Kitten Positive for FIV - What are the odds it a true positive??

pepper11

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Hi There, We have a beautiful 7 week old kitten we found abandoned and have hand raised around the clock. He is doing really well and is now 7 weeks and eating well and seems to be in very good health. Because we have two other cats (ages 8 & 9) FIV/FLK Neg we took him into do a snap test today before we started letting them mix together. He is negative for leukemia but sadly positive for FIV. I know there is a high rate of positive and that it's not accurate till six months but still a big set-back.

We are going to re-test in 60 days and if need be again at 6 months but my question to the group is of folks who have had the same experience how often has it been a false positive? We will be heartbroken if we have to give him up but if he is truly positive I don't think we can risk the other two cats health. They are both fussy females and we feel if we keep them totally separated for 6 months they will never accept him. Would you take the risk of mixing them?

Any experiences with false positives or data on the odds of a real infection would be really helpful.

Here's a shot of our baby....
 

molly92

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It's very rare that a kitten actually acquires FIV from its mother, rather than just the antibodies that test positive, and you'd know if a 7 week old kitten had been attacked and bitten by another cat, which is how FIV is mostly transmitted, so it's not likely your kitten is actually positive at all. Most rescues don't even test for FIV until the cat is 6 months old because earlier results are so unreliable and don't really change anything.

On the very off chance that a young kitten does actually have FIV, he's not going to transmit it to healthy cats. FIV needs to be injected along with saliva into the blood stream to infect another cat, and those kinds of bites are given by adult, unneutered animals during territorial fights-not play fighting, but fighting where the intent is to injure and kill and competitor-or during mating when a male cat bites a female.

As long as your kitten is neutered early (between 2-4 months is a good time!), he can live the rest of his life with negative cats and pose no risk to them. With good care and nutrition, he'll also likely live a long, healthy life before FIV symptoms start to appear. The shelter I volunteer at houses FIV positive and negative cats together in communal rooms all the time and have no problems. Lots of users on this site have FIV positive and negative cats living happily together, and if I thought my positive cat would enjoy other cats, I wouldn't have any qualms about introducing an FIV negative cat.
 
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pepper11

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Thanks so much for your response, it's really helpful. I'm praying you're right and he does test clear in a few more months but hate all this worry! We are concerned because being a very active baby (with no Mom or Siblings) he is really "bitey". He kind of play fights non-stop and is constantly play biting with those sharp little teeth. Wouldn't those bites potentially transmit the disease? My understanding from looking at the research is about %25 of kittens from FIV mom's get the actual disease but other studies show very little transmission in "natural settings". Have you seen many kittens end up positive after 6 months? If there a forum here that deals with FIV issues?

Thanks again!

Lori
 

molly92

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I've read mixed things in research too, and I think part of that is because FIV is relatively new and the earlier studies weren't very reliable but their "results" were spread around because that was the only research they had. An "unnatural" setting involves injecting cats directly, which would obviously lead to a higher rate of infection. I think the real chance is much lower than 25%. I've never heard of any positive kittens that went on to be positive cats.

The bites have to draw blood in order to transmit FIV, and while kittens are usually very bitey, they are not likely to cause any actual injury. An adult cat would put an end to any behavior if the kitten started getting close to actually hurting them.
 
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pepper11

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Yes that all makes sense, thanks again for your response, I feel a bit better :) My girls have fallen madly in love with the little guy so we're desperate to make it work. Now I just have to convince the other cats it's a good idea!
 

molly92

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Aw, best of luck! The Cat Site has a few good articles on introducing cats if you need tips. Adult cats are rarely thrilled having a rambunctious kitten around at first, but they get uaed to it and they will be excellent at teaching the little guy basic cat manners and I'm sure he'll enjoy them very much!

Thank you for taking this little guy in! Little kittens are a lot of work, but you likely saved his life.
 
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pepper11

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Thanks again for your advice!
 
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