FIV in the Cat. Dr. Dan covers transmission, diagnosis and care.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Hi Everyone,
My name is Dan, and I am a veterinarian. Today I am talking about FIV or feline immunodeficiency virus. FIV is a disease I see on a regular basis at the veterinary hospital, but most pet parents are not super familiar with it.
FIV is contacted by cats in most cases by a bite wound. This happens when cats are outside the usually male cats get into fights and bite each other. The saliva and bodily fluids from the bite cause the spread of the virus.
When a cat gets FIV over time their immune system will become compromised. There are three stages to the FIV disease, but the progressive if the final stage when the cat's immune system is no longer doing its job leading to secondary bacterial, fungal, or other viral infections.
FIV cats can leave quite normal lives. Most of them do have more infections than other cats, but they can live years very happily. If you are looking to adopt a FIV cat, that cat should be an only cat in your house, and that cat should not go outside. By doing this you are preventing the spread of the disease to other cats, and you ave giving a cat with FIV a great life.
FIV cats are more likely to develop secondary infections like stomatitis, upper respiratory infections and eye infections. These infections should be treated by your veterinarian as a secondary infection to the FIV.
FIV was first diagnosed in the 1980s. About 1-5% of the cat population has been exposed to FIV or feline immunodeficiency virus at sometime in their lives.
To diagnose FIV a veterinarian will complete a blood test at the veterinary clinic. This will be an Elisa test. The Elisa test is an antibody test. If this test is positive, the veterinarian can run a second test called a western blot or PCR.
The Elisa test is very reliable. If the Elisa test is positive with a kitten, the veterinarian will want to retest to make sure the antibodies were not just from mommy cat causing a false positive.
Disclaimer: This video does not replace veterinary care. Always see your local veterinarian for all medical concerns you may have regarding your cat.
Hey thank you for tell us the truth about feline FIV. I was Just told my young rescued cat Scooter has FIV, so I am educating myself so I can fight with him. Scooter is not a lovely guy, we just seem to be sharing the same house, but he is my cat, so my time and money are his as I am a retired rough neck renaissance kind of man ready for this fight..
Scooter is a lucky cat! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Good for Scooter! Keep him up to date with visits and monitoring! They CAN live a long time. If you have another cat you may want to have tested. Good luck!
@@nicoladalenzio4499 One year latter “The Scoot” is doing well, living the dream….
any advice ? @@southerncross4956
@@southerncross4956 I'm so happy to hear that!
My kitty just got a first FIV positive result. I'm still sad, but this video definitely helps with feeling a lot better and calmer.
i rescued a FIV+ cat and he is the very best cat I have ever had. He gets along well with my other 3 cats and there are no issues. Its often the best ones that are settled with this. Your kitty can live long and healthy if you are on top of things.
There’s a good lecture by maddies fund about 5-6 years ago. Big study that followed a large multi cat household 50+ cats for ten years. There was no evidence of it spreading from the positive to negative cats.
Thank you so incredibly much for all of your great, educational videos, Dr. Dan! They're always such rich, high quality and definitely helpful pieces. It's actually sad and has been kinda surprising how much I've need to learn on my own, from mostly wonderful yoooouuuu 😁, that the 2 vets I've seen, in the last month, have mentioned nothing about or had very little to no knowledge of when I brought up possibilities.
It's been an extremely stressful time for my sweet little guy, plus we're getting ready to move. It seems as though the stress sped up his FIV progress. 😢
The poor guy had a stroke a month ago and until today I didn't know what was causing all kinds of strange issues such as him walking RIGHT on top of and through really big obvious things like it was nothing. Like straight through his food bowls, and like when he was on one side of his litter box and wanted to come to me so rather than walking around the box, he walked over both high sides and through it, and things like him turning his little head to the extreme right side to eat. Just having no knowledge whatsoever of anything on his left. At first I thought he had lost his sight in that eye, but things didn't add up quite right for that. Not sure. Anyway, I think I may finally, possibly be on to something...."left neglect." I can't find any videos, or even much info anywhere online, about it in cats. So if your ever open to video suggestions, I know it's probably rare, but I'd be over the moon grateful!!! I already am. 😊❤ Again, all my thanks!!!
You are too nice to me! Thanks so much for this. It means the world.
@@DanTheVeterinarian ♥️♥️ Good. ☺️
Thank you! This video is definitely a light for when a cat is FIV positive.
Thanks! Hope you cat is well.
