If you have heard of a disease known as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), you might envision it as the cat world's equivalent of HIV in humans. The virus often gets referred to as cat HIV or even AIDS due to the way both viruses damage the immune system, even though they also have significant differences.
As a loving cat owner, you'll want to learn more about FIV, from its causes and modes of transmission to the available strategies for treating symptoms and keeping your feline as safe as possible against this disease. Take a look at these answers to frequently asked FIV questions.
How Do Cats Get FIV?
FIV commonly gets transmitted from cat to cat through bites that contain traces of infected saliva. (It cannot infect humans.) Although infected saliva can also transmit FIV through shared water bowls or grooming practices, this kind of transmission occurs only very rarely.
Sexually intact male outdoor cats run a relatively high risk of contracting FIV through aggressive encounters with other cats. Indoor cats run a much lower risk, even with multiple cats inhabiting a household. However, if your cat escapes from the home or stays in a boarding facility, it could get into a fight with an infected cat.
What Symptoms May Indicate FIV in Your Cat?
A cat may experience an infection with FIV years before it ever shows any symptoms of illness. Even after the symptoms first appear, they may come and go in bouts between periods of apparent wellness. Typical symptoms include chronic weight loss (with loss of appetite, diarrhea, eye trouble, recurring fever, and oral inflammation.
Because FIV impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease, your cat may suffer from a variety of secondary infections if it develops FIV. These infections may strike the urinary tract, respiratory system, skin, and eyes either constantly or intermittently. Some cats may also experience neurological or behavioral disorders.
How Do Veterinarians Treat FIV?
Because FIV symptoms can resemble those of many other infectious or neurological diseases, your veterinarian will need to perform diagnostic tests to determine whether your cat actually has FIV. Blood tests processed either in the veterinary office or in an outside laboratory can detect the presence of FIV antibodies.
Although veterinary medicine offers no outright cure for FIV, veterinarians can provide treatment measures to control symptoms and optimize overall health. Treatment options include some of the same antiviral medications offered to people with HIV, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs, special diets, and fluid replacement to combat diarrhea.
Why Do U.S. Veterinarians No Longer Vaccinate for FIV?
In previous years, U.S. veterinarians offered non-core (elective) vaccinations in the hopes of preventing FIV infections. However, the vaccine used didn't protect against all strains of the disease, allowing many vaccinated cats to contract it despite precautions and making such vaccinations too unreliable to recommend wholeheartedly.
FIV vaccinations also introduce other potential complications. For example, in some cases, they produced false-positive results in cats tested for FIV. These vaccinations could also cause cancer to develop at the injection site. This collection of problems compelled the veterinary community to stop offering FIV vaccinations in North America.
How Can You Protect Your Cat (or Other Cats) Against FIV?
Even without a vaccine to prevent FIV infection, you can take steps to protect your favorite feline. If you want to take your cat outside, for example, always walk it on a leash to keep it away from stray animals. Better yet, simply keep them indoors as much as possible.
Periodic testing can help you recognize FIV in your cat as early as possible, permitting you to protect other cats. Neuter your male cat to reduce their fighting instincts. Spay your female cat to prevent FIV from spreading to the next generation through tainted blood.
The Pet Medical Center of Vero Beach wants to help you preserve your cat's health and quality of life even in the face of such challenging illnesses as FIV. If you worry that your cat may struggle with this ailment,
contact us today to schedule a diagnostic evaluation and discuss treatment options.
