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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / August 2005Seeking experience with FIV+/FIV- multiple cat households
We adopted Edmund 3 weeks ago. On Friday, I took him in for his check-up and he was diagnosed as FIV+. We already have 2 cats living in the house who are FIV-. The vet kindly offered to help me find him another home. Did NOT suggest that FIV+/FIV- could live together. Here are the facts: - He will be getting the Western Blot test tomorrow - All three cats were introduced slowly. The 2 "old" cats hissed a few times but Edmund just meowed back. - All three cats are not aggressive. Edmund hides under the bed when startled. - Edmund and the other male cat are neutered. Female cat is spayed. - All cats are healthy. I have read as much as I can get my hands on (including a lot of great posts to this group) so I'm aware of transmission (saliva, primarily deep bites) and the low probability of transmitting FIV through casual contact. I'm looking for more information, though, so I can make a completely informed decision! 1) How long does the virus survive outside the cat? (Online resources are conflicting -- anywhere from minutes to 3 hours) 2) Looks as though skin problems can occur with FIV+ cats. Are the skin problems generally open-wound? If so, wouldn't that significantly increase FIV transmission? 3) Articles say that transferring FIV amongst indoor cats with a stable structure is rare. How rare? Has anyone had experience with and FIV transfer amongst their own cats? How did it occur? 4) For anyone who has FIV+/FIV- cats in one household, what precautions do you take? Thank you in advance for any help. This is a great, great cat and this decision is really testing my companion-for-life values. (once my pet - always my pet) > We adopted Edmund 3 weeks ago. On Friday, I took him in for his > check-up and he was diagnosed as FIV+. We already have 2 cats living in [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > 1) How long does the virus survive outside the cat? (Online resources > are conflicting -- anywhere from minutes to 3 hours) I do not know this, but if you can't find information, I can ask my diagnosing vet tomorrow. > 2) Looks as though skin problems can occur with FIV+ cats. Are the skin > problems generally open-wound? If so, wouldn't that significantly > increase FIV transmission? Tuppence has never had a skin problem, she does however have gingivitis something fierce. She gets a teeth cleaning yearly, and monthly antibiotic burst for one week. > 3) Articles say that transferring FIV amongst indoor cats with a stable > structure is rare. How rare? Has anyone had experience with and FIV > transfer amongst their own cats? How did it occur? I've got a bunch of cats, only one is currently FIV+. She has never spread it to any other cats, and now she's old and doesn't move around much, so isn't likely to bite anyone (kittens or other cats). She's 16.5 now, and was diagnosed around 94 or 95. Not sure how she got it, though she'd been tested for it every year (as my cats are because of her now). She came up positive after I'd had a male (that had been my brother's) come into the household. I do not know how she got it since they never fought, but I have heard she may have had it all along, without it ever coming up in her tests. > 4) For anyone who has FIV+/FIV- cats in one household, what precautions > do you take? When she was more mobile, I would watch to see how she responded to new cats. As there hasn't been any problems introducing her to "newbies", it has not been transferred. > Thank you in advance for any help. This is a great, great cat and this > decision is really testing my companion-for-life values. (once my pet - > always my pet) Smokie Darling (Annie) - who could not have given up Tuppence for anything, though she is getting to the end of her road. Thank you for sharing your experience. This is very helpful. (Tuppence is a fabulous name for a cat!) > Thank you for sharing your experience. This is very helpful. (Tuppence > is a fabulous name for a cat!) Thanks, but she pretty much named herself. I had gotten her and was at home watching Mary Poppins (yeah, I'm a bit old for that but it was one of my very favorite Disney movies). When the part with the old lady on the bank steps singing about feeding the birds came on... Well every time she sang "...tuppence a bag", this tiny kitten would look at the TV. I just figured she meant Tuppence, but it could just have easily been for Abag (hee). Smokie Darling (Annie) > I had gotten her and was at > home watching Mary Poppins (yeah, I'm a bit old for that but it was one [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > TV. I just figured she meant Tuppence, but it could just have easily > been for Abag (hee). It might have been for that particular note or series of notes. A musical cat! Pudge used to like my very, very off-key singing. Wonder how Hodge would handle it . . .  