FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. This is a disease that’s almost always found in outside cats who aren’t neutered or spayed.
Picture a cute little boy kitten, rambunctious and playful. For whatever reason, he ends up outside, fending for himself. Then his hormones kick in. Intact male cats are hardwired to procreate, just like intact females.
An intact male will be forced by his hormones to travel up to 3 square miles if he scents an intact female; he has no choice. He also has no choice about the fights that happen from many intact males vying for females, or the abuse they both can receive from humans who don’t like their behavior.
Keep in mind most of this is perfectly preventable with neutering or spaying, as most fixed cats don’t act like this once those hormones go away.
FIV is transmitted through mating and deep bite wounds and can happen to both males and females, primarily to intact outside cats who are competing for resources.
The good news is that it’s been proven FIV+ cats can live happily with other cats and not transmit the disease, unless there’s serious fighting in the home.
Research also tells us cats without symptoms who are FIV+ have a good of living the same number of years as non-FIV cats, especially with good veterinary care.
Because of this, we rescue FIV+ cats too. As best we can, we test for temperament to ensure they are cats we can recommend as getting along with other cats.
Because the risk of transmission is extremely low, we house our FIV+ cats with our regular ones, monitoring carefully for fighting.
Most vets will recommend twice yearly checkups to make sure they are in good health, with special attention paid to dental issues and quickly treating any infections, as their immune systems don’t work quite as well as their non-FIV friends. They also recommend annual testing of any cats housed with an FIV+ cat to be sure about their status too.
We think you’ll find our FIV+ cats are some of the most lovable and sweet cats in the world!
