What is FIV? FIV is short for feline immunodeficiency virus. It is a highly infectious virus that interferes with the immune system of cats. While the virus is very similar to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), they are not related. One cannot cause the other. FIV is restricted to just cats, and there is no risk of feline to human transmission. FIV leads to the eventual development of feline aids. Testing positive for FIV means that the virus is present, but it may be some time if it develops into the clinical signs of feline aids. FIV has no cure and will eventually be terminal. FIV has no clinical signs of its own. Still, it leads to an impaired immune system, making an FIV-positive cat vulnerable to normally harmless bacteria in its environment. With good care, an FIV-positive cat can still live a long and happy life.
The 3 Stages of FIV Image Credit: pasja1000, Pixabay
- Acute Phase It takes several weeks to complete this stage. Cats will show mild and general signs of poor health, with the severity of the disease depending on the age. While a kitten or adolescent shows greater severity, senior cats have minimal symptoms and progress to the next stage much more quickly. This is often seen as a general illness, and many cats aren’t seen by a vet and recover quickly at this stage.
- Asymptomatic Carrier The cats appear healthy during this stage, which can last months to years without apparent signs. This stage may last up to 5 years. A young, healthy cat may stay in this stage for up to 5 years, living a normal and healthy life. Cats who are in the elderly stages of life may progress a lot quicker.
- Persistent Illness This is the stage many FIV-positive cats will see a vet. They will show signs of general sickness and poor well-being. It can last anywhere from a few months to a couple of years before it progresses to a terminal stage. Symptoms by Stage Image Credit: greghristov, Pixabay
- Mild acute symptoms The symptoms during the initial stage of FIV are mild and are often misdiagnosed as other, less severe, issues. Symptoms may be so mild that they are missed altogether. Considering this stage can last only a few weeks, signs can be easily missed. Symptoms include:
Fever
Diarrhea
Poor oral health – dental disease, gingivitis, etc.
Conjunctivitis
Swollen lymph nodes
- Carrier At this stage, cats are often entirely asymptomatic. They will show no clinical signs. They will have lowered immune systems to contract other illnesses or infections from their environment more easily than a healthy cat.
- Progressed Illness symptoms (feline AIDS) Once FIV progresses over a few months to a few years, clinical signs will begin to merge, and the cat’s immune system becomes more and more compromised. Symptoms include:
Persistent fever
Poor skin and coat condition
Poor appetite
Ongoing oral disease
Reoccurring infections of the eyes, skins, urinary tract, or respiratory system
Seizures
Significant behavioral change
Persistent lethargy
Diarrhea
Causes Understanding FIV and its signs and symptoms is vital. Knowing what causes it is just as important. FIV is infectious, and cats contract it when they come into contact with another infected cat. The FIV virus travels through blood and saliva, so when either of those come into contact with each other, the virus can be transmitted. The most common cause of transmission is from biting. A bite from an infected cat can carry the virus from the saliva into the bloodstream. Mother cats can also pass FIV onto their offspring both via the placenta and milk production. While it is infectious is not passed on via other close cat activities such as grooming, sneezing, sharing a food bowl or a litterbox. Image Credit: 9lnw, Shutterstock Treatment There is no cure for FIV. Once a cat is diagnosed as FIV-positive, a lifelong management plan will be implemented to provide the best care. Ensuring positive welfare and quality of life is essential they progress through their illness. Treatment will involve proactive measures in keeping your cat healthy and supporting its immune system. This looks like:
A healthy, balanced diet
A routine parasite control plan
Keeping them in a healthy weight range
Encouraging exercise
Immunity supplements
Routine vet visits and blood tests
As the virus progresses, treatment will be based on the secondary infection that has been contracted. The extent of treatment will depend on the severity of the presenting illness. Prevention Prevention of FIV for your cat involves keeping your cat away from FIV-positive cats and out of situations in which it can be transmitted. While you can’t have total control over this, you can implement a range of preventative measures to minimize the risk.
Keep your cat indoors – this is really the only prevention that will reduce the risk the most. Naturally, cats left to roam indoors and out are impossible to control. While you may think they stay close to home, you will be surprised how far they go and just who they come into contact with. Keeping them indoors will almost eliminate the risk of infection as they will not come into contact with other cats. We say almost, as there is always a risk of an indoor cat escaping.
Desexing your cat – desexing reduces the effect hormones have on the behavior of a cat. Since FIV is most commonly transferred by bites between cats, desexing can reduce the aggression that leads to bites. While cats can fight over territory for no reason, this is mainly centered around their drive to breed. Without these reproductive hormones coursing through them, they are less likely to pick a fight. A spayed female will also not pass the virus on to her offspring if she is FIV-positive.
Test and quarantine new cats – anytime you adopt a new cat, you should ensure they are FIV-negative before they come into contact with your existing cats. Many breeders and shelters will provide proof that they are FIV-negative before they go to their new homes, but this isn’t always so. Without this pretest, you should keep your new cat away from the contact of your other cats until you can get them tested and proven to be negative yourself. The introduction of two cats new to each other will be the riskiest in terms of possible bites.
