Laugh. Learn. Love cats.
Pierre: I may have just turned thirteen years old, but my reflexes are as sharp as ever. Especially when it comes to toys that move fast!
Pierre: I’m going to get you, little hedgehog. Flying in the air won’t save you!
Pierre: This is my serious face. When I wear this, you know I mean business. Here I come, hedgie.
Pierre: Gotcha! Don’t forget who is the cat in charge around here.
There’s a lot of confusion between feline Immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and Feline AIDS. Many people aren’t sure if the terms are the same or different, and they use them interchangeably. Let’s look a little closer into when when it is correct to say a cat has FIV and when it is accurate to say they have Feline AIDS.
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a virus transmitted between cats primarily by deep bite wounds. Less often, a mother cat transmits the virus to kittens during birth or through her milk.
FIV is a feline-specific virus that can’t be transmitted to other species, so humans can’t catch it.
When a cat first catches the virus, it multiplies rapidly, and the cat’s immune system creates antibodies to try to fight it off. The cat may have a temperature or poor appetite the same way he would if she picked up any other virus and her systems was hard at work against it.
The cat’s immune system can fight off most of the virus, but part of it mutates to hide from the immune system response. When the cat’s immune system finishes doing its work on the part of the virus it can find, and the cat feels better again. At this point, the cat doesn’t seem sick at all, even though FIV is now hiding in his system.
During the second stage, the virus slowly works, attacking the cat’s immune system and ability to fight off infection. This process can take as 10 years or more, with the cat living an apparently healthy life in the meantime.
Cats who live comfortably in homes with good nutrition, vet care, and little stress often have the longest time symptom-free, and can live normal lifespans of 15 or even 20 years. There are times when people unknowingly adopt cats carrying the FIV virus and aren’t aware that the cats are even carrying it since cats can seem healthy during these years.
Cats who carry the FIV virus and live difficult, stressful lives are likely to see the virus progress faster. For example, feral cats who live without shelter or adequate nutrition could have immune systems weakened by the virus in months or a few years.
FIV slowly kills off the immune system until it is no longer able to fight off opportunistic infections. At that point, the cat is has a feline acquired immune deficiency, or Feline AIDS. When the cat is exposed to another disease, the cat will have no immune resources to fight it off, and that secondary disease can be fatal.
Saying Feline AIDS isn’t accurate for all cats who carry the FIV virus. It only describes cats who are in the third stage of the illness. Generalizing that cats who test FIV positive all have Feline AIDS is like saying everyone who has cancer has stage 3 cancer.
There are thousands of adoptable cats out there carrying the FIV virus, and saying they have Feline AIDS alarms families who might otherwise be be interested in spending a happy life with them. Feline AIDS sounds like something that humans can catch, and the public, who don’t know any better, are unlikely to a adopt a pet they think might make them sick.
FIV positive cats can have longer stays in shelters because people are afraid to adopt them. Photo credit: depositphotos/Buurserstraat38
People may also be afraid of adopting a cat who might make their other cats sick. The FIV virus isn’t transmissible to other cats through casual, friendly household contact, making cats with both positive and negative FIV statuses able to live together without risk of transmission as long as the cats get along with each other and don’t fight. Fighting is when the deep bite wounds that transmit the disease happen, so if cats are friendly with, they can be great companions no matter their FIV status.
Understanding the facts about FIV helps us all understand why there is no need to say Feline AIDS to describe cats who carry the FIV virus.
Research and further reading:
Cornell University, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
Inge Roukaerts, Ghent University, Genotyping of local feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) isolates and characterization of FIV replication in peripheral blood monouclear cells
The Veterinary Journal, Transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) among cohabiting cats in two cat rescue shelters.
Cupcake: Everyone says they can tell this is my new bag. I don’t understand how they can tell just by looking at it.
Cupcake: It’s smaller than the bag we take on outings now. All of my important things have to fit inside.
Cupcake: I think my blanket will fit in here.
Cupcake: Maybe it’s big enough for my treats, too!
Cupcake: I guess this bag will be OK. Time to fill it up!
Last weekend, I visited the Sandy Claws Cat Fanciers show in Kissimmee, FL. Visiting a cat show is always a lot of fun, but it seems like I always end up there at an awkward time when all the exhibitors are really busy with something. Eating lunch, getting a group photo, or something else that makes it hard to chat with them. I was fortunate to be there at a good time when many of them were happy to chat with me between taking their cats to be judged, which made it a lot of fun.
I’m not sure if it’s just our region of the country or what, but every cat show I’ve been to here has had loads of Bengals. This one was no exception. One exhibitor had a litter of kittens who had just turned old enough for adoption and were at their first show. They were a little wary about all of the chaos going on around the floor, but were curious to meet me.
Every judging ring I saw except the ones exclusively for long-haired cats had at least one Bengal in it. They really are beautiful cats! It was fun to talk to the breeders about how much personality energy these guys have. I was worn out just thinking about keeping up with one of them.
The other kind of cat that was in all of the show rings and all over the show hall were Maine Coons. It turned out this Maine Coon takeover was because this show included an event called the Maine CoonVention, which included seminars, special show events just for Maine Coons, and awards for the breed.
I am always amazed by the ears on Maine Coons, especially the juveniles who haven’t quite grown into them yet. This guy’s ears seem to go on forever!
Everyone was talking about this young cat because she is a polydactyl Maine Coon. You can see how big her paws are where her thumb is gripping the scratching post.
As a result of the focus on the breed, the pet me cat at the show was a Maine Coon. His name was Potter, and he was enormous! He was also sleeping on the job. He had received a big lifetime achievement award that was displayed nearby, so he deserved a nice nap after years of shows naming him 10th and 8th best international alter and 13th best regional alter. His human said that he was done being judged and was just here for the CoonVention.
Of course, Bengals and Maine Coons weren’t the only cats there. I spotted a little odd-eyed white Rex peeking out of an enclosure as I walked past.
This Persian had just arrived the day before from South America. He is going to live with a woman here in the US who had started to show him that very day!
One of the other cats whose humans I visited with at length is this calico oriental shorthair. Fancy was the number 2 oriental shorthair in the world in 2016. I didn’t know that oriental shorthairs came in calico. She’s really beautiful!
The cat show was a lot of fun to visit. If you go, make sure you talk to the people who are there to exhibit their cats. They like talking about their cats as much as you like talking about yours, and you can learn a lot!
