Overview
Feline immunodeficiency virus ( FIV ) in cats is a disease that causes spartan immunosuppression in cats . Cats with FIV can be infected for long periods of time without showing clinical sign . But once the signs of the disease seem , it is arduous for cats to master .
As the name suggests , feline immunodeficiency computer virus in cats is related to human immunodeficiency computer virus ( HIV ) and the disease syndrome parallels that of HIV in citizenry . Since FIV attack the resistant system , infected CT are often more prone to secondary infection or timeserving infection ( rare infections that most healthy kat can struggle off ) .
What is FIV?
FIV in cats is get by a morbific lentivirus in the Retroviridae family that destroys cells of the immune system of rules . As a lentivirus , FIV has a high probability of mutating and appear as various subtypes . There are some six vulgar subtypes with varying level of severity .
FIV make immunosuppression in Arabian tea by assail CD4 + T cells , which are authoritative cells that attend the immune system , keeping most khat goodly . The lack of a robust immune system makes them less capable to fight off other diseases .
How Do Cats Get FIV?
Cats can abbreviate FIV through morsel and bite wound from the spittle of septic cats .
Risk factors for FIV are relate with life style and bodily process of domesticated cats . Any cat breed can be affected , but the disease is seen more commonly in cats that are prone to fighting or biting . Adult and male cats are most at risk due to their life style , and intact , manly cats are the high danger group for catch the virus . Cats that have a history of bite lesion or abscesses and cats that have access to the outdoors are also at risk .
FIV - confident cats can live in the same family as other African tea as long as they are not prone to fight or burn each other . Luckily , FIV is not spread through feces , aerosolized particle , societal touch such as grooming , or through contact with textile such as mantle and miniature .
Kittens can be bear with FIV and FIV can be passed from mothers to kittens . transmittance from an septic queer ( mother ) to kittens is potential during pregnancy and during lactation . This does n’t always befall , but when it does , it is ordinarily due to the amount of virus present in the mother ’s bloodstream . If the mother cat is carry high viral encumbrance , she will be more probable to communicate the infection to her kittens .
Symptomsof FIV in Cats
polarity of FIV deviate widely in cats . Most of the clinical signs are non - specific and can correlate with a number of other diseases . Pet parents should always turn over or mention FIV examination to their veterinarian when they see their cat ’s wellness decline peculiarly if your hombre has unsupervised outside access .
Signs of FIV in cat-o'-nine-tails include :
FIV contagion can present in dissimilar stages . There are four stage of transmission , but not all qat see each of the stages .
Acute phase stage
The penetrating stage occurs soon after infection and signs include lethargy , fever , and magnify lymph nodes . Some cats may not show any signboard during this point .
Latent stage
After the intense stage , the infection is asymptomatic and enters into the latent phase , which stand for the contagion is dwell dormant . This stage can last for month to years .
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
The AIDS leg can occur years after the initial infection and result in junior-grade infections or immune - intermediate disease . Signs during this leg are most often associated with secondary infection and/or chronic or intermittent disease .
Terminal phase
The terminal form of FIV often consists of signs of neurological disease or cancer . Once cats have entered the concluding phase , they commonly have a selection time of 2 - 3 month . However , by the sentence the disease is diagnose , they may have poor calibre of life and humane mercy killing may be the most sort option .
Diagnosing FIVin Cats
Veterinarians will use a serial publication of test to name FIV in your cat . Veterinarians will take up with a physical examination to attend for certain foretoken such as enlarged lymph nodes , fever , abnormalities in the mouth and the eyes .
Next your veterinarian will incur blood from your cat to state a variety of mental testing ( such as a complete blood count or biochemistry profile ) to rein out other diseases . Other rip tryout include serology , PCR , or computer virus isolation which can be used to test specifically for FIV antibodies or the hot computer virus .
How to TreatFeline Immunodeficiency Virus
Treatment option for FIV - positive cat are very limited and rarely put through . Supportive therapy is the most important line of treatment because cats with FIV are more prostrate to simultaneous infection . Supportive care encompasses a variety of scheme that will keep your kat as sizable as possible .
These strategies admit :
Many septic cats have a good tone of life for several long time , until they set about to show signs of FIV .
How to PreventCats from Getting FIV
FIV prevention is centered around reducing the hazard of exposure which admit neutering manful cats , throttle access to the open , and decreasing the likeliness of combat or bite among computerized tomography in the same menage .
If you have an septic cat , it ’s important to keep him indoors to prevent spreading the transmission to other cats and to derogate their picture to other infective agents . FIV does n’t live well in the environment and can be killed by common disinfectant .
There is a FIV vaccine , but its efficacy is varying . In some African tea , the vaccinum has been shown to induce a false positive on a blood test [ 1 ] . This vaccine is considered a non - core vaccine by the American Association of Feline Practitioners ( AAFP ) and should be reserved for at - risk cats .
Staying on top of knowing your cat ’s FIV status could be an light way to catch the disease early on . The recommendations by the AAFP to test for FIV include cats in the follow conditions :