Question about FIV infection from an FIV positive cat to non-FIV cat

alic23

alic23

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Hi i cannot find this answer online. A bit of background my vet has said my cat with gingivitus should get tested for FIV if he doesn't respond to antibiotics. If he is FIV positive, what are the chances of him infecting our other cat as they have fought before and he has definitely bitten her and/or clawed her and broken her skin.

I know that articles say that cat bites are the most common way of transmitting the infection, my question is, is there still a chance the virus was not passed on through their fights and biting?

Thanks x
 
molly92

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If both cats are neutered/spayed, the chances of one of them causing an injury extensive enough to transmit FIV is low. FIV has to be injected from the saliva directly into the bloodstream, which normally requires a deep bite. Mostly those kind of injuries only occur during mating (when the male cat bites the female's neck) or when intact tom cats are fighting over territory. 

I'm not sure whether it sounds like your cats have gotten into a significant enough fight to transmit the disease or not. They should both be tested, and then if he does have FIV and she does not, I would not give up on them living together just yet. Fighting enough to draw blood is not great regardless of FIV status, so it might be beneficial to reintroduce them very slowly to give a better chance of tolerating each other more peacefully. Lots of Feliway diffusers might also help.
 
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alic23

alic23

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Molly92 said:
If both cats are neutered/spayed, the chances of one of them causing an injury extensive enough to transmit FIV is low. FIV has to be injected from the saliva directly into the bloodstream, which normally requires a deep bite. Mostly those kind of injuries only occur during mating (when the male cat bites the female's neck) or when intact tom cats are fighting over territory. 

I'm not sure whether it sounds like your cats have gotten into a significant enough fight to transmit the disease or not. They should both be tested, and then if he does have FIV and she does not, I would not give up on them living together just yet. Fighting enough to draw blood is not great regardless of FIV status, so it might be beneficial to reintroduce them very slowly to give a better chance of tolerating each other more peacefully. Lots of Feliway diffusers might also help.
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Thank you Molly for your response. That really helps. They have definitely gotten into ugly fights with fur flying and some subsequent scabbing, and he is the aggressor. But no deep deep bites i don't think. We have a referral to a behaviourist soon to see if there's anything we should be doing and i am tempted to re-do introductions.
 
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