@@DanTheVeterinarian hi Dan my neighbour has lost 3 males cats and the symptoms as you describe it is what I witnessed the one that just passed yesterday I noticed when I got home then talking with my neighbour and saw his boy on the front decking limp like he thought he had been run over by a car but then I thought how did he get up the stairs to the door he can't then noticed his entire back legs soaked in liquid I thought that's urine and my neighbour thought it's water I said why just his back legs covered in water then we called him no response he went to move him and he just layed there! Without any reaction it was like he lost so much amount of weight within a day???? Like a cat with Aids? His entire system shit down is that correct is what it does eventually..... uncontrollable leakages then he passed early lastnight
They do have one female cat over there! And she's bright and healthy compared to the other 3 they all went the same awful way...I thought what the hells going on 3 cats within a year I thought it was the house they are in to me I would set it alight haha that's my opinion...
Thank you for the education 🙏
Any time! I hope your kitty cat is well.
Poor fluffy
Przygarnęłam kota z Fiv,miał 3lata teraz ma 9 lat i nadal cieszy się życiem.Połowę zębów ma usunięte.Podaje dla kota Lizynę oraz Zink, działa cuda!Gotuję tylko mięso,nie podaję karmy z puszeķ.🍀😾
I have heard lots of good things about Lysine. What meats do you cook for your cat? Sorry I wish I could translate my reply.
I adopted a cat from Fiv, he was 3 years old, now he is 9 years old and still enjoys life. Half of his teeth have been removed. I give the cat Lysine and Zinc, it works wonders! I only cook meat, I do not feed canned food. Google translate
I used google translate with your comment. See below
¡ Muchas gracias! I have had my FIV cat for 5 years but worried thinking he might pass away every time there is any behaving change!
Thx
No problem
I have a 14 yo cat and was 16 lbs 6 months ago now he's 10 and constantly drinks water. But it seems his quality of life is still good and seems happy. But he is frail and weak but can still move around fine.
Maybe he's diabetic?
Insulins expensive but if diabetic, will help with appetite/weight.
@@nicoladalenzio4499 I had him put to sleep. But at least kept him as long as I saw humane.
❤
I have a feral cat that I’ve been trying to tame for over 8 years… hes a very mean cat who killed another feral cat that was abandoned in my area… this mean cat tried killing max our cat who was my husband’s best friend as hes battling serious health issues… Max received a serious bite that cost 💲 900 as it didn’t heal properly… that was 5 years ago and recently max was showing signs of problems breathing.. ultrasound showed his chest cavity was full of fluid and infection and the ER vet recommended that we let him go bcuz he’s too ill for recovery… we didn’t care about cost but we didn’t want max to suffer and so we decided to let him be euthanized.. 2 days before Christmas… now I’m wondering if it was the FIV that caused max become ill a few years later… but max was always healthy
I have several videos posted on TH-cam about my taming tuxedo feral cat named Liberace
Hi Zelda, I am so sorry to hear about Max passing. It sounds like he became really sick.
😢
😞💔
We just welcomed a stray cat into our lives. He did test positive for FIV, and we have moved him indoors. For a street cat he is so well behaved and he is wonderful. We are set to have him neutered soon. Should I be concerned that they’ll be complications from this because of the FIV?
Lucky kitty. How kind to take him in. They are so grateful. It can only increase his chances of a longer, healthier life. is he?
How is he?
Doing great! He sure misses the outdoors! I stroll him in a pet stroller so I’m the crazy cat lady of the neighborhood!
My cat tested positive with FIV. He is not eating or drinking because of the dental and mouth problem.. he is currently confined at the vet clinic.. i hope and pray he overcomes this and survive.🙏
Fiv isn't to be overcomed as it is permanent, but it have to be managed such as keep the cat away from other cats to prevent it get or spread diseases and help the cat eat maybe feed it with syringe. Hope the cat stay healthy
I just adopted a 4 yr old tabby from our humane society that's fiv positive....he had gum and mouth infections and swelling and had a painful , rough time of it.....they did a full mouth tooth extraction on him in Feb of 2023 and he is well now......that was a big issue for him....he is a wonderful cat and he eats kibble and wet food....just have to keep an eye on any issues that come up....I hope something good comes with your cat😅
My cat has FIV he was diagnosed over 2 yrs ago. He is now starting to suffer with the dental issues he’s such a fighter he has a strong will to live he’s incredibly brave x
How is your cat?
