My cat is FIV positive - How long should I expect him to live?

Question

I rescued my cat when he was roughly 2 years old. He was diagnosed with FIV when I first took him to the vet's. He is now 5 years old and appears to be in great health. How long should I expect him to live and are there any procautions that I can take to ensure that he lives a long, healthy life? Also, I rescued a kitten one year ago - is she at risk or does she already carry the virus as well? (The male cat is neutered, the female is not)

Answer 1

As long as your cats do not fight, your female shouldn't be at risk. You can have her vaccinated against it, which would decrease the risk even further... but the vaccine will make her test positive for the rest of her life, so you'll never know if she's actually contracted it. As long as they don't fight though, she should be fine. FIV is transmitted through bite wounds and blood. Feline Leukemia on the other hand, can be transmitted by saliva (water bowl, mutual grooming, etc) and a lot of people falsely think this applies to FIV as well.

Your cat could live for many years with FIV, just as a human can live for many years with HIV. Keep him indoors so he doesn't end up in fights with other cats, endangering himself and infecting neighborhood cat... this will also decrease his chances of catching a cold or some other illness. FIV simply inhibits their immune function, making them more susceptible to illness.

You might talk to your vet about putting him on Interferon, which is an immune booster. It's a common and inexpensive treatment for immuno-suppressed cats (FIV, FeLV, etc).

Bless you for not euthanizing your boy. You must have a good vet. So many of them automatically suggest euthanasia whenever a FIV or FeLV test comes back positive. I'm glad yours is more educated than that. We're learning more about these diseases all the time, and unfortunately a lot of people are still going off very outdated information. Good luck with your boy... I hope he lives a very long life!

Answer 2

Hi there,

FIV is transmittable primarly between cats via bite wounds, and usually deep ones at that. Rarely, FIV can be passed from momma cat to baby. It's not like other viruses like FELV that are passed via very casual contact.

As long as your cats have a stable relationship and do not fight your other cat should be ok. However, if there is a potential for serious conflict between the kitties, or if they play very roughly, I would probably keep them seperated.

FIV is like the human HIV virus (side note - FIV is species specific, so people don't get it no matter how much contact they've had with a FIV cat), that many times it's other oportunistic illinesses that causes death due to the victim's weak immune system.

So, as far as life expectancy goes, it's impossible to tell. Like any living creature, ill or not, it could be soon or it could be years down the road. The best thing to do is to provide as healthy and happy of a life for your cat as possible.

A healthy life includes a good diet, regular veterinary care, clean living conditions, and a loving and fulfilling home. It would be good to have your cat examined by a veterinarian at least annually and have bloodwork done at that time in order to nip any potential problems in the bud.

As far as veterinarians are concerned, it may be a good idea to see if your vet's office does house calls or if they can recommend a house call doctor. That way your cat's weakened immune system isn't exposed to too many new pathogens, not to mention avoiding having to indure the stress of having to go to the vet's office.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR CAT INDOORS so as to not only protect your cat from illness, but to halt the spread of the disease.

Finally, please get your female spayed. I know your male is neutered, but please believe me that it is in her best health interests to be spayed. Also, if she should accidentially get out (like many cats will do when they go into heat), you could end up with a half a dozen kittens to find homes for. It would also be a very good idea to have the kitten tested for FELV & FIV, as well as vaccinated if you haven't all ready done so (side note - from what I understand the FIV vaccine, if your vet's office even offers it, can come with a lot of risks. Please discuss this throughly with your vet before giving this vaccine. Rabies, FVRCP, and possibly FELV -depending on your cat's situation - vaccines are what are usualy done.)

I've known a couple families who had a FIV positive cat and a a FIV negative cat living together in harmony. I hope that this is the case for you.

For more information, please consult the following website:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html

Good luck!

Answer 3

FIV in cats is easily transferrable, though it is POSSIBLE your female doesnt have it by now, chances are she probably does. This is why most households who have an FIV positive cat only have FIV positive cats or no other cats. I'm sorry your vet didnt warn you of this.

As for life expentancy, its much like the aids virus in humans that way. There really is not set way to tell. But because it can seriously affect their ammune system, it is best to make sure they stay healthy. Meaning no colds, drafts, going outside, etc.

Please find out if your kitten is FIV positive. If she is not, I highly recommend finding her a new home. It will greatly increase her longetivity(on average).

EDIT: The person below is right about the ways to contract FIV, but cats who get along can play roughly. Even if they aren't "fighting".