Feline Leukemia and/or Aids

I've just got back from the vets with Bandit for his check-up, the vet is very pleased with his eye. It is looking much better now although not totally normal.

I am very worried though as she said we will have to keep an eye on him in case he develops AIDs or Feline Leukemia He seems fine in himself now, has loony moments where he darts around all over the place and attacks anything that moves (I'm teaching him to play more gently but he gets carried away at times) The vet seems to think he's ok at the moment, a little underweight, but that could be down to the eye infection and the struggle to get him to eat wet food, but as he's eating ok now that should improve.

I do need some advice on what to do and what to look out for. The basics like keeping him indoors till he is given the all clear (Vet suggested blood tests around the time he is neutered to double check before allowing him out) and not having other cats around him. How will I know if he's got it though???

You won't know if he's got it if he doesn't get sick without the test, and these are not (usually) diseases where they get sick right away. I'm not familiar with the backstory here, but if there's reason to suspect he was bitten by another cat, there is the potential he was exposed to either the FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) or FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus).

The name "Feline Aids" is scary, and a misnomer. Most cats that have the FIV virus do not develop to the stage that would be equivalent to AIDS in people. It is a very slow acting virus that slowly attacks the immune system. While the same is true of FeLV (a slow acting virus that attacks the immune system), FIV cannot be passed casually. It generally requires a deep tissue bite wound (normal cat play isn't sufficient).

Cats with FIV can live apparently normal lives and frequently live as long as other cats do; they usually die of something else. If they get sick with a cold virus or something, it can take longer and be harder to treat. But they can live with other cats without risk of infecting the other kitties (we have 8 cats, one has FIV).

FeLV does shorten the life of a cat, and it can be passed casually (via grooming or sharing a food dish). Cats with FeLV should not be allowed to interact with cats that are not infected with FeLV.

However, if it turns out your boy is infected with either, it really isn't responsible to let him outside, because of the risk he presents to other cats. (For cats with FIV, normal interaction with other pet cats in the home presents little to no risk. But outside, if they fight with other cats that are aggressive, they can infect the other cat). Apart from that, because of the impact on their immune systems over time, the exposure to risks/disease/viruses outside isn't good for them.

Cats with a healthy immune system can fight these off even if exposed. So even if he was exposed, let's just hope that nothing develops, and when he's tested again, he's negative for both!

Thank you LDG for that great reply it's very informative.

The vet is a little worried because of his eye infection, she said it is sometimes linked or something like that. It is possibly his mother could have something although we will not know as she went missing a couple of weeks ago she's a friends cat that got out before she had been spayed and came back pregnant so we've no idea who she met up with. I think this is the bigger worry, that it could have been passed from mum to kitten.

I'm keeping everything crossed for when we have tests done that he's given the all clear, but obviously if anything shows up I will take the necessary steps to ensure he has a long healthy life and doesn't pose a threat to other cats.

Oh gotcha.

Well, FeLV is commonly passed between mother and kittens. FIV not so often. However, if mom is positive for either, the kittens would most likely test positive for them simply because they have the antibodies in their systems from drinking mom's milk. Your vet is obviously knowledgable on the subject (many aren't), because testing of kittens before six months of age presents no definitive answer because of the antibody-from-milk problem.