If your cat was just diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus—more commonly called FIV—don’t despair… but be aware. Let’s discuss what causes FIV in cats, and what kind of prognosis you can expect for FIV+ cats.
What is FIV in cats?
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, more often called FIV, is a contagious virus that affects the immune system. The FIV virus spreads through the body and reproduces in the T-lymphocyte (e.g., white blood cells)—hence, why it’s often called “kitty AIDS.” It affects and spreads to the lymph nodes, and can rapidly progress. Similar to HIV, it makes a cat more at risk for getting infections and more immunosuppressed. Just as people can live with HIV for years, inevitably it progresses to AIDS. Likewise, FIV cats can live with this infectious disease for years; however, they will ultimately succumb to death from the disease or secondary infection. While normal healthy cats can fight off bacteria, viruses, and parasitic infections, immunosuppressed cats with FIV end up succumbing to these diseases.
FIV is seen more commonly in cats that go outside, are young, and are male. It’s estimated that 2.5 million cats are affected by FIV worldwide.
FIV is more prevalent in the Asia Pacific region of the world. In the United States, it’s estimated that approximately 1.5-3% of healthy cats are FIV-positive. You heard me correctly—some cats can be healthy and live with FIV for years, especially with frequent veterinary care. However, in unhealthy cats (e.g., those that present sick to a veterinarian), rates are estimated to be approximately 15%.
How does FIV spread?
FIV cannot spread to humans because it’s species-specific. So you and your two-legged family are safe! However, it can spread to other cats, especially if exchange of bodily fluids (e.g., saliva, blood, sexual transmission, during pregnancy) occurs—this occurs most commonly through biting when territorial intact cats fight outside.
If your cat was just diagnosed with FIV, I recommend getting ALL the cats in your household tested. Ideally, FIV+ cats should be kept indoors and separated from the other cats to minimize transmission and keep everyone safe. That said, spayed or neutered FIV+ cats can live in a home with FIV-negative cats, provided everyone gets along and there is minimal bodily fluid exchange.
Why does FIV make my cat sick?
Just as HIV can put humans more at risk of developing infections, FIV+ cats are more susceptible to infections. FIV causes the immune system to become weakened (called immunosuppression), so your cat’s body can’t fight off infections as well—including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungal infections. Even normal harmless bacteria (normally present on the body) that healthy cats can fight off can make your cat sick due to immunosuppression.
How long do FIV+ cats live? Thankfully, FIV+ cats can live for years (a decade or longer)—but ultimately can succumb to death from secondary infection or even old age-related causes in cats.
What are signs of FIV in cats?
Signs of FIV can vary from zero clinical signs (and being diagnosed based on a routine blood screening test) to more serious symptoms. These may include:
- Lethargy
- Decreased appetite to complete inappetance
- Inflammation of the gums (e.g., gingivitis) and mouth (e.g., stomatitis) with secondary signs of halitosis, drooling, or chewing abnormally
- Subtle, chronic weight loss
- Chronic gastrointestinal signs (e.g., diarrhea)
- Unkempt, dull haircoat
- Recurrent fever
- Chronic upper respiratory infections (e.g., runny eyes, sneezing, nasal discharge)
- Neurologic signs (e.g., behavioral changes, seizures)
- Chronic ocular infections (e.g., runny eyes, cloudy appearance to the inside of the eye, conjunctivitis or “pink eye”)
- Chronic skin problems (e.g., hair loss, thin coat, redness, itching, secondary bacterial infections)
- Enlarged lymph nodes or swellings on the body
- Urinary problems
How do we diagnose FIV?
There are several blood tests for FIV and FeLV, with the most commonly run FIV test done in veterinary clinics being an ELISA test; this is automatically combined with a blood test for Feline Leukemia (FeLV). The FIV ELISA tests for antiviral antibodies, while the FeLV tests for the presence of FeLV or its antigens. Why is this important to know? Because kittens that have been exposed to their mom’s blood may test FIV-positive, but may “seroconvert” to FIV-negative several months to years later. Kittens that test positive should be tested every 6 months for several years to confirm if they have FIV.
How do you keep FIV+ cats healthy for as long as possible?
As a veterinarian and cat parent, I want your FIV+ cats to live as long as possible. While FIV+ cats may not live to the same lifespan as a completely healthy cat, there are several things you can do to keep your FIV+ cat healthy and thriving for as long as possible. Here are 6 steps to follow.
Keep your cat indoors
Make sure to keep all your cats exclusively indoors, as this helps minimize infections that they can get from outside.
Routine veterinary care
Make sure your cat is up to date on vaccines and gets a twice-a-year examination with your veterinarian. Yup, you heard me right—not just once a year, but twice a year. This is really important to help pick up on infections or problems as soon as possible, since your cat’s immune system is more vulnerable. You also want to make sure your cat is on appropriate preventive medication like deworming medication, heartworm medication, and flea and tick medication, as if they get infected, it will be harder for their body to fight off. I also recommend getting annual blood work in FIV+ cats to make sure the white and red blood cell count, kidney and liver function, protein levels, and salt balance are normal each year.
Keep your other cats healthy
As for the other cats in the household? If your other cats are FIV negative, you want to make sure to keep your healthy cats on an annual examination schedule and up to date on vaccines. While they are healthy, they can potentially spread infection to your FIV+ cat, putting him or her at risk!
Environmental enrichment
Make sure to provide appropriate environmental enrichment and the right resources for each cat in your household—in other words, the purrrfect living situation for each cat! This should include a bed, scratching post, water and food bowls, and a litter box. Something as simple as having the correct number of litter boxes or a self-cleaning Litter-Robot that provides a fresh bed of litter every single time can help prevent exposure to other cats’ bodily fluids.
Nutrition
Make sure your cat is on an AAFCO-approved cat food that is appropriate for their age. As dental disease and gingivitis are more prevalent in FIV+ cats, you want to make sure your cat is eating well. With FIV+ cats, you want to avoid feeding uncooked or raw food, as your cat is much more vulnerable to secondary food-borne bacterial (e.g., Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter) or parasitic infections from the food.
Pick up on clinical signs as soon as possible
Fighting off secondary infections is much harder for FIV+ cats. As soon as you notice signs of abnormal drinking, decreased appetite, inappropriate urination, weight loss, lethargy, or anything abnormal, get to a vet immediately for a blood test and workup… even if it’s in the middle of the night. That’s because something as “simple” as a urinary tract infection (UTI) can rapidly progress to a kidney infection and cause a more severe systemic body infection in an FIV+ cat.
Keep in mind that the prognosis for FIV is much better than the more deadly Feline Leukemia (FeLV) virus. Remember, cats can live with FIV for a much longer period of time—but it’s a MUST to keep them as healthy as possible!
How can I prevent my cat from getting FIV?
The best way to prevent your cat from getting FIV is by screening and testing all cats in your household at your veterinarian. Before you bring a new cat in the household, this common FIV and FeLV test is a must do. If your cats are negative, great!
The next safest thing is to keep your cats indoors to prevent fighting with a stray neighborhood cat that may carry the disease.
Photo by Michael Sum on Unsplash
