What causes cat 'flu?
Cat 'flu is caused by either feline calicivirus (FCV) or feline herpesvirus (FHV - also known as feline viral rhinotracheitis virus - FVR), or, uncommonly, a combination of both. The most serious cases are caused by FHV.
How is cat 'flu spread?
The main method of spread of the cat 'flu viruses is by direct contact of one cat with another. Large amounts of virus are present in saliva, tears and nasal secretions (FCV may also be shed in urine and faeces). Thus it can be spread by cats sniffing each other, mutual grooming and sharing feeding bowls. Sneezed droplets may travel 1-2 metres and cat 'flu can spread rapidly through a cattery unless cats are housed individually with sneeze barriers. Both of the cat 'flu viruses are relatively fragile: FCV lasts about a week outside the cat and FHV lasts a day. Plainly, however, these viruses can be spread within a cattery on cages, food dishes, litter trays, people, etc. so good hygiene precautions should be taken.
Can cats catch 'flu from humans with 'flu?
Cats cannot catch 'flu from humans with 'flu nor can humans or other animals catch cat 'flu.
What are the signs of cat 'flu?
The main signs of cat 'flu are as in human 'flu, i.e. sneezing and runny eyes, which may progress to a mucous discharge. Just before sneezing begins, the cat's temperature will increase, sometimes as high as 105 oF. The cat feels ill and is unable to smell his food because of his blocked nose so often he will not eat. FCV also causes mouth ulcers which makes eating very painful and may cause the cat to salivate. The lymph nodes under the chin commonly swell up and may be palpable. These signs generally last only for a week or two in adult cats, longer in kittens,and most cats recover.
In very young kittens or immunosuppressed cats (e.g. those co-infected with FeLV or FIV, or on corticosteroid or Ovarid treatment) cat 'flu can progress to severe pneumonia. The cat loses weight and may not eat for such a long time that he has to be fed by intravenous drip or stomach tube by the veterinarian. The cat will have difficulty breathing and will breathe through the mouth and may make a wheezing sound.
In very young kittens a few days old or weeks old, FHV is a major cause of fading, which is when kittens stop eating, lose weight and die. At post mortem they are found to have pneumonia.
FHV can cause ulceration of the cornea (the front of the eye) and, if left untreated, the eyeball may rupture. Some kittens who have bad cat flu' may continue into adulthood with sinusitis or rhinitis, their breathing is more audible than that of normal cats, they snore when asleep and may have a permanent or recurrent mucous nasal discharge and sneezing. One or both eyes may be distorted by adhesions from the eyeball to the inner eyelid.
Cats with chronic rhinitis are often immunosuppressed by concurrent FELV and FIV infection and cats with chronic rhinitis should be tested for these viruses.
FCV is associated with chronic gingivitis (when the gums are red and inflamed). In some cats, FCV has been reported to cause a limping syndrome. Cats are lame on one leg, then another, and are off colour and have a high temperature but do not necessarily have respiratory signs. In rare cases this syndrome occurs a few days to a week after vaccination and may be caused by the FCV in the vaccine. This condition generally disappears in a few days.
How can cat 'flu be diagnosed conclusively?
Diagnosis of cat 'flu can be confirmed by your veterinary surgeon sending a throat swab in viral advert medium to Companion Animal Diagnostics where the virus will be identified as either FCV or FHV.
Treatment
Owners of cats with 'flu should always seek veterinary advice, as many cats will require antibiotics to control secondary bacterial infections. The cat should be tempted to eat with small but frequent portions of aromatic foods such as sardines, roast chicken or liver. In order to clear the nasal passages it is beneficial to the cat if he can be confined to a steamy bathroom for an hour each day. Vick Vaporub can be applied to the chin or a few drops of eucalyptus oil put on the cat's bedding. The cat should be cleaned gently with a cloth and warm water, especially if he can no longer groom himself, and kept warm until dry.