SignatureWeb site: http://www.slywy.com/ Message board: http://www.slywy.com/phpBB2/ Journal: http://slywy.diaryland.com/ > > I had gotten her and was at > > home watching Mary Poppins (yeah, I'm a bit old for that but it was one [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Message board: http://www.slywy.com/phpBB2/ > Journal: http://slywy.diaryland.com/ Well, she does have good taste in music. She loves Led Zepplin, Def Leppard, the Scorpions (on the hard side). She loves Dusty Springfield, Lorrie Morgan, the Carpenters (on the soft side). She has the kindness to listen to me without laying her ears back (Yoda ears). However, I do remember singing it to her (when she was little and I used to sing alot), and she never paid attention (I used to sing quite well), but she answered to Tuppence from that showing, and never paid attention to Mary Poppins again. Smokie Darling (Annie) - who now has that song (Tuppence,tuppence, I'm calling to you.... Feed the birds...) running through her head. Edmund had his Western Blot today. We'll know in a few days (as best as possible) if he's FIV+. I spoke with a different veterinarian and she seemed to have more experience with FIV+ cats. She echoed the sentiment that only cats who are fighting are going to transfer this disease. She actually seemed very unconcerned about the current cats (after learning about their personalities and meeting Edmund) so that was needless to say, reassuring. > Edmund had his Western Blot today. We'll know in a few days (as > best as possible) if he's FIV+. I spoke with a different [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > personalities and meeting Edmund) so that was needless to say, > reassuring. Best wishes and sending reassuring thoughts your way no matter the outcome. Please let us know. SignatureCheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields > We adopted Edmund 3 weeks ago. On Friday, I took him in for his > check-up and he was diagnosed as FIV+. How old is Edmund? If he's less than 7-8 months he may be testing false-positive due to maternally derived antibodies which can take as long as 8 months disappear. We already have 2 cats living in > the house who are FIV-. The vet kindly offered to help me find him > another home. Did NOT suggest that FIV+/FIV- could live together. > > Here are the facts: > - He will be getting the Western Blot test tomorrow The ELISA and Western Blot (immunoblot) *both* test for antibodies- the ELISA is more sensitive and the Western blot is more specific- but *neither* test can distinguish maternally derived antibodies from antibodies that are produced in response to FIV infection. If your cat is less than 8 months old- you might want to hold off on the confirmatory Western Blot until he's at least 8 months old. > - All three cats were introduced slowly. The 2 "old" cats hissed a few > times but Edmund just meowed back. > - All three cats are not aggressive. That dramatically reduces the risk. There's still a risk- but its *very*, very low. Edmund hides under the bed when > startled. > - Edmund and the other male cat are neutered. Female cat is spayed. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > deep bites) and the low probability of transmitting FIV through casual > contact. True. > I'm looking for more information, though, so I can make a completely > informed decision! > > 1) How long does the virus survive outside the cat? (Online resources > are conflicting -- anywhere from minutes to 3 hours) 2-5 hours depending on environmental temperature- closer to 4-5 hours indoors. But transmission from the environment is practically, if not absolutely impossible. I seriously doubt enough viable virus could be deposited in or acquired from the environment. > 2) Looks as though skin problems can occur with FIV+ cats. Are the skin > problems generally open-wound? If so, wouldn't that significantly > increase FIV transmission? Skin diseases only occur in about 10-15% of FIV+ cats and usually only in the advanced to end stages of the disease- which would probably be many years from now. > 3) Articles say that transferring FIV amongst indoor cats with a stable > structure is rare. How rare? It depends on the social structure that exists between your cats. If your cats don't fight and bite, *very* rare- if not practically impossible. Has anyone had experience with and FIV > transfer amongst their own cats? How did it occur? Only through bite wounds. > 4) For anyone who has FIV+/FIV- cats in one household, what precautions > do you take? Keep the cats indoors and away from free-roaming cats and cats with unknown histories. Feed the cats a healthy diet to keep their immune systems as strong as possible and pay special attention to hygiene. Keep a close watch for any changes in personalities and social structure that could be a precursor to a fight. > Thank you in advance for any help. This is a great, great cat and this > decision is really testing my companion-for-life values. (once my pet - > always my pet) If your cats are all neutered and not aggressive and get along- except for an occasional hiss, I think your companion-for-life values will remain intact. Phil Sorry - I neglected to give Edmund's age. He's 4yo and was indeed rescued from the streets at 2yo. He actually lost his leg in a cat fight (I didn't know this. I thought he had been hit by a car.) They tested him for FIV when he first arrived at the shelter but apparently he had not developed antibodies yet so the test was negative. >2-5 hours depending on environmental temperature- closer to 4-5 hours >indoors. But transmission from the environment is practically, if not >absolutely impossible. I seriously doubt enough viable virus could be >deposited in or acquired from the environment. So sharing cat toys is probably okay? |
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