Cats Get Aids Too (The Facts about FIV) Max's Story

by Mary
(North Carolina, USA)

Cats get AIDS too!
The facts about Feline Immune Deficiency (FIV)

As most of you may know, I have been working with rescued cats for many years.
I have seen and worked with FIV positive cats in the shelters and rescues that I have volunteered in but have never had a FIV

positive cats of my own, until November 2010
Many of you may have read my rescue story here about the feral stray that I rescued two years ago in the wooded area on my

property. I named him O.J. because of his beautiful BUFF color but later changed his name to J.J
J.J appeared to be healthy when rescued in 2009 and I was able to socialize him and bring him inside to live.
He did well unti; about September of 2010 when he began to lose weight. A trip to the vet confirmed he was FIV positive. I WAS

SHOCKED as he had been tested twice before and tested negative. (What we now know was a False negative). I lost my dear J.J

in November 2010 to Cancer (Not the FIV), but in having him with me for a period of time, I soon decided that I wanted to learn

about this dreaded FIV disease which is RAMPANT in the USA.
In Jan. 2011 I took in my daughter in laws 14 year old Orange Tabby (MAX) after she had a baby and could not keep him. Max was

the picture of health and had been taken very good care of all him life. But I noticed he had some mouth ulcers so I took him to

the vet and another SHOCKER (MAX was FIV positive).
Mouth ulcers and inflammation is common in FIV positive cats.
So now Max is on Doxyycline (antibiotics) and prednizone injections to suppress the bacteria that causes this painful mouth

issue called "Stomatitis". for the most part, Max does well but we have recurring bouts of the mouth issue which is the nature of

this hated disease. He is 14 and I will care for him all the days of his life and have become a huge supporter of spreading the

word about long term care and adoption of these special needs cats.
Many folks will NOT adopt a cat once they hear they are FIV positive.
The disease has a bad rap for being "A death sentence" and that even though there is no cure, alot of people believe that cats die

immediately or soon after being diagnosed with FIV.
THIS IS A MYTH!
Some cats live LONG lives with FIV and some reach even 20 years old (with proper medical care and diet and good living

conditions). FIV cats CAN and need to be adopted and loved just as healthy cats do.
I don't know the numbers of FIV positive cats in other countries but here in the USA it is staggering.
therefore, many of these dear cats are euthanised un-necessarily or not adopted due to their FIV status.
I want to share some important facts about this disease and encourage all the readers to educated themselves about this disease

and consider adoption of one of these precious cats in your area.
THE FACTS:
We see lot of very sweet cats testing positive for FIV, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. Often and unnecessarily , FIV positive cats

are euthanized. I don’t believe in euthanizing for FIV and I want to help everyone better understand this disease affecting many

of our feline friends.

The majority think that AIDS is a disease that affects only people. Many do not realize that such a disease can affect animals as

well. One of the animals most susceptible to AIDS is the domesticated cat.

Cats with Feline AIDS are said to be FIV positive. FIV is the equivalent to HIV. Like the human virus, FIV interferes with the cat’s

immune system. Once the immune system is weakened the cat becomes susceptible to all forms of infections.

So are all cats at risk of contracting this terrible disease? What can cat owners and feline lovers do to protect our kitties?

To begin to answer these questions it needs to be stated that not all cats are susceptible to contracting Feline AIDS.

Un-neutered male cats, which are kept outdoors, are at the greatest risk of contracting this virus. The reasons for this are quite

simple – un-neutered male cats are extremely territorial. This strong need to mark their own boundaries causes them to be more

aggressive. An aggressive animal is more likely to become engaged in fights with other animals to protect their own domain. The

virus is then spread through the blood contact that occurs with biting.

Although un-neutered male cats are at a higher risk of becoming FIV+, female cats (spayed or non-spayed) are not immune to

this disease. They can contract the virus from male cats during mating. The actual act of mating has not been proven to be the

cause of this. The cause is that at times, male cats will bite the neck of the female during mating. As mentioned before, the virus

is spread once blood contact is made.

The next concern cat-lovers may have is in regards to their own health, the health of their families’ or the health of other pets. It

is important to remember that Feline AIDS is not transferable to other cats by sharing food and dishes or by cat-to-cat grooming.

It is only transferable by blood contact through openings in the body. It is impossible to transfer from cat to humans because

this strain of the AIDS virus is unique to cats.

It is possible that you can adopt an FIV cat if you have other cats in the household as long as the cats are all spay/neutered and

not aggressive. There is also a FIV vaccine that will keep your non FIV cats safe.

Overall, the best way to prevent a loved cat from contracting this virus is to keep him/her indoors and out of harms way, but it is

also possible for FIV cats to coexist with healthy cats just as people do.

I have healthy cats that share a home with Max and shared a home with J.J before the cancer took him.
FIV is NOT spread from sharing water/food bowls or litter trays.
PLEASE, read up on this disease, and open your heart and home to a special cat with FIV and make their life one full of love.