THE FIV FACTS - IT'S NOT A DEATH SENTENCE
1. The Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is a lentivirus, meaning that it progresses very slowly,
gradually affecting the cat's immune system over a period of years.
2. FIV is a cat-only disease and is not transmissible to dogs, children or other humans in any way, so there
is not a threat to families even if an FIV cat scratches or bites you. In fact, the only thing about FIV that
you can catch is a bad case of deadly rumors.
3. FIV cats most often live long, healthy lives and never suffer any symptoms at all.
4. FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food
bowls or when snuggling, grooming and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens, although
some kittens can have a false positive reading due to the mother's antibodies passed on to them. It is best
to have the kitten retested every 60 days up to 6 months of age.
5. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions or serious penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of
this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, un-neutered tomcats.) So unless your cats at home
routinely tear each other to pieces, it should not be a problem.
6. A neutered FIV cat in a home is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced. Proper
introduction should always be made when adding any new cat into your household. It is not necessary to
isolate an FIV cat in a multiple cat household unless the FIV cat is likely to fight with the other residents.
7. Many vets are not up to date about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago. A lot of vets
did not want to take a chance and the rule of thumb was to totally separate the cat, find a sanctuary or
have them euthanized. If we went back 15 years ago, before anybody tested for FIV, all of these cats
would be in regular homes living normal lives. But researchers now discovered something they could put
a name to, even if the cats never got sick.
8. FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible (as with any cat). Keep them indoors, free from
stress, feed them a high-quality diet and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.
9. It is our strong recommendation not to consider vaccinating your cat with the current FIV vaccine. All
cats just vaccinated with the FIV vaccine will test positive for FIV. If your cat was ever lost and then
found and taken to a shelter, they may be euthanized as a result of this false positive test. There are no
current commercial tests available to distinguish between a healthy vaccinated cat and one that truly has
FIV. The vaccine only covers 2 (A & D) out of 5 subtype strains of FIV (A, B, C, D & E). The A subtype
is seen mainly on the west coast and D subtype is in Asia. Most cats in the US test positive for subtype B
and is most prevalent on the east coast.
For more info on FIV & vaccine information, visit: http://www.baypathhumane.org/care_fiv.html
http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/fiv-vaccine.htm & http://www.theanimalspirit.com/ginger.html