Cat 'aids' / FIV - your experiences?

Question

5cat household and 1 has tested positive for FIV and now I need to take the other 4 for blood tests next week.

All 5 cats been 'together' now for at least 5 years. Some play some avoid each other and some groom each other.

1. Why did my vet mention euthanasia for my other 4 cats if test positive (they are healthy).

2. If my FIV+ cat is only one which is positive should he be allowed back if he is feeling better or as vet said put down?

3. Should I keep FIV + cats with any of my cats who are negative? Will they catch it from cat litter / food proximity etc?

4. Should I re-home the cats or can they live together - have read so many different views on net so appreciate feedback from real-life experience with similar situation?

I know that I probably will find it extremely difficult to separate them and strangely enough the vet said that if they were all +ve that would make it more logical for them to stay together.

:(

Thanks for info so far. There is no vaccine for FIV though is there.. all my cats get their jabs and boosters but this FIV is the only one they have not got vaccine for (yet).

Several websites say it's very rare to get contaminated by shared litter trays, food or water but one or two say opposite so gets confusing.

Answer 1

Hiya, I had a cat with this complaint, she was a rescue cat and i didn't know she had it when i got her, (it wouldn't have mattered anyway) i already had another cat when i got her he was 2yrs old. Sweep did not catch FIV he had a blood test and was clear. I used to feed them separately but Sweep used to look after her, she died when she was 10 months old. Sweep only died last year when he was 12yrs old from cancer. Take each day at a time, you know what is best for your cat's. Good Luck your cat's are in good hands with you.

Answer 2

For starters, let me tell you the story of my FIV scare. I got my two cats from my friends grandma to save them from the pound. About a month later I found out their father (a ferral maine coone) had been put to sleep due to an FIV infection.... Along talk with my vet ensued. (if you are curios they are both thankfully healthy)

First things first, if one had been + and the other - I would not have done anything different, they are brothers not only becuase they have the same parents (controlled environment) but because they have always been together, and I cannot separate them with a good consicence.

Some facts to consider are that although there is no cure, cats can live a long and healthy life even with an FIV infection, and can live together with out transmitting the disease. FIV does not work like HIV, for instance if their father was infected when he impregnated their mother, she could not have gottne the disease that way, not could they have developed it prenatally (in the womb). Basically, according to my vet, their father would have had to have bitten them and puntuctured their skin to transmit disease.

Also keep in mind that FIV is like HIV in one way... It takes time before it can be detected. Basically you need to be HIV+ for 6months before the test will show that way (I beleive the time frame for FIV is the same, but do not quote me). Just imagine your heartbreak if you put to sleep the one that was + just to find out 6months later the others were too.

Of course the one thing this means is you now have indoor cats. You cannot allow cats with known diseases to roam the wild and risk infecting other cats. But with all the dangers in this world I think all cats should be indoor kitties, so that should hopefully not be a problem.

Finally, my Im and email are available on my answers profile, if you have more questions or need a friend who can understand your concern,,, I am there. If not, no worries, I wish you luck and pray that you continue to provide a loving home to all your cats regardless of the test results.

Answer 3

I have the same situation. I have one cat who was diagnosed with it two years ago. I had all of my other kitties tested and they were negative. I immediately had them all vaccinated. FIV cats can live long, good lives. It's highly contagious. The old vaccine was not really effective, but the new one has a better percentage of preventing it. My feeleuk kitty is doing fine: healthy, happy, playful. I re-vaccinate my others every year. Search the web for fiv. You will find much more info than I can give you. And vets aren't all the same about keeping current on what's new. I don't see any point in euthanizing them unless they do become very sick and have no quality of life. It is incurable, but as I said, they can live long, good lives.

Answer 4

I think that before you work yourself up about what you should do with the FIV cat or the other 4 cats, you should wait for the blood sample results and then seek professional advice.

If you do not agree or have doubts with what your vet is advising then do seek a 2nd opinion with anither vets or talk to the Cats Protection League or Feline Advisory Bureau for impartial advice.

For your sake I do hope that your other cats test negative...fingers are crossed....Good Luck xx

Answer 5

Don't mix FIV with other cats. Now that you have, it is too late. Don't get more. Don't give them away to infect others. If they are not sick, don't euthanize. We had a cat with Feline leukemia, which is similar to FIV, that cat lived a good year before his health went downhill fast and we knew it was time to euthanize him. Its very hard when you love them, I know. It is also the kindest thing you can do for a sick pet in great pain who can't recover.

Answer 6

The one time I move somewhere and think all right my cats can go out side. We would have nice times in the back yard strolling, playing, chasing butterflies, and then Bam, Spiderman gets so sick hes gonna die. he survives with antibiotics but the vet says euthanize, He has feline aids no cure. I'm like no way my other cat Marshall never did get it from him or any one else. I never saw marks from a fight so we had to assume it was passed by urination in the yard somehow. He lived a long time and was never sick like that again but he wasn't to keen on being outside anymore.