fiv

Your Pet: Feline Immunodificiency Virus (FIV) Larry is a seven year old cat living in a household with two other cats, Lulu and Fred. Larry spends time outdoors while Lulu and Fred are strictly inside the house. Recently, Larry became very lethargic, stopped eating and spent most of his time hiding out inside the house. Andrew, his caretaker brought Larry to his veterinarian and received some very disconcerting news. During Larry's examination, it was determined that he had a body temperature of 105 degrees and it was recommended he have some blood work done to try to figure out what might be causing his fever. It was logical to assume he was lethargic because of the fever, but the underlying problem was yet undiscovered. Larry was sent home on antibiotics, I assume in case his fever was being caused by a bacterial disease, and to wait for the results of the blood work. Those results for Andrew and too for Larry were devastating. Larry's blood testing showed that he had feline immunodeficiency virus, FIV. Faced with such a tragic diagnosis, Andrew is trying to prepare to euthanize Larry but is not sure he is doing the right thing. Feline immunodeficiency virus , FIV, is a member of a group of viruses called retro viruses and is closely related to human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. Like HIV, FIV attacks a cat's immune system causing weakening of that system. With a weakened immune system, these affected cats can not effectively fight off infectious diseases and will contract them much more readily than would a cat that does not have FIV. This can lead to death as the immune system is incapable of destroying the disease causing organisms, commonly bacteria, because of the virus. That said, every case of FIV is different just as every case of HIV in people is different and also true is that fact that having FIV is not necessarily a death sentence for the cat, at least in the shorter term. I want to share some baseline information about FIV here and then to specifically discuss Larry's case. First of all it is important to understand how cats acquire FIV. It is not considered a readily transmitted virus meaning FIV is not transmitted through casual contact between cats. The most common method is through bite wounds. Incidentally, this bite wound transmission is precisely why male cats, especially un-neutered male cats show a higher incidence of FIV. These are the cats that fight the most. Once a cat has been infected, there is an incubation period, a period of production of the virus within the cat until the virus begins to circulate in the blood stream and become potentially infective to other cats. The timing of this period is variable depending on the individual cat. Some of these cats can become overwhelmed with secondary infections and die as a result and there are others that can actually defeat the virus before it is able to effectively infect the cat. Unfortunately Larry was not one of those cats. There is no vaccination available to prevent FIV infection in cats but cats that have the virus do not always immediately become ill. Remember, it is not the virus that makes the cats sick, it is the secondary infectious disease that occurs as a result of the virus wreaking havoc on the cat's immune system. In Larry's case, he is likely infected with a bacterial disease as his veterinarian had suspected. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that many of these cats can be treated for their secondary infections and they will respond. I have dealt with many cats with FIV infections first hand that are alive and doing well ten years after being diagnosed. Many have had secondary disease but with appropriate treatment, have recovered. Treat Larry with his antibiotics and if necessary maybe a short time in the hospital with fluid support. Give him that chance and my money is on him to recover from this secondary disease. I did want to mention that there is concern for Lulu and Fred as they share living space with Larry. As long as the three of them get along and it is unlikely Larry will bite either Lulu or Fred, it is unlikely either will contract FIV.