![]() Some infected cats experience recurrent illness interspersed with periods of relative good health. Other frequent consequences include chronic skin infections, gastrointestinal upset and persistent diarrhea, urinary system problems, respiratory tract infections, neurological disorders, and, in females, reproductive failures such as spontaneous abortion. Levy, include inflammation of the mucous tissue of the mouth (stomatitis), inflammation of the middle layer of the eye (uveitis), and various cancers, especially of the lymphatic tissue ( lymphoma). ![]() The most commonly observed clinical signs of FIV infection, says Dr. ![]() The lymph nodes will swell, but this is a subtle occurrence and you're probably not going to be aware of it." In fact, an FIV-positive cat is likely to appear normal for many years following initial infection.Įventually, however, evidence of the animal's compromised immune system will start emerging as the same bacteria, viruses and fungi that previously existed harmlessly in the animal's normal environment begin to cause illness. "The animal may run a fever," she says, "as its white blood cell count decreases. Levy, the earliest stage of infection is likely to pass unnoticed by the cat's owner. This insidious cycle continues unhampered as the virus circulates throughout the body, invades additional lymph nodes and destroys more CD4 cells.Īccording to Dr. Particularly vulnerable are lymphocytes known as CD4 cells (or T-helper lymphocytes), which play a key role in the animal's immune system. Levy, virus is found in all body fluids of an infected cat, and is especially abundant in its saliva.įollowing initial infection, virus is carried to the animal's major lymph nodes, where the organism replicates within disease-fighting white blood cells called T-lymphocytes. The organism is also classified as a retrovirus, a type of virus containing reverse transcriptase, an enzyme that converts the viral genetic material - in this case, RNA or ribonucleic acid - into DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid that is subsequently inserted into the infected cat's genetic blueprint. A cat cannot contract HIV from a human, and a human cannot be infected by FIV through contact with an infected cat. Levy, associate professor of small animal internal medicine at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine. ![]() Virologists classify FIV as a lentivirus, a slow-acting organism that is in the same viral family as the potentially deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), says Dr. And pugnacious free-roaming males are more likely, by far, than other felines to bite them. Is your cat a hot-tempered, unneutered male who spends a lot of time outdoors and seems to like nothing more than scrapping with the other guys in the neighborhood? If so, he's at especially high risk for infection with the feline immunodeficiency virus ( FIV), a submicroscopic, parasitic organism that can weaken his immune system and, in time, make him vulnerable to a host of opportunistic diseases.ĭeep bite wounds, notes Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, are, by far, the primary mode of the virus's transmission from an infected to an uninfected animal. Owners are urged to have their cats tested for feline immunodeficiency virus. A sk Elizabeth: Can I catch FIV from my cat? ![]()
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