While all cats are at risk, lifestyle, sex and vaccination status all play an important part in reducing your cat’s risk. The following increase your cat’s risk of contracting FIV/FeLV:
- Not having been vaccinated against feline leukaemia
- Spending time outside
- Exposure to a cat or kitten whose infection status is unknown
- Living in a multiple-cat household
- Not having been spayed or neutered
- Aggressive behaviour toward other cats
- Past or present abscess wounds
Cats with FIV and/or FeLV do not always appear sick. In the early stages of the disease, many cats show few signs, so the only way to know for sure if they are infected is through a simple blood test. As the disease advances, the following symptoms may occur:
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Pale gums
- Bad breath
- Runny eyes
- Runny nose
- Vomiting
- Oral disease
Most veterinarians include a screen for FIV as part of the routine tests a cat gets during her lifetime. Other recommendations are:
- Cats should be tested at appropriate intervals based on their risk
- Cats and kittens entering a new household should be tested at introduction
- Cats exposed to an infected cat should be tested twice—at the time of exposure and 60 days later
- Cats should be tested before they are vaccinated
- Cats with clinical signs should be tested
Your veterinarian can run a simple test to see if your cat has been infected with FIV/FeLV. If the result is negative, they may recommend protecting your cat from FIV/FeLV by having her vaccinated.
If your cat tests positive for FIV/FeLV, it is NOT a death sentence! Cats with FIV/FeLV can live until a ripe old age; many infected senior cats pass as a result of problems not associated with their infection. Some recommendations for managing the healthy, FIV/FeLV-positive cat are:
- Careful monitoring of any weight loss
- Spaying or neutering intact cats
- Careful control of internal and external parasites
- Keeping infected cats indoors – this is very important
- Twice a year visits to your veterinarian, paying close attention to lymph nodes and any changes in the mouth
- Discussion with your veterinarian about vaccinations