Fiv False Positive Results

[Blahblahblah]

I took my two kittens into the vet today for their Snap test and it came back positive for FIV for both of them. When I asked if it was possible that it could be a false positive since they are only 10 weeks old, they said no because both of them tested positive. They said that I needed to find them a home that didn't have other cats, since I have two other cats at home, or keep the kittens separated from our other cats for the rest of their lives. I've been reading and most sites say to test every 60 days up until they are 6 months old. I am just curious if other people have encountered a false positive Snap test?

 

[jcat]

An FIV+ mother cat can pass the antibodies on to her nursing kittens, but rarely passes on the virus. For that reason, one FIV test on kittens under about 6 months isn't reliable. You might want to get a second opinion if your vet is telling you otherwise.

FIV is normally transmitted through deep bite wounds, which is why it primarily affects intact males that go outdoors. Many people have mixed FIV + and FIV- feline households; as long as the cats are spayed/neutered and get along, there's little risk.

 

[molly92]

Definitely could be a false positive. Weirdly some vets have old fashioned views on FIV. I think it seemed like a scary thing when it first started becoming prevalent, and although it's definitely not a good disease to have, it's not nearly as contagious as once thought.

Cats contract FIV through their mother (although this is still pretty rare-most kittens just get the antibodies, not the disease, as mentioned above) or through a deep bite. Saliva has to enter the blood stream. Unneutered male cats will fight violently enough to do this, or bite hard enough to do this when they pin down a female cat, but fixed, indoor cats essentially never reach this level of confrontation. So it's really not a possibility for these kittens to spreas FIV to your cats on the off chance they do have it, assuming you get them fixed in a timely manner.

I have an FIV positive cat and a negative cat that live together. FIV also isn't the death sentence it's described as either. With good nutrition and low stress they can live a normal cat lifespan before the symptomatic phase begins.