Is Your Cat Safe From FIV?
The chilling truth about FIV: Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Discover why your furry friend might not be as doomed as you think and how proper care can lead them to a surprisingly long, healthy life.
Reviewed by Dr. Becker
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STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- If your cat has been diagnosed with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), rest assured that while it’s not curable, it’s not an automatic death sentence
- FIV can cause a progressive deterioration of health, or recurrent bouts of illness interspersed with periods of relatively normal health
- There is no specific treatment for FIV, however, early detection and lifelong immune system support offer infected cats the best chance to enjoy a normal lifespan in relatively good health
The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is very similar to HIV in humans, which may make cat lovers fearful kitties with the condition won’t have a long life, or a good quality life. But the reality is that FIV-positive cats can live long, happy, healthy lives with few or no symptoms.
It’s important, given the number of cats in shelters and rescues awaiting forever homes, that potential adopters understand affected kitties aren’t sickly or a danger to other pets. FIV-positive cats can live well into their teens and cannot transmit the virus to humans or dogs. FIV also isn’t easily transmitted from cat to cat.
Cats at Highest Risk for FIV
FIV is seen most often in free roaming, aggressive male cats. Indoor kitties are much less likely to be infected. The average age at diagnosis is 5 years, and the risk of infection increases with age. There is no genetic predisposition for the condition, although genetics may play a role in disease progression and severity.
FIV is transmitted primarily through bite wounds. Casual contact doesn’t appear to spread the virus, which is why friendly kitties in stable multi-cat households are at little risk of acquiring FIV. Research suggests the likelihood of cats passing FIV to other cats in the same household is as low as 1% to 2%.1
Rarely, an infected mother cat can transmit the virus to her kittens either during passage through the birth canal or while nursing. Sexual contact is not considered a major means of transmission.
Symptoms of Immunodeficiency
A cat with an FIV infection can appear normal for years. But eventually, the disease creates a state of immune deficiency that leaves the kitty susceptible to other infections. This means that everyday bacteria, viruses and fungi that cause no problems for healthy animals can cause serious illness in kitties with compromised immune systems. Secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases linked to FIV.
Early in an FIV infection, lymph nodes throughout the body are affected, resulting in temporary enlargement of the nodes, and often, a fever. This stage of infection often passes unnoticed unless the lymph nodes grow markedly enlarged. The course of FIV can cause a progressive deterioration of health, or recurrent bouts of illness interspersed with periods of relatively normal health. Symptoms of immunodeficiency can occur anywhere in a cat’s body and include:
- Recurrent minor illnesses, often involving the upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract
- Persistent bacterial or fungal infections of the ears and skin
- Inflammation of the gums is seen in 25% to 50% of cases
- Fever and wasting, especially in the later stages
- Upper respiratory tract disease is seen in 30% of cases
- Cancer, especially lymphoma
- Chronic eye problems, glaucoma
- Chronic kidney insufficiency
- Persistent diarrhea is seen in 10% to 20% of cases
- Poor coat condition
- Nervous system abnormalities, including disruption of normal sleep patterns, behavioral changes (e.g., pacing and aggression), changes in vision and hearing, disorders affecting the nerves in the legs and paws
Diagnosing FIV
An antibody test is used to check for the presence of FIV antibodies in the blood of infected kitties. However, false-positive results do occur, so it’s recommended that a positive antibody test result be confirmed using a different type of test, typically a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Infected pregnant cats will transfer FIV antibodies to nursing kittens, and those babies may test positive for several months after birth. Fortunately, most of them aren’t and won’t become infected. Kittens under 6 months that test positive should be retested every 60 days until they are at least 6 months old.
Treatment Options
There is no specific treatment for FIV, however, any existing secondary infections will need to be resolved.
Cats who test positive should be kept indoors, which will prevent the spread of the virus to other cats, while also reducing the risk that your kitty will be exposed to pathogens his immune system may not be able to handle. These kitties should not reproduce and should never be vaccinated for anything, ever.
Your cat should be fed a balanced, nutritionally complete, species-appropriate diet. Unless he has a low white blood cell count — in which case I recommend cooked fresh food — a raw diet is fine. You can also feed a commercially available sterile raw food diet that has been high-pressure pasteurized.
Cats with FIV should see the veterinarian at least twice yearly to review the health of their eyes, gums, skin and lymph nodes, and to check their weight. At one of the two yearly visits, bloodwork and a urinalysis should be performed.
At home, careful, consistent monitoring of your kitty’s health and behavior is extremely important so that you can notify your veterinarian right away of any changes.
I’ve had good success keeping FIV patients healthy, and in some cases asymptomatic using a variety of natural supplements to support the immune system, including:
- Standard Process Feline Immune System Support and Feline Whole Body Support
- Medicinal mushrooms
- Turmeric
- IV vitamin C therapy
- Ozone therapy
- Kyosenex Prime thymus extract
- Chinese herbs
- FIV homeopathic nosodes
Prognosis and Prevention
The goal should always be to identify FIV cats before they become symptomatic and offer lifetime immune system support. In these cases, many of these kitties can live a completely normal life.
Cats who acquire one or more serious virus-related illnesses, kitties with persistent fevers and weight loss, and those with cancer, can be expected to have a much shorter survival time as well.
The only foolproof way to keep your cat safe from these viruses is to prevent exposure to them. This obviously means keeping him away from potentially infected cats.
If he goes outdoors, it should be under your close and constant supervision, or in a safe, secure outdoor enclosure — one that prevents other cats from getting in, and as much as possible, prevents them from being able to bite or scratch your kitty through the sides or top of the enclosure.
FIV-positive and negative cats can live under the same roof as long as they don’t fight or bite. I don’t recommend the FIV vaccine as it is often ineffective and has been linked to the development of vaccine-associated sarcomas in cats.
