Stephanie, our office manager, recently brought in Stone, a neutered two year old domestic shorthair cat that has been staying at her house for the past two months. He is super friendly, always looking for love and is always running around playing here at the clinic.
When Dr. Jami did her exam, everything looked great, and he received his vaccines. Dr. Jami decided it would be a good idea to take some blood and test for feline FIV/FeLV. When we received the test back, it showed that Stone was negative for Feline Leukemia. However, he was positive for FIV. What is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus? Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is a virus specific to the cat family. It was first recognized in the mid 1980's and it has been found in cats worldwide. Only 1-5% of cats show evidence of exposure to the virus. In some cats exposure to the virus leads to clinical signs and symptoms that result in deficiency in the immune system. Being FIV-positive is not the same as having feline AIDS. The FIV test detects antibodies that have been formed in the cat's blood because of infection with the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. "FIV-positive" means that your cat has been infected by the virus, but if it is not showing symptoms it may be years, if ever, before the cat develops the clinical signs referred to as Feline AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome of cats). Just being diagnosed with the FIV virus does not mean your cat has feline AIDS. Is my family at risk? Absolutely Not! Although HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS in people) belongs to the same family of viruses as FIV, the two viruses infect different species - HIV infects only humans and FIV infects only cats. The viruses are very specific for the species and there is no risk of cross infection between the immunodeficiency viruses of cats and people. Other cats in your household may already have been infected and should be tested. Spread between through normal social contact such as grooming is unlikely so the majority of your cats may be FIV-negative when tested. How do cats get FIV? Infected cats shed the virus mainly in their saliva. Naturally occurring transmission of an infection occurs when an infected cat that is actively shedding virus into the saliva bites another cat, directly inoculating its saliva through the bite wound. A susceptible cat can also become infected when other bodily fluids, particularly infected blood, enters the body. In this case, the infected blood may enter the cat's body through a bite wound, or the cat may become infected by means of a blood transfusion. Experimentally, the virus may also be transmitted through semen, but it is not clear whether this means transmission is responsible for any naturally occurring cases. It is not surprising that many FIV-positive cats are known fighters, particularly those with a history of cat bite abscesses. Any cat bitten by a cat with an unknown medical history should be tested for FIV approximately two months after the bite. The FIV organism is not able to survive for very long outside of living cells. This is another reason that casual infection is uncommon. Kittens may become infected before, at, or soon after birth. In these cases, it is believed that the virus was transmitted across the uterus during pregnancy or through the queen's (mother cat's) milk during nursing. Around a quarter to a third of kittens born to an infected queen are likely to be infected themselves. Normal social interactions, such as grooming, appear to have a very low risk of transmitting FIV. How is FIV diagnosed? FIV is diagnosed through blood tests detect antibodies to the virus. If this test is positive it means that the cat has produced antibodies to the virus, and it is likely that your cat has been and still is infected by the virus. False positive and negative results to occur for a variety of reasons. Kittens born to an infected female may receive "maternal antibodies" or antibodies to the virus that pass through the milk, giving a false positive test result. Kittens under four months of age that test positive should be re-tested when they are six months old, by which time any "maternal" antibodies will have disappeared. It can take up to eight weeks for cat to develop antibodies to FIV, so a cat that has been recently infected with this virus may falsely test negative. If a cat is diagnosed positive on the test, the results should be confirmed by retesting in 8 weeks (for young kittens) or by submitting blood samples for a more definitive "Western blot" or PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. Will my cat recover? As far as we know, once a cat is infected with FIV virus it will remain infected for the rest of its life, though it is not clear if all infected cats will become ill. It may be weeks, months or even years after initial infection with FIV before a cat will develop clinical signs of illness. What type of disease does FIV cause? FIV causes disease because it reduces the ability of cat's immune system to respond to other infections. Infections that would normally be overcome and cleared become prolonged, chronic or recurrent. This means that many of the clinical signs associated with FIV are due to other non-healing infections. Collectively the signs and symptoms seen as consequence of FIV is sometimes called "Feline AIDS" or Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease in cats. Common clinical signs of FIV infection include: 1. Gingivitis/stomatitis- inflammation of the gums and mouth 2. Weight loss 3. Poor appetite 4. Fever - especially fever of unknown origin 5. Inflammation of the membrane around the eyes - chronic conjunctivitis 6. Swollen lymph nodes 7. Vomiting and diarrhea Most of these signs are non-specific and many diseases can have similar clinical picture. Any cat with persistent or recurrent illness or clinical signs should be tested for FIV, regardless of lifestyle. Is there any treatment for FIV? Secondary bacterial infections associated with feline AIDS can be effectively treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, this is usually only temporary; new infections will continue to occur because of the suppressed immune system. Should I have my cat euthanized? Generally this is not necessary until the late stages of disease. Like people with HIV, cats with FIV have a long period where they can appear healthy and show no clinical signs. This period may last for two to five years or perhaps even longer, during which your cat will have a normal, happy life. How can I help my FIV-positive cat? You can help you cat by ensuring it has a healthy lifestyle and feeding it a premium diet together with twice-yearly examinations and blood and urine tests to monitor immune stress. Any infections should be treated promptly and aggressively. The better the general health of the cat, then the longer the asymptomatic (no obvious disease) period tends to be. Keeping an FIV-infected cat indoors is mandatory for the health of the neighborhood cats, as well as reducing the likelihood that your cat will pick up infections from other cats. Stone is looking for his FUREVER home, with him having FIV, you don't need to worry that you or anyone else in your family will get it. If you have a dog, your dog will not get it. Stone doesn't even mind dogs, big or small, he likes them. Stone just wanted to be loved all the time! Stop in today to meet and play with him! **Information was found at epethealth.com
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Katie MartinVeterinary Assistant at Tender Care Animal Hospital, animal lover, some say the crazy cat lady :) Archives
April 2019
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