Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
One clinical sign commonly seen with FIV-positive cats is gum dis-
ease.They can have red, inflamed, malodorous gums that do not respond
to brushing. If your cat has bad gums, his FIV status should be checked
because it will affect how well the cat will respond to treatment.
Care for FIV-Positive Cats
A vaccine for FIV became available in late 2002. Unfortunately, this
vaccine is far from ideal and should only be administered if your vet-
erinarian recommends it.The first problem with the vaccine is its effec-
tiveness. In trials it protected against only two of the four common
strains of FIV, and did not confer 100 percent protection against those
two. The biggest problem is that vaccinated cats will test positive on
standard FIV screening tests, making it impossible to differentiate
between cats who have been vaccinated and cats who are infected.
If you choose to vaccinate against FIV, I recommend first testing the cat
to ensure his negative pre-vaccine status. Be sure the cat has a microchip if
he is then vaccinated, so that if he is picked up as a stray, he will not be
destroyed because he tests positive and fits the “at-risk” description.
There is a controversy in veterinary medicine over what should be
done with stray cats who test positively for FIV.These animals can live
relatively normal lives, but they are a potential source of viral spread. It
is not recommended to bring an FIV-positive cat into a household with
FIV-negative cats, but the animal could be a great pet in a single-cat
home or in a home with other FIV-positive cats. If no one wants the
cat and he will be returned to an outdoor life, euthanasia may be con-
sidered to prevent the spread of the disease.
The most important thing an owner of an FIV-positive cat can do
is to keep the cat indoors. Indoor living fulfills two purposes: it decreas-
es the cat's exposure to infectious agents, and it prevents the cat from
spreading the disease to other cats.
FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is one of the most frustrating and
scary diseases in veterinary medicine. It is frustrating because of the
difficulty in making a definitive diagnosis, and it is scary because there
is no cure. I hate to mention FIP to owners of a sick cat.
What Is FIP?
FIP is a coronavirus, and feline coronaviruses are common and usually
don't cause many problems in affected cats. The current theory is that