Remember that due to the asymptomatic period, often when an FIV-positive cat is diagnosed, it may have already been living with other healthy cats for years. In which case, other cats in the household may already have become infected. However, homes with stable social structures of cats have less fighting, so uninfected cats may also be living alongside infected cats. Once diagnosed, the infected cat should be isolated if there are other FIV-negative cats in the household. Although the others may never become infected, the risk should not be taken.
Conclusion Since cats can be infected with FIV without being diagnosed, the true scope of this virus is not actively known. While it is a very serious virus, there’s no need to panic as it’s thought only 2.5-5% of cats in North America are FIV-positive. Education of risks will help you keep your cat in good health. Your cat can stay happy, healthy, and thriving when you provide it with all the best care!
Featured Image Credit: one photo, Shutterstock
What is FIV?
FIV is short for feline immunodeficiency virus. It is a highly infectious virus that interferes with the immune system of cats. While the virus is very similar to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), they are not related. One cannot cause the other. FIV is restricted to just cats, and there is no risk of feline to human transmission.
FIV leads to the eventual development of feline aids. Testing positive for FIV means that the virus is present, but it may be some time if it develops into the clinical signs of feline aids. FIV has no cure and will eventually be terminal.
FIV has no clinical signs of its own. Still, it leads to an impaired immune system, making an FIV-positive cat vulnerable to normally harmless bacteria in its environment. With good care, an FIV-positive cat can still live a long and happy life.
The 3 Stages of FIV
1. Acute Phase
It takes several weeks to complete this stage. Cats will show mild and general signs of poor health, with the severity of the disease depending on the age. While a kitten or adolescent shows greater severity, senior cats have minimal symptoms and progress to the next stage much more quickly. This is often seen as a general illness, and many cats aren’t seen by a vet and recover quickly at this stage.
2. Asymptomatic Carrier
The cats appear healthy during this stage, which can last months to years without apparent signs. This stage may last up to 5 years. A young, healthy cat may stay in this stage for up to 5 years, living a normal and healthy life. Cats who are in the elderly stages of life may progress a lot quicker.
3. Persistent Illness
This is the stage many FIV-positive cats will see a vet. They will show signs of general sickness and poor well-being. It can last anywhere from a few months to a couple of years before it progresses to a terminal stage.
Symptoms by Stage
1. Mild acute symptoms
The symptoms during the initial stage of FIV are mild and are often misdiagnosed as other, less severe, issues. Symptoms may be so mild that they are missed altogether. Considering this stage can last only a few weeks, signs can be easily missed.
Symptoms include:
Fever
Diarrhea
Poor oral health – dental disease, gingivitis, etc.
Conjunctivitis
Swollen lymph nodes
2. Carrier
At this stage, cats are often entirely asymptomatic. They will show no clinical signs. They will have lowered immune systems to contract other illnesses or infections from their environment more easily than a healthy cat.
Fever
Diarrhea
Poor oral health – dental disease, gingivitis, etc.
Conjunctivitis
Swollen lymph nodes
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Poor oral health – dental disease, gingivitis, etc.
- Conjunctivitis
- Swollen lymph nodes
3. Progressed Illness symptoms (feline AIDS)
Once FIV progresses over a few months to a few years, clinical signs will begin to merge, and the cat’s immune system becomes more and more compromised. Symptoms include:
Persistent fever
Poor skin and coat condition
Poor appetite
Ongoing oral disease
Reoccurring infections of the eyes, skins, urinary tract, or respiratory system
Seizures
Significant behavioral change
Persistent lethargy
Diarrhea
Causes
Understanding FIV and its signs and symptoms is vital. Knowing what causes it is just as important.
Persistent fever
Poor skin and coat condition
Poor appetite
Ongoing oral disease
Reoccurring infections of the eyes, skins, urinary tract, or respiratory system
Seizures
Significant behavioral change
Persistent lethargy
Diarrhea
- Persistent fever
- Poor skin and coat condition
- Poor appetite
- Ongoing oral disease
- Reoccurring infections of the eyes, skins, urinary tract, or respiratory system
- Seizures
- Significant behavioral change
- Persistent lethargy
- Diarrhea
FIV is infectious, and cats contract it when they come into contact with another infected cat. The FIV virus travels through blood and saliva, so when either of those come into contact with each other, the virus can be transmitted.
The most common cause of transmission is from biting. A bite from an infected cat can carry the virus from the saliva into the bloodstream. Mother cats can also pass FIV onto their offspring both via the placenta and milk production.
While it is infectious is not passed on via other close cat activities such as grooming, sneezing, sharing a food bowl or a litterbox.
Treatment
There is no cure for FIV. Once a cat is diagnosed as FIV-positive, a lifelong management plan will be implemented to provide the best care. Ensuring positive welfare and quality of life is essential they progress through their illness.
