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Feline AIDS: understanding this virus and treating this disease
Article written by veterinarian Isabelle Vixège 
FIV infection in felines causes an immunodeficiency syndrome often called feline AIDS. This serious condition is primarily transmitted through bites. Currently, veterinarians have neither specific treatment nor a vaccine against this feline disease. A cat infected with FIV cannot transmit this disease to a human or a dog.
Feline AIDS in 3 key points:
- Cause: a virus, FIV
- Symptoms: gingivitis, various infections, lymphomas
- Treatment: non-specific
Summary
- What is feline AIDS?
- Contamination: how is this virus transmitted in the body? Is it transmissible to humans or dogs?
- Symptoms: how to recognize feline FIV?
- Diagnosis: how to detect this infection?
- Treatment for a cat carrying the virus
- Prevention: is there a vaccine?
- Prognosis and lifespan of an FIV+ cat
1. What is feline AIDS?
It is a complex feline disease caused by a virus: FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). This condition is commonly called feline AIDS due to its many similarities with human HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. Both pathogens belong to the same family: retroviruses.
Like HIV, the feline AIDS virus causes a decrease in the cat's immunity by destroying certain lymphocytes, making the animal's body much more susceptible to internal aggressions (tumors) and external aggressions (infections).
FIV is often associated with FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus). This is also a retrovirus; it is responsible for feline leukemia. There is a vaccine against FeLV but not against FIV.
2. Contamination: how is this virus transmitted? Is it transmissible to humans or dogs?
FIV is transmitted through saliva and blood. Cats mainly infect each other through bites. Sexual contact and frequent close contact (mutual grooming) can also be responsible for contamination. Finally, FIV can be transmitted from an infected mother to her kittens via the placenta or during lactation.
The animals most affected by this disease are therefore unsterilized male cats that go outside and fight. The risk is zero for an indoor cat that does not have access to the outdoors.
Feline AIDS is absolutely not contagious to humans or other species such as dogs.
Did you know?
Like HIV, FIV is a relatively recent discovery. It was first identified in 1986 in the United States. FIV also affects wild felines such as tigers and lynx.
3. Symptoms: how to recognize feline FIV?
The symptoms of feline AIDS are very varied. There are generally 3 phases of the disease:
- The first, called "acute": the cat has just been contaminated. It may show a kind of "flu-like syndrome" with fever, temporary fatigue, loss of appetite, swollen lymph nodes, etc.
- The second, "asymptomatic": the cat's body manages to contain FIV. The animal is fine. This phase can last several years. It is still a carrier of the virus.
- The last symptomatic phase (or terminal phase of feline AIDS): FIV has taken over. Immunosuppression sets in. The cat is susceptible to various infections (gingivitis, stomatitis, uveitis, pneumonia, etc.), anemia (drop in red blood cells), kidney or neurological damage, cancers, etc. It shows marked weight loss. The life expectancy of a sick cat is reduced (1 to 2 years).
The clinical signs are therefore diverse; they are often linked to opportunistic infections developing due to immunosuppression, such as feline coryza or feline calicivirus.
4. Diagnosis: how to detect feline AIDS virus?
In the presence of compatible symptoms, the veterinarian performs a blood test. They then perform a rapid test at the clinic (results in 15 minutes). This test detects antibodies against FIV in the sick cat's blood.
In case of doubt, a more precise analysis can be performed in a veterinary laboratory.
This test can also be performed as a screening to ensure that an animal is free of the disease. For example, it may be required by some catteries where different animals will mix. It is also recommended for stray cats, especially if they are to cohabit with other felines.
An affected animal is said to be FIV positive or FIV+. This does not mean it is condemned, but that it carries the virus and is potentially contagious to other cats.
5. Treatment of an infected cat
There is no specific treatment for feline AIDS or effective antiviral therapies.
The strategy consists of managing secondary infections (antibiotics) and supporting the body (with food supplements, for example). Interferon injections reduce the mortality of anemic FIV+ cats, but they are very expensive. A treatment to combat the disease has not yet been found.
6. Prevention: is there a vaccine?
Currently, there is no vaccine against feline AIDS in France.
Prevention mainly consists of avoiding potentially contaminating situations and protecting your cat from certain situations: bites, coitus, communities, etc.
Thus, it is advisable to:
- Have your male or female cat spayed or neutered from 6 months of age
- Prevent outdoor access at night (fights are more common at night)
- Prefer boarding facilities with individual cages to avoid contact with infected cats and thus protect your own
- Do not introduce a cat with unknown FIV status or an FIV-infected cat into the home
- Provide quality food to ensure the cat's good health
Seropositive cats must be confined indoors to avoid infecting their peers.
7. Prognosis and life expectancy of an FIV+ cat
Feline FIV is inevitably fatal. However, the asymptomatic phase can last many years (up to 12 years). Furthermore, regular veterinary follow-up also improves the survival of these animals, so much so that the life expectancy of a cat infected with AIDS often approaches that of a healthy cat. In other words, cats infected with FIV can live with this disease for a long time.
The prognosis is much worse for a kitten carrying the virus, which usually dies quickly. FIV infection in kittens is therefore fatal.
Feline immunodeficiency syndrome is a serious disease, but its progression is unpredictable with an often significant latency phase. With some adjustments and appropriate care, it is possible to keep your little companion suffering from this infection for a long time. A seropositive cat can live as long as a healthy cat.
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