring this guy home with me and let him go? He's very docile and more scared then anything else. I don't want to euthanize him just because he has FIV. I do euthanize for leukemia because that's just a hazard to all cats.. but if he's just going to go on about his business is it safe to just release him?

Kathryn bless you for all that you do! I dont really know too too much but I am wondering since he is likely to be released could you not release him in the vicinity that you caught him? perhaps he is am ember of a ferel colony. At least now that he is neutered he cant reproduce! Im sorry I dont know what to say..if he is beat up he most likely wouldnt get adopted.

Good Luck

So your conundrum is to either release him back in your area or euthanize? Could you possible find him a home with other FIV kitties? Maybe placing an ad in a paper would find him a home where someone is willing to look after him and give him the meds he needs to live a healthy happy life. I don't know. I don't know your area or if you have any rescues that could help you out.
Can you get a false positive from FIV? It would seem so. From:
http://www.maumeevalleysaveapet.org/positives.html

"A positive screening FIV test does not necessarily mean a cat has FIV. A Western Blot test or IFA test should be conducted. Re-testing and the timing of re-testing should be discussed with your vet. Note that positive FIV test results for kittens under 6 months of age are not considered valid - such kittens should be re-tested each month using the SNAP test until they test negative or exceed 6 months of age. If a kitten still has a positive SNAP test result at 6 months of age, it would be appropriate to run a confirmatory Western Blot test."

My concern would be releasing a cat you know could potentially pass on a disease to other cats back to an open area. You said he was pretty beat up. That means fighting which means biting which is the primary way for FIV to be passed.
I'm sorry I haven't been much help. It really is a tough call. I wish I were closer and could take him in. :sad:

The chances of finding him a home are just about impossible. We can't even find homes for the cute little kittens let alone a beat up old + cat. :( I used a snap test.. and I did the test myself.. he looks like a typical FIV tom cat anyways that's why I tested him.

I think he really won't be in anymore fights now that he is neutered. He probably was just looking for a mate and being all my cats are fixed he got ticked off. He's not aggressive towards me at all. I think someone must have abandoned him some years ago.

I've sent out a few emails and will see what happens.... I have to talk to my neighbors that let their cats out anyways... let them know to test their cats

I decided to re-release him since he wasn't too aggressive and seemed afraid of my other cats. Another one just showed up yesterday! I caught him as well. This one is another big fat black cat... he looks to be in a bit better shape though. He looked like a lost house cat but man in that trap he was SOOOO aggressive. I think this is possibly one of the most aggressive feral cats I've caught. I'm going to test this one too. If he is positive I might have to euthanize him cause he was very nasty and unless it was just from being scared I can't risk him attacking someones cat if he has FIV.

I decided to re-release him since he wasn't too aggressive and seemed afraid of my other cats. Another one just showed up yesterday! I caught him as well. This one is another big fat black cat... he looks to be in a bit better shape though. He looked like a lost house cat but man in that trap he was SOOOO aggressive. I think this is possibly one of the most aggressive feral cats I've caught. I'm going to test this one too. If he is positive I might have to euthanize him cause he was very nasty and unless it was just from being scared I can't risk him attacking someones cat if he has FIV.

Why euthanize for him showing aggression in the trap? I have caught many using the trap who were very aggressive while they were trapped. After they were fixed and in an environment where they knew they weren't going to be hurt they turned into the biggest sucks going. Jupiter is a great example. I couldn't get near him before catching him in a carrier. Almost immediately after being fixed his whole attitude changed.
It just seems a little unfair IMO.

I was concerned he seemed cat aggressive. He calmed down though and his test was negative. :thumbs up