Feline AIDS

This weekend I went to go volunteer again. While I was there a woman who had adopted a cat from the organization, began talking to Lee, the one in charge of the cat section of the organization. The woman came to let us know that the cat that she had recently adopted had died, due to a sudden illness. They talked about what had happened to the cat, and during their conversation, Lee mentioned how every cat they recieve is tested for different diseases. One of the diseases she mentioned was feline AIDS and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). I knew that many animals can get the same diseases and viruses as we do, but I never thought of animals getting AIDS. So this week I did a little research on Feline AIDS and FIV.
FIV is often reffered to as Feline AIDS because of the many similarities they have in common. FIV can be undetected for years, and can be triggered by any infection or illness. About 3% of healthy cats are affected by this, and rates rise to about 15% for unhealthy cats. The virus is usually spread through bite wounds, and may be spread to newborn kittens in birthing or when injesting infected milk. Cats that are kept in households will be less likely to be infected by the virus.
Some symptoms of FIV are loss of appetite, poor coat and skin, constant fever, inflamation of the gums or mouth, reoccurring infections and wieght loss.
It is very important to test your cat for FIV, as well as any other harmful diseases. It is also very important todo research and properly take care of your cat if it has been infected with this disease.