Cats with eye discharges should have their eyes bathed three or four times a day with a warm solution of salt and water, using one teaspoonful of ordinary table salt (sodium chloride) in one pint (half a litre) of water. Veterinary surgeons may prescribe antibiotic eye ointments for cats with secondary bacterial conjunctivitis. Cats with FHV eye ulceration can sometimes be treated under general anaesthetic, the edge of the ulcer is lightly removed with a dry cotton wool bud. However, if the eyeball bursts, the eye may have to be removed.
Cats with chronic rhinitis are notoriously difficult to treat. Many have to take antibiotics all their lives. Some veterinarians offer radical surgery removing the small bones inside the nose, in really severe cases. In the USA, some cats with chronic rhinitis have been successfully treated using the intranasal vaccine. Cats with chronic rhinitis should be tested for FeLV and FIV. If feline herpesvirus is involved, the amino acid lysine can be added to their food.
Can any other disease cause similar signs?
Chlamydia infection also causes conjunctivitis and may be mistaken for cat 'flu. Bacterial infections can sometimes appear like cat 'flu, the chief culprits are Bordetella bronchiseptica and Haemophilus felis. Both are often responsible for outbreaks of coughing which can pass round a cattery in the summer. Bacteria can take the opportunity of a cat's respiratory system being weakened by cat 'flu viruses to infect the cat. In early feline coronaviral infection, catteries often report a transient, mild 'flu-like condition passing through the cats despite the cats having been vaccinated.
What are carriers?
After cats have been infected with cat 'flu viruses, whether, or not they have shown clinical signs, they continue to excrete virus. ln FHV, the carrier state will be lifelong, even in spite of vaccination. Cats do not shed FHV continually but shed it intermittently, particularly in times of stress, for example, when they are rehomed or go to boarding catteries or cat shows, when they have kittens or if treated with corticosteroid. Virus shedding begins about a week after the stress has taken place and lasts for one to two weeks. Animals may show mild signs of cat 'flu at the time.
If mother cats have only low levels of anti-FHV antibodies in their milk, their kittens may be protected from showing disease but are not sufficiently protected not to get infected, so that they can become carriers without having shown disease.
Carriers of FCV, by contrast, shed virus continuously. However, they may recover spontaneously and eliminate the virus. FCV is present in 8 per cent of household pets, 25 per cent of cats at cat shows, 40 per cent of colony cats and 100 per cent of cats with chronic gingivitis.
Vaccination
There are many vaccines available for cat 'flu. Kittens are routinely vaccinated from eight to nine weeks of age, receiving a second dose at 12 weeks old, or three weeks after the initial injection. Cats should receive a yearly booster dose.
Are there any side effects to the vaccines?
Most vaccines have no side effects whatever but some cause mild sneezing and watery eyes for a few days. As stated above, some vaccines have been associated with limping.
Why does vaccination sometimes appear not to work?
If a vaccine is used when the cat is already incubating cat 'flu, it will not benefit the cat. This is sometimes why vaccines appear not to work or appear to cause the condition. It is often a good idea to keep a new cat for one or two weeks before vaccinating him so that any diseases he is incubating will have time to show.
Vaccination of FHV is straightforward because there is only one type of FHV. However, there are many different types of strains of FCV and vaccination will not necessarily protect against all of them.
Can a cat showing clinical signs be vaccinated?
Cats with acute clinical signs of cat 'flu should not be vaccinated.
Can a carrier cat be vaccinated?
Carrier cats can be vaccinated with no ill effects, but vaccination will not stop them from excreting the virus.
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FELV back to top
What is FeLV?
Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a virus which causes a variety of symptoms including deficiency of the immune system of cats, anaemia and tumours.
How does a cat catch FeLV?
FeLV is found in the saliva of infected cats. It is mainly transmitted by direct contact of one cat with another, particularly if they lick or bite each other. FeLV can only be contracted by close contact with an infected cat. FeLV is a fragile virus and does not survive for long on hands, bowls, cages, etc. so, for example, a cat cannot catch FeLV by being put in a basket which a cat with FeLV has used. FeLV is easily killed by any disinfectant. Kittens under 4 months old are particularly susceptible to infection by FeLV. After four months of age there is a gradually increasing resistance to infection. However, this resistance can be overcome by prolonged exposure to infection or by large doses of virus (e.g. when an adult cat enters a multi-cat household in which large numbers of cats are infected). FeLV can cross the placenta to the unborn kitten and usually all kittens born to an FeLV positive queen will be FeLV positive. It is possible, though rare, for a queen to have virus in her mammary glands (and therefore in her milk) but not in her blood-stream so that, although she tests FeLV negative, her kittens will become infected as they suckle.
