AIDS ( FIV )

The AIDS virus for cats is a virus which exclusively occurs with the cat; it therefore isn’t contagious for the human being. It still confuses people now and then. The AIDS virus is also called the Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus. The F is for Feline, the Latin name for a cat. This disease exclusively occurs with not-purebred cats. Saliva transfers the disease and in case of fights between cats there is a high chance that the virus will be transferred. The disease is also transferred by means of sexual contact, but especially through saliva. The purebred cats are tested prior to being covered on the possible presence of the virus. With not-purebred cats this test is only executed if AIDS is suspected, not as precaution measure. Unfortunately.

The symptoms of the virus are very variable. The immune system is affected, so that the cat loses his natural resistance; he isn’t even protected anymore against simple complaints like a cold and will get very sick of it, while a cat without the AIDS virus will only sneeze a little. Usually, the first symptoms appear 5 weeks upon infection. There are many symptoms, the general symptoms like fever, listlessness. The lymph glands will also swell up, but the owner often cannot feel this. Often, the cat doesn’t have any complaints for a long time, until suddenly one day the cat will get red, swollen eyes, a running nose which won’t stop, weight loss, diarrhoea, anaemic (paleness of the mucous membranes), gingivitis. Of course the cat doesn’t always develop all symptoms, but these are the most characteristic symptoms. The most important fact is that these symptoms don’t react on medicines. In that case the complaints become chronic and a good veterinarian will certainly do more examinations by testing the blood. If the diagnose AIDS has been made, there is no medicine for it. The complaints can however be relieved. The cat will get steroids then (you can compare this with the Prednisolon which human beings get for these kinds of diseases). Sometimes a diet change might help. You’d better fight the symptoms, so which medicine against which symptom? This varies per cat. The cats can continue living for a while.

If several cats live in the same household, they don’t have to be separated under the condition that they get along well. It is wise to feed them separately, with respect to saliva transfer. Also, if cats get along too well with each other and wash each other you must separate them.

Research is still done in order to prevent and possibly cure this disease, but this will not happen in the near future. The only thing you can do to prevent the disease is to keep the cat inside or in a fenced garden so that it cannot fight with strange cats. In this way they cannot be run over by cars or die due to poisoning, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the AIDS virus.

Fortunately the disease ISN’T contagious for people. Unfortunately too many people get rid of their cat due to ignorance. A cat which has AIDS can live without diseases a considerable long time.