5 Facts about FIV

As a former foster mom of an FIV positive cat 🐱that I loved dearly, I thought that this month, we’d go over some important facts about infectious diseases starting with FIV, or feline immunodeficiency virus.

✨It is a retrovirus in the genus Lentivirus that is transmitted mainly by through biting. Because of the risk that they may spread the virus to other cats through biting, it is usually safer to house them in single cat households or with another FIV positive cat

✨It causes immune dysfunction

✨Patients can be asymptomatic until their cellular immunity is affected

✨It is important to note that they may have more infections such as URI and GI illness and gingivitis/stomatitis is fairly commonly seen and can be seen in approximately 50% of cases so they may need more vet care than most cats

✨ It is recommended to confirm positive SNAP combo test results with a reference lab test such as PCR or FIV antibody by ELISA

FIV positive cats can still have friends - as you can see in the photo, my dog Scrappy and my foster cat Everett were best buddies!😊

References:

1) Veterinary Partner. Veterinarypartner.com

2) Tilley, L. P., & Smith, F. W. (2005). The 5-minute veterinary consult: Canine and feline. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

3) Yin, S. A. (2010). The small animal veterinary nerdbook. Davis, CA: CattleDog Pub.