I just found out my cat has feline aids. how can she get this when she is strickly a house cat?

Answer 1

her mom may have given it to her, she may have gotten it from another cat if she was ever "out on the streets". you may have been in contact with a cat that had it and not know it and didn't wash your hands before petting your cat.

anything is possiable. just take good care of her.

Answer 2

Firstly, 'aids' is a human disease. Yours may or may not have FIV which is the immune disease some cats can get. It's passed by biting (infected cat biting a non-infected one and getting their saliva into a moving blood supply) or by mother to kitten if the mother was infected. (Though 3 kittens out of 4 will not be infected once their immune system kicks in at about 6 months of age--they found that most kittens test negative once they reach adolescence even if the mother was positive).

However, and this is very important, if the test was done at the vets & they got an answer in 15-20 minutes then it was the Elisha snap test used, and that has a KNOWN FAILURE RATE of 20% meaning at least 20 healthy cats out of 100 will look like they test positive when they actually aren't. So a 'yes' on the snap test is only a 'maybe'.

The difinitive test for FIV is the Western Blot which needs to be sent out to a lab, you get the results in two or three days. That looks at the factors in the blood and can give a positive 'yes' if the cat has the antibodies of the FIV disease.

However---if the cat was vaccinated against FIV at any point in it's life, it will have those antibodies but not the disease, which confuses things.

So IF you had the Western Blot done, then you either have an FIV cat or you have one who was vaccinated against FIV and isn't a true positive with the disease.

The lifespan of an FIV cat is about 15-18 years. If you do have a positive cat the only death sentence this is is if you have a vet not up on all the current literature who recommends euthenasia of any FIV cat--even if it's not exhibiting any symptoms. That's unfair to the cat and owner.

Treat the symptoms as they come up (dry coat, runny eyes, sore mouths) and keep them away from sick cats because their immune system will be compromised and can't protect them as well. Otherwise, enjoy your cat, it's a fairly easy disease to monitor, especially when comparied to others out there.

If the cat doesn't bite, they won't spread it to other cats. FIV isn't spread casually, it takes an all out blood drawing bite to pass on, and usually more than one bite to do it.

Answer 3

Feline AIDS is passed by blood-to-blood or blood-to-mouth contact. It's usually passed between fighting cats.

Do you have any other cats in your household? Has your cat EVER been outside? Do you know where your cat AND cat's mother came from (i.e could he have been in contact with other cats before you got him)? Don't forget it's possible the cat could've contracted it from her mother when in the uterus.

Only if you can answer no,no,yes to these questions might you want to ask for a re-test, but the inhouse kits vets use are very reliable. They could send off for external testing if you want a retest.

Chalice

Answer 4

Many cats are carriers of the disease, but not all will show symptoms or develop into full blown illness. It is entirely possible that she has had it all her life, and that it just hasn't been noticed beforehand. Is your cat sick? If she is, just give her lots of cuddles and know that some cats come through it and live for a long time.

If your cat is not sick, then make sure that any other cats in your household are kept up to date on their vaccinations. You probably won't want to give the affected kitty any more vaccines as they will further stress her immune system.

Answer 5

It is possible she was born with it, maybe her mother had it. Also, your positive she's never been out? What about before you got her? Double check to make sure your house doesnt have any places where another cat could be getting in and either mating or fighting with yours, this happens all the time.

Answer 6

ok first off, cats are not just carriers of fiv, they have to actually contract the disease. second, you cannot spread it by petting a positive and then petting a non positive.

the most common way for fiv to be spread is through deep bite wounds. not through mutual grooming, not through sharing food or water, not through indirect contact, not through nose to nose contact.

however, cats can contract fiv inutero although it is not as common.

so, your cat could have contracted it when she was born or from a bite wound from another cat before you got her.

Answer 7

she could have been born with it and the side affects just started or it was caught they can still be happy my cousin cat had it and it was the happiest cat

Answer 8

Cats are actually carriers of this disease. No matter what. Some of them actually get infected with it, but most of the time not. They simply carry it!!!! I'm sorry!