What clinical signs does FeLV cause?
There is a long incubation period (months to years) from infection with FeLV to development of disease. However 85 out of 100 FeLV infected cats die within 3.5 years of becoming infected. Anaemia: all anaemic cats should be tested for FeLV. FeLV suppresses the bone marrow, where red blood cells are produced.
Immunosuppression: One effect of FeLV infection is to suppress the immune response, leaving the cat more susceptible to other infections. Whenever a young to middle aged cat keeps getting ill or doesn’t recover in a normal time, or gets a fever and is listless for no apparent reason, it should be tested for FeLV (and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)). A suppressed immune response leads to death of 80% of FeLV positive cats, the remainder die of FeLV associated cancers. The most common cancers associated with FeLV are solid tumours called lymphosarcomas.
Thymic lymphosarcoma is a tumour which generally affects young cats up to two years of age. The tumour grows in the thymus, an organ in the chest in front of the heart. As it grows, it causes fluid to accumulate which gradually fills the chest, pressing on the lungs and causing the cat difficulty in breathing. Often the difficulty in breathing is sudden in onset: in cats difficulty breathing is manifest by the cat showing rapid breathing or breathing through the mouth. The tumour can usually be seen on X-ray. Over 90% of cats with thymic lymphosarcoma are FeLV positive.
Multicentric lymphosarcoma generally occurs in young to middle-aged cats. The tumours arise in the lymph nodes and can often be detected even by untrained fingers under the chin, behind the knees and in front of the shoulder. Only two cats out of three with multicentric lymphosarcoma are FeLV positive.
Alimentary lymphosarcoma usually affects middle-aged to older cats. The tumour grows in the small intestine or colon, causing weight loss and diarrhoea. Only one third of cats with alimentary lymphosarcoma are FeLV positive.
The reason that some cats with lymphosarcoma are FeLV negative is unknown but, since lymphosarcomas are more common in houses where FeLV is endemic, all cats in contact with a cat which has a lymphosarcoma, whether or not it is FeLV positive, should be FeLV tested. FIV is also associated with tumours of the cat.
Lymphosarcomas can arise in any organ: the kidney, nervous system and eye are the next commonest organs to be affected. Lymphosarcoma is the commonest tumour of the eye of the cat.
Leukaemia: despite the name, ‘leukaemia virus’, leukaemia is less commonly diagnosed, often requiring a trained haematologist for accurate diagnosis. Nearly half of all FeLV infected cats are anaemic.
FeLV is also associated with liver failure, enteritis, infertility, abortion, resorption of kittens and stillbirths.
Can FeLV be treated?
Veterinary surgeons must treat each case of FeLV individually, depending on what clinical signs the cat is showing. For example, an FeLV infected cat which shows its immune deficiency by having chronic cat ‘flu, would require almost constant antibiotic treatment. Cats with lymphosarcoma may be treated by chemotherapy. In a report of 103 cases of lymphosarcoma in cats which were treated by chemotherapy, the tumour regressed in 62% who survived an average of seven months. Only one in five treated cats survived more than 12 months. Treatment of lymphatic or myeloid leukaemias is generally unsuccessful. The outlook for FeLV positive cats is always poor.
What is the FeLV test?
Although vaccines are available, none is 100% effective and FeLV testing remains the most certain method of FeLV control. Most veterinarians can perform a quick test on a sample of blood in their surgeries. The in-practice tests detect a bit of the virus called p27. All positive in-practice FeLV test results should be confirmed by virus isolation (where the virus is grown in cell culture) or immunofluorescence. Virus isolation is performed at Glasgow and Bristol University Veterinary Schools.