Treatment will involve proactive measures in keeping your cat healthy and supporting its immune system. This looks like:
A healthy, balanced diet
A routine parasite control plan
Keeping them in a healthy weight range
Encouraging exercise
Immunity supplements
Routine vet visits and blood tests
As the virus progresses, treatment will be based on the secondary infection that has been contracted. The extent of treatment will depend on the severity of the presenting illness.
A healthy, balanced diet
A routine parasite control plan
Keeping them in a healthy weight range
Encouraging exercise
Immunity supplements
Routine vet visits and blood tests
- A healthy, balanced diet
- A routine parasite control plan
- Keeping them in a healthy weight range
- Encouraging exercise
- Immunity supplements
- Routine vet visits and blood tests
Prevention
Prevention of FIV for your cat involves keeping your cat away from FIV-positive cats and out of situations in which it can be transmitted. While you can’t have total control over this, you can implement a range of preventative measures to minimize the risk.
Keep your cat indoors – this is really the only prevention that will reduce the risk the most. Naturally, cats left to roam indoors and out are impossible to control. While you may think they stay close to home, you will be surprised how far they go and just who they come into contact with. Keeping them indoors will almost eliminate the risk of infection as they will not come into contact with other cats. We say almost, as there is always a risk of an indoor cat escaping.
Desexing your cat – desexing reduces the effect hormones have on the behavior of a cat. Since FIV is most commonly transferred by bites between cats, desexing can reduce the aggression that leads to bites. While cats can fight over territory for no reason, this is mainly centered around their drive to breed. Without these reproductive hormones coursing through them, they are less likely to pick a fight. A spayed female will also not pass the virus on to her offspring if she is FIV-positive.
Test and quarantine new cats – anytime you adopt a new cat, you should ensure they are FIV-negative before they come into contact with your existing cats. Many breeders and shelters will provide proof that they are FIV-negative before they go to their new homes, but this isn’t always so. Without this pretest, you should keep your new cat away from the contact of your other cats until you can get them tested and proven to be negative yourself. The introduction of two cats new to each other will be the riskiest in terms of possible bites.
Remember that due to the asymptomatic period, often when an FIV-positive cat is diagnosed, it may have already been living with other healthy cats for years. In which case, other cats in the household may already have become infected.
Keep your cat indoors – this is really the only prevention that will reduce the risk the most. Naturally, cats left to roam indoors and out are impossible to control. While you may think they stay close to home, you will be surprised how far they go and just who they come into contact with. Keeping them indoors will almost eliminate the risk of infection as they will not come into contact with other cats. We say almost, as there is always a risk of an indoor cat escaping.
Desexing your cat – desexing reduces the effect hormones have on the behavior of a cat. Since FIV is most commonly transferred by bites between cats, desexing can reduce the aggression that leads to bites. While cats can fight over territory for no reason, this is mainly centered around their drive to breed. Without these reproductive hormones coursing through them, they are less likely to pick a fight. A spayed female will also not pass the virus on to her offspring if she is FIV-positive.
Test and quarantine new cats – anytime you adopt a new cat, you should ensure they are FIV-negative before they come into contact with your existing cats. Many breeders and shelters will provide proof that they are FIV-negative before they go to their new homes, but this isn’t always so. Without this pretest, you should keep your new cat away from the contact of your other cats until you can get them tested and proven to be negative yourself. The introduction of two cats new to each other will be the riskiest in terms of possible bites.
- Keep your cat indoors – this is really the only prevention that will reduce the risk the most. Naturally, cats left to roam indoors and out are impossible to control. While you may think they stay close to home, you will be surprised how far they go and just who they come into contact with. Keeping them indoors will almost eliminate the risk of infection as they will not come into contact with other cats. We say almost, as there is always a risk of an indoor cat escaping.
- Desexing your cat – desexing reduces the effect hormones have on the behavior of a cat. Since FIV is most commonly transferred by bites between cats, desexing can reduce the aggression that leads to bites. While cats can fight over territory for no reason, this is mainly centered around their drive to breed. Without these reproductive hormones coursing through them, they are less likely to pick a fight. A spayed female will also not pass the virus on to her offspring if she is FIV-positive.
- Test and quarantine new cats – anytime you adopt a new cat, you should ensure they are FIV-negative before they come into contact with your existing cats. Many breeders and shelters will provide proof that they are FIV-negative before they go to their new homes, but this isn’t always so. Without this pretest, you should keep your new cat away from the contact of your other cats until you can get them tested and proven to be negative yourself. The introduction of two cats new to each other will be the riskiest in terms of possible bites.
However, homes with stable social structures of cats have less fighting, so uninfected cats may also be living alongside infected cats. Once diagnosed, the infected cat should be isolated if there are other FIV-negative cats in the household. Although the others may never become infected, the risk should not be taken.
Conclusion
Since cats can be infected with FIV without being diagnosed, the true scope of this virus is not actively known. While it is a very serious virus, there’s no need to panic as it’s thought only 2.5-5% of cats in North America are FIV-positive.
Education of risks will help you keep your cat in good health. Your cat can stay happy, healthy, and thriving when you provide it with all the best care!
Featured Image Credit: one photo, Shutterstock
