Cats infected with FIV may live for months or years. On average, life expectancy is 5 years from the time of diagnosis depending on how active the infection is. There is a FIV vaccination given twice initially, then yearly thereafter for outside cats or cats exposed to outside cats due to the potential of cat bites.

Diseases associated with cats

• Cat scratch disease.
• Roundworms.
• Toxoplasmosis.
• Rabies.
• Campylobacteriosis.
• Salmonellosis.
• Cryptosporidiosis.
• Giardiasis.

How Is Cat FIV Transmitted? Most cases of cat FIV come through an infected cat passing it to another through a deep bite. That makes outdoor cats especially vulnerable as they may end up in a territorial dispute that leads to such an injury. A mother cat infected with the cat FIV virus can pass it to her kittens.

1. It can’t be transmitted to humans. Nope, nope, nope. It also can’t be transmitted to other species, even through a bite, so there’s no need to be concerned about your dog or other pet contracting the virus from an FIV-positive cat.

False! Although FIV cats are at a higher risk for developing illness, many of them live very long lives just as long as a non-infected cat. There is a high incidence of cats that never develop clinical signs from being infected with FIV.

According to estimates, the cost range from $150 to $2,000 per treatment. This cost varies depending on the medications your veterinarian prescribes, whether or not you have pet insurance, whether or not your cat needs surgery, and the time in which your cat undergoes treatment.

And as with people living with HIV, cats infected with FIV can live long, healthy lives. Therefore, other than ensuring that there is no fighting and biting, most cats with FIV can live happily with one or two other cats and never spread their virus.

Although cats infected with FIV may appear normal for years, they eventually suffer from immune deficiency, which allows normally harmless bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi found in the everyday environment to potentially cause severe illnesses.

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)

• Enlarged lymph nodes.
• Fever.
• Anemia.
• Weight loss.
• Disheveled coat.
• Poor appetite.
• Diarrhea.
• Abnormal appearance or inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis)

General and supportive treatment should include:

1. Neutering all FIV-infected cats to reduce the risk of fighting and spreading infection.
2. Confining FIV-positive cats indoors where possible, and keeping them away from non-infected cats.

Receiving the news that your cat is FIV positive can be difficult. Although FIV can be life-threatening, proper care and management can lead to a long, healthy life — allowing you and your cat to have many years of joy and memories together.

FIV cats should receive a good quality, balanced diet. They shouldn’t be given any raw food or dairy products, as the risk of contracting foodborne bacterial and parasitic disease is greater in immunosuppressed individuals.

Though there is no known cure, FIV is far from a death sentence. They have weaker immune systems, but cats who test positive for FIV can live fulfilling and happy lives like any other cats—and can live for many years, often without harmful symptoms.

There’s no cure for FIV, nor is there a specific medical treatment for the disease, even as the cat’s health declines. 1 A vet might try anti-inflammatory drugs, immune-enhancing drugs, and medication for secondary infections to keep the cat as healthy as possible.

Dr. Woyma explains, “Unlike HIV, it [FIV] is not typically spread through sexual contact and also very rarely transmitted from a mother cat to her kittens.” FIV is also rarely transmitted through casual contact, like sharing food bowls and litter boxes, social grooming, and sneezing.

How is FIV transmitted? The most comon way the infection spreads is through deep bite wounds and scratches, the kind that usually occurs during aggressive fights and territorial disputes where the infected cat’s blood-tainted saliva enters the other cat’s bloodstream.

FIV is absolutely and unequivocally not contagious among humans! 3. The feline viral infection is, however, contagious among cats. The most common form of transmission is via bites and, less commonly, through sexual contact.

How do cats get FIV? Infected cats shed the virus mainly in their saliva. Naturally occurring transmission of an infection occurs when an infected cat that is actively shedding virus into the saliva bites another cat, directly inoculating its saliva through the bite wound.