Has anyone owned a cat with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus?

A couple of days ago I was talking with a rep from Blue cat food and I was describing some behavior my 5 month old cat has, randomly acting as though he has a hairball(dry heaving or hacking) but he never throws up or has a hair ball, she told me that that's a symptom of FIV, and I should take him to a vet to get tested. my question though, is what is it exactly? I know it's kind of like HIV but in cats, but should I be careful of his contact with my other two cats? and can it be treated or is this something he will have forever and could give to my other cats? If he does have it, are there like certain things I would have to do extra to take care of him? and lastly, that i can think of right now, what would be his quality of life? would he die sooner/younger because of this?

There are some people on here who have FIV positive cats.  They will probably answer you tomorrow.  I know little about FIV cats, but I know it is not a death sentence.  They can live fairly normal lives.  I hope you don't give up on getting answers here.

by the way welcome to TCS.

Hi, my cat Sarah was diagnosed FIV a year and a half or two yrs ago. She's been fine. I boost her immune with colostrum, COQ10, probiotics and omega 3s. Her brother was diagnosed terminal at a year with FIP- apparently he had other plans cause he's a fine healthy 13 yr old. The issues with FIV as I understand them are tendency toward tumors and infections can be very serious. I just moved but my old vet always gave me antibiotics to have on hand in case Sarah got a scratch from her brother spatting, things like that.

Elizabeth, while I would never discourage someone from testing their kitty for FIV, I have to say, that's a new one on me. I have an FIV kitty, and he has no symptoms of being ill. This is typical. When we rescued him, he was a health mess. Chronic diarrhea (approximately 20% if FIV kitties experience this), and what seemed to be allergies (which are an immune-related problem)... Another common "symptom" is that any illness needs to be treated more aggressively. ...and there mat be a tendency to get sick more frequently.

This is, as you say, kind of like HIV in people. It is a very slow acting virus that impacts the immune system over time. In people, HIV is passed via sex and needle-sharing. In cats, it is passed by sex and deep, penetrating bite wounds. Thus while any FIV-literate vet would caution you that there is a very minimal risk of a sterilized FIV kitty in a non-aggressive home environment passing the virus to another kitty, they wouldn't suggest any separation, or any particular steps be taken (other than maybe slow introductions of any new kitties to your home).

All of that said, coughs can be a symptom of many things: hairballs, heart disease, asthma, seasonal allergies, a cold, maybe herpes virus... but I've never heard of it being a symptom of FIV. I think that rep is mistaken. I would take kitty to a vet. Most 5 month old cats don't really have issues with hairballs, but it could be, I guess. :dk:

If your kitty has not been vaccinated for FIV, please don't, especially if your kitty is indoor only. There are different strains of FIV, and unless you live in Eastern TX, Southern LA, MS, AL, or the panhandle of FL, it wouldn't be effective anyway. Again, this is another way to determine if a vet is FIV literate.

But please don't fret about the FIV. I think this is highly unlikely. :rub:

Okay thanks. I never suspected it to begin with, I actually would have never thought of it if this lady didn't say something, but it also kinda made since to me after she said something, because his mom was basically a feral cat, and was never vaccinated against anything, or ever taken to the vet, my kitty, Bear, I rescued him from the house he was in where they have 20 plus cats, none of which were taken care of, he had ear mites, eye conjunctivitis  and worms(as did all the other cats in that house), they had no litter boxes or food for any of the cats, and they were all poorly treated on top of all that.

But now that you mention it LDG, I do think my kitty has Asthma, he gets winded very fast when he plays hard and will pant, he breathes weird in his sleep sometimes and wheezes and stuff, but I haven't taken him to the vet yet about that, I'm taking him soon, I just have to move first, and after I pay rent at my new place my whole next check is dedicated to taking him to the vet for the rest of his shots, getting neutered and I was going to ask about the asthma, I think I'll probably test him for FIV too just to be safe. If he does have it, or anything else I want to make sure he's getting the proper treatment asap.

What a love you are for rescuing Bear. :heart3: (I should have mentioned that our FIV kitty was an older feral when we rescued him, and much of his health mess had nothing to do with the FIV. He had an abscessed bite wound that needed treating... thus the FIV. ).

Given his background, it would be smart to have him tested for FIV and FeLV when you take him to the vet. :nod: And it does sound like asthma may be a possibility. IF he has it, it can be treated with a special inhaler (very cute!) for kitties that dispenses steroids. IF he needs this, you can get help on where to find inexpensive meds and how to us it here.

I've actually already had him tested for FevL, that was one of the first things my vet did when I brought him in the first time, and he was negative for that.