![]() ![]() ![]() A yearly FIV booster is required.Symptoms: How do we recognise an FIV infection in cats? The initial course consists of three doses, given two weeks apart e.g. The first FIV vaccine can be given at 12 weeks of age. An FIV vaccination is available and should be considered for any cats that make outdoor visits or come into contact with other cats. Desexing your cat will also help to minimise aggression and the desire to roam, and subsequent cat fights. It’s also important to ensure your cat is up to date with parasite control to minimise the risk and effects of parasite burdens.Īs most infections are transmitted via bite wounds, keeping your cat indoors will help to minimise the risk of infection. Any infections and illnesses should be treated promptly. Twice yearly examinations including blood and urine tests are important to monitor immune status. Raw diets should be avoided as the pathogens that may be found in these diets may be more likely to cause illness. It may be weeks, months or even years after initial infection before a cat develops clinical signs.Įnsuring your cat has a healthy lifestyle and is fed a high-quality diet is a good start. It is not clear if all infected cats will become clinically ill. Once a cat becomes infected with the FIV virus, it will remain infected for the rest of its life. Infections that a cat would normally be able to recover from become prolonged and chronic.Īs far as we know, there is no cure for FIV. Many of the clinical signs are due to other non-healing infections. False positives may occur if a cat has been vaccinated against FIV, as the test cannot differentiate between antibodies produced by the disease and vaccine-induced antibodies.īecause FIV targets the immune system, symptoms will only appear once the cat develops a secondary infection. It can take up to 8 weeks for a cat to develop antibodies to FIV, so a cat that has been recently infected may produce a false negative. If your cat has been bitten by another cat with an unknown medical history, it is recommended that a FIV test is performed approximately 8 weeks following the bite. FIV infects cats only.įIV is diagnosed through a blood test that detects antibodies associated with the virus. No! Although HIV and FIV belong to the same family of viruses, they infect different species. It is for this reason that FIV positive cats should be kept separate from infected cats within a household environment. Although the risk of transmission via social contact is low, it is not impossible. Likewise, cats that don’t have FIV can stay protected by keeping them indoors also. Less commonly the virus may be transmitted via other bodily fluids such as blood.įIV positive cats should be kept indoors where they cannot infect other cats. Infected cats shed the virus in their saliva, with transmission occurring when an infected cat that is actively shedding the virus into the saliva bites another cat, directly inoculating its saliva through the bite wound. The most common way that FIV is transmitted between cats is through cat bites. ![]() FIV leads to increased susceptibility to infection and other disease. What is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)?įeline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is a virus specific to the cat family and is known to attack and weaken the immune system and can be likened to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS in people). ![]()
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