Si Comot lose weight drastically not long after she delivered her kittens (Miko, Juno, Hitler, Oggy & Robin) 3 months ago. However, no matter how thin she is, her appetite is still as big as ever, but never seem to gain weight. I thought it was caused by the kittens who still harassing their mom for milk and she got stressed or something like that. 2 days ago, she seemed really not in the mood, lay down on the floor with a dreamy gaze after her meal, didn't even bother to kick her kittens when they tried to suck on her nipples. Went to her, asking her what's wrong (yes, I talk to my cat!) and noticed that her body is slightly cold. So, off to the vet yesterday.
Temperature, okay. Weights at 1.9kg. The vet asked me the normal strings of questions, "Is she eating well?" Yes. "Any vomiting?" No. "Normal stool? Not watery or bloody?" None that I know of. Then took a blood test and the results came that her red blood cells is okay. But her white blood cells seems to be more than normal. Very unusual pattern too. So, the vet came out with the result - Feline AIDS.
No cure for cats who has these kind of disease - that's a straightforward answer. However, she's given few jabs of medication and 2 weeks' supply of antibiotics and return for check up afterwards to see if she's responding to the medication. Told me that if the cat's responding well and her antibody is strong enough, she could live longer. Phew...putting her to sleep is not an option for me!
Now that she has it, I think I need to start bringing the cats and kittens in the house for a check up in near time!
So...What is Feline AIDS you ask?
Feline AIDS or FAIDS is caused when the cat is tested positive for having Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). FIV damages the immune system inside the cat's body, to prevent him from combating ailments or other type of infections. Over sometime, the cat's health will getting worst before succumb to the disease. There is no cure for FIV or FAIDS at the moment, but with proper care, we can prolong his life and let them live a good quality life before he passing on. Estimated between 1% to 14% of the cats' population is infected with FIV/FAIDS.
How Does FIV/FAIDS spread?
Like some of you, I thought it's because of their sexual activities too. Well...it's not. Sexual activity is not a principle cause of FIV/FAIDS. The virus is commonly spread via saliva, bite wounds by an infected cat. Male cats, which always involved in fights with other cats has the higher risk of getting infected. Kittens, can also be infected thru the FIV/FAIDS positive mother cat's milk.
Is it safe for humans to be around with FIV/FAIDS infected cats?
FIV/FAIDS and HIV/AIDS is not the same, though genetically almost similar. Rest assured that HIV/AIDS is not transmittable to cats and vice versa. It's perfectly safe for both human and cats with both diseases to mingle around.
What are the symptoms that I should look out for?
Some of the symptoms could be:
- Poor coat infections, skin conditions
- Mouth, tooth and gum problems
- Very poor appetite
- Chronic diarrhea
- Continuous fever
- Progressive weight loss
- Chronic abscesses or wounds that took long to heal
- Eye problems - cataracts, glaucoma, conjunctivitis
- Ear infections
- Anemia
- Seizures
- Tumors
- Psycho motor problems - shaky manner when walking
- Still births
Take note that even if your cat has the above symptoms it wasn't necessary to be FIV/FAIDS, but to make sure please bring them to your vet for further check up.
Can I keep my infected cats with the other cats?
Best to get all the other cats for a check up to make sure the others are healthy and tested negative. No problem to keep them together as normal but if the infected cat is a fighter, best to keep them in a cage to prevent him from infecting others.
If your cats is socially interact with other cats out there, best to get them tested soon. Love your pets! ^_^V
Sources:
http://www.best-cat-art.com/feline-aids.html
http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Feline_Aids
http://www.petplace.com/cats/what-you-should-know-about-feline-aids/page1.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_immunodeficiency_virus
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5 comments:
Thank you for your effort in sharing this piece of information wit us,, thank you..god bless
didnt know about this till you highlighted in FB
eugene: just so that no one got misunderstood about FIV/FAIDS with HIV/AIDS. =)
Smallkucing: I noticed the posters in my local vet. Never thought much about it until my own cat got it...
Sobsob... *crying liao* so kesian... summore that meow meow looks like mine! *SOBSOB* My cat's colouring oso like this!!! T__________________T
God... I never let my meow out of the house...never mingle with any other cats before... but even then, I feel scared for her!
no worries cleffairy, if MeowMeow is always indoors, never mingle with any other cats before chances of getting it is low. Comot is now on medication, let's just hope she'll be ok. =)
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