In around 5-10% of cats with positive p27 results, no virus can be detected by virus isolation. Cats with negative virus isolation results are not infectious to other cats. Clinically well cats should not be euthanased on a p27 result alone in case the result is a false positive. Recently it has been recognised that some p27 tests on sick cats have given false negative results. Such cats should also be retested by virus isolation or immunofluorescence.
A latent infection is when a cat has no whole virus in its bloodstream (therefore is not infectious to other cats) but has virus lurking in the bone marrow or other organ, producing p27 which can go into the bloodstream and be detected by the test. Latency may be confirmed by bone marrow biopsy but this procedure is complex and expensive. Some cats give a positive p27 result but are negative on virus isolation testing. These cats are called ‘discordant’ cats. Discordant cats should be tested every 1-2 months and monitored carefully, most will become negative on both tests eventually, but some will become positive on both the p27 and by virus isolation. While they are discordant, they are not infectious to other cats.
At what age should a cat be tested?
Cats and kittens can be tested from birth onwards. Cats should have two tests 12 weeks apart. If cats have only been recently infected, they may not yet have virus in their blood. The interval from getting infected to producing virus in the blood can be as little as two weeks or as long as eight weeks. For this reason, when cats are tested for the first time, it is recommended that they be tested twice, 12 weeks apart. A very small percentage of cats which are FeLV positive are in the process of developing immunity after which they will become negative; this is another reason for testing healthy cats twice. Cats which test positive twice at a 12 weeks interval will be permanently infected. In nature, many cats which are exposed to FeLV recover from the infection. Recovered cats have no FeLV p27 in their blood but may have antibodies to the virus. There is a test for these (virus neutralising) antibodies and it is important not to confuse this test with either the p27 or the virus isolation test.
A positive virus neutralisation test means that the cat has recovered from the infection and is immune.
FeLV vaccines.
There are several different FeLV vaccines on the market. The initial course for all vaccines is two doses 3-4 weeks apart in cats or kittens of at least nine weeks old. An annual booster is recommended. Sick cats should not be vaccinated. If your cat is pregnant, be sure to tell the veterinary surgeon so that he or she cat check whether the vaccine brand (s)he uses is safe in pregnant queens. Some manufacturers recommend vaccination of cats prior to mating so that kittens will receive protective antibodies in their mother’s milk.
Which FeLV vaccine is best?
There have been no direct trials comparing all the vaccines available in the UK, therefore it is difficult to rank them. However, the trials that are published do show that not all vaccines are equally effective.
Can you boost one vaccine with another?
While not yet scientifically proven, it is probably safe and effective to boost one make of vaccine with another.
Are there any side effects of vaccination?
Some cats show slight malaise for 24-48 hours after vaccination. This reaction is normal, but if the cat is in much distress, (s)he should be taken to see a veterinary surgeon. Some cats may form a small lump at the site of the injection, which eventually usually disappears. In the USA, worries have been expressed about tumour formation at the site of vaccination but this has not been a major problem in the South Africa. The National Feline Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma Task Force of America recommends that FeLV vaccines be given in the left hind leg, so that should a tumour appear, it can readily be amputated and because of its site, can be identified as being caused by the FeLV vaccine (rabies vaccines should be given in the right hind leg for the same reasons).
Does a cat which never goes out need a FeLV vaccine?
No, because FeLV cannot be brought in on a person’s shoes or clothes, unlike feline parvovirus (feline panleukopenia virus) which can.
Can you mix infected cats with vaccinated, uninfected cats?
It is important to realise that no vaccine is 100% effective, therefore not all vaccinated cats will be protected. People who have several cats, of which some are FeLV positive and others are FeLV negative, should not mix them, even if the negative cats are FeLV vaccinated. (The only exception to this is if the negative cats are known to have high virus neutralising antibody titres.) Vaccination is an adjunct to, and not a replacement for, FeLV testing.
Why do the vaccine manufacturers recommend testing before vaccinating?