My cat has recently been dx'd and my vet suggested putting him down. I'm getting a second opinion. He's comfortable with good appetite but I think he needs full tooth extraction. Concerned about infection with that. One step at a time.
How can a vet thinking of putting a cat down because he/she has FIV and is still can eat. Cats can eat without teeth too if they are making problems and can't be saved.
I’m in this situation right now it’s difficult the vet want to put him to sleep but I say no as he’s still eating , drinking and alert … it doesn’t have to be a death sentence… he wants to live!!!
@@marylynsheldon8389 It's a highly individual decision. If he's comfortable no urgency? The related issues that come up can be treated individually ($$$) They need vet monitoring. I think some can live a long time with it. Mine wasn't happy. My old cat (who he loved) had passed and I think it may have triggered his disease. It was all awful. Oh well. Animals don't experience death the way we do. It's always traumatic/heartbreaking for us.
Hope your kitty stays happy/healthy for years to come❤🙏
@@vladimir_nguyen He wasn't happy and didn't look good. It was a very difficult decision. Sedate him and pull all his teeth? Force feed antibiotics hoping the incisions don't get infected? I just went thru similar surgery. It's not easy even for me. If they pull all your teeth they stitch your gums. It is NOT pleasant. Up to 6 months to heal. Just worth considering for the pets sake.
Thanks a lot , so can Ifv be transmitted through sniffing food or sharing food at the same time?
My FIV/FELV cat, had an ear infection.. and she is now, not eating, lethargic and not eating. Sht. now she's hiding. I wish I knew about this, earlier.
hows your cat now?
Can FIV be passed by a scratch wound? We have a cat that was dropped off at a park by our house by some horrible people last summer. A small male cat. We live a mile from the SPCA too! My daughter saw him in the garbage can! So I took food and water to him for a couple of weeks and then one night the poor thing was dragging his front limb. Of course I was like bring him in, took him to the vet the next morning . He had an abscess from a bite and had acquired FIV. They almost demanded I put him down or take him to the shelter. I have two cats already that are total indoor. I tried getting someone to adopt him. There’s nothing unwell about him. Ppl hear FIV and think AIDS in the 80s. So I had him neutered and have him w my cats and a big dog. It’s been ok mostly. But, he has food aggression issues. He gets fed regularly. But my 17 year old daughter forgot to feed them one day while I was working. She just blocks out the meowing &left. So I came home to my old male cat w a scratch on him bleeding! I’m so worried now. They hadn’t ate since 5 am until 9 pm! So I’m really mad at my daughter too. Plus the old male is diabetic. I’m a nurse I work 2-3 long days. I’m also in grad school so I’m mostly at home these days studying to watch them. I could put him in the basement when I leave. Is that going to make him worse ? Any ideas? I feel like the shelter is not an option for me. Anyone tried those auto food timer things? Is there a med for food aggression.
I'd say the food bowls with timers would be a good solution, just have multiple ones so the cats don't compete for the same dish.
unless I missed something I didn't see anything on the care of an FIV cat. I asked my vet if there was anything I could do for him or supplement him and she said nothing really, perhaps pet tinic. There must be some product or herbal that could boost his immune system but vets today seem uninterested or unaware of any.
Unlike HIV where MDs will suppress the virus with various medicines, vets do not have anything like that. The goal for vets is to limit exposure to possible infection and treat secondary infections right away.
@@DanTheVeterinarian*IS THIS LIKE AIDS IN HUMANS OR GIV FOR CATS? SOUNDS DREADFUL. PLEASE EXPLAIN. PLEASE AT GEOBEATS ON TH-cam A CAT'S STORY NAMED WINKS*
Thank you @dantheveterinarian. This was a heartbreaking decision but he already had a lot of hair lose. He would need oral liquid abt 3xday for 3 weeks just for this infection. He didn't look well or happy. My 17yo cat, who he loved, died a few months earlier which may have exacerbated the condition. He was a sweet, gorgeous, silver long hair feral who won our hearts. I'm grateful he didn't die of this outside as a feral. He's at peace. I have his ashes. 💔
@@nicoladalenzio4499Awww wishing you the best and your kitties are together in kitty heaven. P.S you are so lucky to have had 17 years ❤
google best diet for FIV positive cats
Hi, my cat is fiv positive.. what should my cat eat?
My cat is FIV positive. She eats high carb high protein kibble to help her gain weight and wet food every other day.
@@KatherineAnne double edged sword since carbs are unhealthy
@stadiumarcadium2351 better to have a fat cat than an anemic skinny bones sac