Feline Fiv

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. 2002. Sept. 2007. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures

Within the field of animal health very few individuals are aware that there is a feline (cat) form of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is known as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus or simply, FIV and is commonly called feline AID’s. FIV is classified within the same family as feline leukemia (FeLV).

FIV- infected cats are found throughout the world, yet the prevalence of infection varies greatly. Within the United States approximately 1.5 to 3 percent of healthy cats are infected with FIV. Rates rise significantly by about 15 percent or more in cats that are sick or at a high risk of infection. Free roaming, aggressive, male cats are the most frequently infected with FIV, while house cats living exclusively indoors are less likely to become infected.

FIV is spread by means of viral transmission, commonly trough bite wounds, or in some rare cases from a mother cat to her kittens during the passage through the birth canal, or when the newborn kittens ingest her milk. FIV is not commonly spread amongst cats through sexual activities.

A cat that is FIV positive may appear to be healthy and normal for years, but in time the virus will eventually lead to a state of immune deficiency that weakens the cat’s ability to protect itself from other infections. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa found in our everyday environment usually do not harm a healthy cat, but a FIV positive cat’s suppressed immune system leaved it vulnerable to severe illness and infections. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FIV, just the same as a human with HIV/AIDS’s can acquire numerous other illnesses sue to their suppressed immune system.

In the early stages of infection the virus is carried to lymph nodes, where it reproduces in white blood cells known as T- lymphocytes, then spreads...