The manufacturers of FeLV vaccines recommend that cats and kitten to be vaccinated should first be tested for FeLV. This is not because vaccinating a positive cat would be harmful to it, but because positive cats derive no benefit from vaccination. If you do not know whether your cat was FeLV positive or negative before (s)he was vaccinated then, if later (s)he is found to be FeLV positive, you do not know whether or not the vaccine failed. And if your cat is vaccinated but untested then you do not know whether it is safe to introduce another cat into your house, because you do not know if your cat is excreting FeLV or not. Similarly, new cats should always be tested before being introduced to your own cats.
Does the vaccine cause cats to have FeLV positive tests?
No. The test looks for a part of the virus itself, not antibodies to the virus.
How did my FeLV vaccinated cat come to die of FeLV?
There are two possible explanations for this occurrence:
the cat was already infected with FeLV at the time of vaccination and was either not tested before vaccination or tested during the incubation period before p27 had appeared in the bloodstream or tested with a faulty test which gave a false negative result
the vaccine didn’t work
My cat died of FeLV – how soon can I get another kitten?
The answer to this question depends on whether or not you have another cat:
if you have no other cat, then you can get another kitten within hours: FeLV will not survive in the environment. Simply clean the FeLV infected cat’s food bowl and litter tray thoroughly before letting the new cat use it.
if you have another cat or kitten, he or she may well be infected with FeLV and pose a risk to a new kitten, so get him or her tested for FeLV before you bring in a new kitten.
Remember to test the new kitten before you buy it.
Can FeLV infect other species?
FeLV does not infect humans or non-feline animals or birds.
Can boarding catteries accept FeLV positive cats?
As stated above, FeLV can only be spread by direct contact from one cat to another; therefore boarding catteries should not be deterred from accepting an FeLV positive cat. Obviously an FeLV infected cat should be kept well away from contact with other cats, and, to be really safe, should be given his or her own litter tray and food bowls, which, like the cage, should be carefully disinfected with bleach (e.g. Domestos) or Virkon before using for another cat. A word of warning: never us a boarding cattery which allows the cats from different households to mix.
Prevention of spread of FeLV amongst cat rescue foster homes
It is essential that foster cats be protected from infections whilst they are in rescue care. Cat rescuers are doing the cats no favours by saving them from a quick and painless euthanasia injection only to condemn them to a long, slow death by infection and disease. Keeping many cats together puts them at risk, not only of FeLV, but also other potentially lethal viruses such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and feline coronavirus (which causes Feline Infectious Peritonitis), as well as non-fatal infections such as cat ‘flu, fleas and ringworm. Obviously cat rescuers cannot afford to test every cat which comes into its care for all possible diseases, therefore a few simple guidelines should be followed to minimise disease spread:
Foster cats should not be mixed with the fosterer’s own pet cats (except where absolutely necessary, e.g. for socialising orphan kittens).
The fosterer should know the infection status of his or her own cats by having them tested for FIV, FeLV, FCoV, etc. These cats should be fully vaccinated against Feline Infectious Panleukopenia Virus (also called Feline Parvovirus, Feline Infectious Enteritis) and cat flu.
Fostered cats should be kept ideally in isolation, or at most, in pairs (except where several have come from one household where they were mixing anyway).
If fostering cats in pairs, when one is rehomed, another cat should not be introduced until the remaining cat is also rehomed. The fostering pen or room then gets a chance to be rested and disinfected which prevents build up of infection. Litter trays and food bowls should also be disinfected between cats.
What about a pregnant or nursing queen who is FeLV positive?
In both of these cases, the kittens are at high risk of contracting FeLV. If a pregnant queen is healthy, she should be spayed; this is kinder than waiting until the kittens are born and then taking them away. If she has already had the kittens, they can be tested for FeLV as soon as it’s possible to obtain a blood sample.
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FIV back to top
What is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus?
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a ubiquitous virus which infects cats worldwide. Like HIV, FIV can attack the immune system, leading to feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or FAIDS. A particular type of white blood cell, called the CD4+ lymphocyte, decreases in numbers, compromising the cat's ability to fight off infections. FIV can also cause a type of cancer known as lymphoma, though this tumour is more commonly associated with feline leukaemia virus.
However, many FIV infected cats seem to lead completely normal lives.
What signs of disease do FIV infected cats show?
The majority of FIV infected cats look completely normal. After infection, a cat may have raised lymph nodes and be slightly feverish for a few weeks. (Lymph nodes are often, incorrectly, referred to as "glands", as in "my glands are up." There are lymph nodes all over the body, but the ones most easy to feel are those under the chin, in front of the shoulder blade, behind the knee or where the foreleg joins the body. Often only the skilled fingers of a veterinary surgeon can detect them, even when they are enlarged, but it is a good idea to get your vet to show you where they are and get used to checking them in your cat.) Then follows a period of apparent clinical health which can last for years (see below). Finally, if the cat hasn't died of some other natural cause, he or she may begin to show signs of acquired immunodeficiency: weight loss; loss of interest in food; malaise; being prone to infections - especially chronic infections such as chronic rhinitis, recurring flu or diarrhoea; cancer.
In the veterinary literature, FIV is often claimed to be associated with inflamed gums: gingivitis. However, the prevalence of FIV in cats with gingivitis is no greater than amongst any group of cats selected for any reason. The virus which is more likely to cause gingivitis is feline calicivirus.
Any cat with chronic illness should be tested for FIV infection.
My cat has FIV - when will he die?
Recent research has shown that cats infected with FIV can live just as long as uninfected cats. At the University of Glasgow, Dr Sue Duthie has been following the fate of 29 naturally infected cats for the last year and a half, so far 6 have died but not necessarily of FIV - for example, one was run over. A household of 26 cats was monitored over 10 years, 15 of the cats were FIV positive. The FIV infected cats lived on average 51 months after diagnosis, compared with 17.5 months for the negative cats in the same household. A French group of scientists following feral cats got the same result - FIV did not shorten the life expectancy of feral cats.
The take home message here is that being FIV positive is not a death sentence for cats.
How do you treat feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)?
There are no special treatments for FIV being routinely used in most practices. Two drugs used for humans with HIV, Zidovudine (Azidothymidine or AZT) and PMEA (phosphonylmethoxyethyladenine) do delay the onset of clinical signs related to FIV, but unfortunately can cause anaemia in cats within about 3 weeks of treatment beginning.
Usually, FIV positive cats are treated according to their clinical signs, those with bad mouths receive dentistry and antibiotics, those with kidney disease go on a special veterinary diet, etc. In other words, FIV infected cats' treatment depends entirely on what illnesses they are showing.
What can I do to prolong the life of my FIV positive cat?
As stated above, FIV infected cats can often lead completely normal healthy lives. However, if you know that your cat is infected with FIV and (s)he becomes sick, then you will want to get him or her to the vet more quickly than you might do with a normal cat - no waiting a day or two to see if (s)he gets better on his own!
Which cats get FIV?
The percentage of FIV positive cats is variable, depending on whether they are pet, stray or feral, male or female, neutered or unneutered and the cat's age. Indoor pedigree cats are extremely unlikely to be infected with FIV.
How do cats catch feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)?
FIV is shed in the saliva and is mainly transmitted by fighting. It has been shown that FIV can transmit from the bitten cat to the biter, as well as the other way round.
FIV is a fragile virus and can't survive on food bowls, litter trays, cat baskets, etc., so it is quite safe to use, for example, the same basket to transport a healthy cat after using it to transport a FIV positive cat. Or it is quite safe to go home and pet your own, negative cat, after handling an FIV positive cat. People with boarding catteries should not be put off taking in a FIV positive cat, since they can't carry the virus to other cats on their hands or clothing. However, cats from different owners should never be allowed to mix in boarding catteries.
Although FIV is probably not often sexually transmitted, remember that toms hold the neck skin of queens when they are mating, which can allow FIV to pass from one to the other. Cat breeders should have their cats tested annually for FIV and should insist that any cats visiting their studs or queens are likewise regularly screened.
Like HIV, FIV can be transmitted on shared needles, so vets should always use separate, cleaned, instruments when operating or performing dental work on a series of cats in one operating session.
One of my cats has FIV - will he infect my other cats?
Even in the absence of fighting between cats, FIV does sometimes spread to other cats living together. However, it is more likely for your cat to become infected by a strange cat encountered outside, since fighting is more likely with a cat from another territory. Some people choose to keep their FIV positive and negative cats apart, others let them continue to mix, it depends on your own personal situation. If your cat is allowed outside, (s)he will be meeting other cats which are infected with FIV anyway, so what is the point of segregating them while in your house? However, if you are a cat breeder, you would definitely want to prevent your cats becoming infected with FIV by keeping them away from FIV positive cats. Most cat breeders FIV test their cats annually and FIV is least prevalent amongst the pedigree cat population.
FIV tests
There are many tests available for FIV. All tests involve taking a sample of blood from the cat. Usually, the sample is then tested for antibodies to FIV: most FIV infected cats have antibodies. Your veterinary surgeon may perform the test in his or her practice laboratory, so that you have a result very quickly, or may send the blood off to a commercial laboratory such as Companion.
My cat was bitten in a fight - when can I get him tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)?
Wait 12 weeks, which is how long antibodies can take to develop after infection.
Can I put my FIV infected cat in a cattery?
Cattery owners should have no qualms about boarding a FIV positive cat: the cattery owner cannot carry the infection to other cats on their clothes or hands. However, bear in mind that the immune systems of cats with FIV are compromised and that if your cat catches an infection in the cattery it could be more serious than for an uninfected cat, so be sure to choose a cattery that has sneeze barriers, does not mix the cats and takes excellent hygiene precautions.
Can I let my FIV infected cat go out?
Female neutered cats tend to have a territory of about one third of an acre (usually the owner's garden) and may well not be a risk to other people's cats because they don't go far and rarely fight. However, unneutered male cats can roam for many miles, are more likely to fight, and may well be a risk to other cats. Neutering them usually favourably alters their behaviour, reducing fighting and their urge to roam in search of mates. Some cats will be in areas where there are very few cats, like on a farm, where there is no reason to keep them in. In cities, there may be feral or a large proportion of stray cats, many of whom will be FIV positive, so that there is a steady source of FIV to which one cat more or less will make no difference. However, it is important to consider the feelings of neighbours with uninfected cats, clearly in an area with a high pet cat population where very few of the cats are FIV positive, a responsible person would choose to keep their FIV positive cat indoors.
My feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected queen has kittens - will they be FIV positive?
FIV does not generally cross the placenta to the unborn kitten. There is a small possibility of an FIV positive queen infecting her kittens as she bites through the umbilical cord. The test for FIV is an antibody test, cats which are FIV positive have antibodies in their blood. Queens pass antibodies to their kittens in their milk, especially in their first day of life, so that kittens of FIV positive queens can have positive FIV tests, although in fact they are not themselves infected - because of the antibody from their mothers milk. So it is essential that kittens of FIV positive queens are not FIV tested until they are at least 16 weeks old, by which time the antibody they got from suckling should have disappeared. If you really can't wait until they are 16 weeks old to know whether or not kittens are FIV positive, it is possible to do a virus isolation test, though it requires quite a big blood sample for a little kitten to give. Isolating the virus will cost rather more than the routine antibody test.
Kittens which have FIV positive tests are usually not FIV infected. They should be retested after 16 weeks of age.
Should FIV positive rescue cats be euthanased?
These are the usual arguments for euthanasing FIV positive cats:
- that FIV infected cats have a shorter life span than uninfected cats - not true
- that FIV infected cats are more likely to become sick - not proven
- that FIV infected cats are a danger to negative cats - this statement has to be considered in every individual cat's case. See above, under "Can I let my FIV infected cat go out?"
Can my child catch FIV from my cat?
Absolutely not, FIV is a cat-specific disease.
If I have HIV, can I infect my cat?
No, HIV is a human-specific disease. However, do bear in mind that if your own immune system is compromised, you might be more susceptible to infections your cat could carry, for example cat scratch disease. So observe hygiene precautions very carefully, washing your hands after handling your pet, cleaning his or her litter tray, etc.
Is there a FIV vaccine?
Not yet, though many laboratories around the world are trying to develop one.
Cat Viruses