Discover throughout this article everything about feline AIDS, you will know if it is transmitted or not, what are the different symptoms that your cat may have, the diagnosis, the treatment that must be followed, the care that will be carried out and others. quite interesting data.
Learn about feline AIDS
The disease in question is seen and felt as one of the worst that can afflict any living being, but when it attacks a loved one it is even more painful, be it a dog, a cat or a close person; Although it may seem strange or uncommon, cats can also get this condition, it is even considered to be one of the ones that most affects them together with leukemia.
This is a disease that until now has no definitive cure, just as it happens in the case of humans, but not everything is negative, there are certain treatments, as will be seen in the next segments, that can relieve your pet, usually be very effective if the instructions established by the attending veterinarian are followed.
First of all, you must be very aware that you must give quality of life to your companion, to your cat, do not be scared, everything will be fine if you follow the treatment, try to know everything about this condition in depth and you will see that everything is easier for both you and the cat.
You should always be attentive to all the symptoms that your cat may present in the different phases, remember that taking care of it in time is the best option, if more days are left to run, everything will be more complicated and even more painful, go to the veterinarian as soon as possible to make the respective diagnosis and apply the appropriate treatment.
FIV – Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
The acronym for this is FIV, this only affects felines, being a virus where there is a deficiency in the immune system; It is important to note that even though it only affects these animals, it is the same as what occurs in humans, only it is not produced by the same virus, which is why you should not worry, it is not spread from cats to humans.
The action of this virus is through the immune system, so the organism of this animal is more vulnerable, since the T-lymphocytes have been attacked; When this system is attacked, other conditions, infectious or not, are more likely to appear, since bacteria and other contaminants cannot be attacked.
This is the biggest problem that the animal can present, its inability to attack diseases, which is why it is the most important thing that must be attended to; Being such a chronic condition that it damages and destroys the cells of said system, so the deterioration is gradual.
It should be noted that if it is attended to in time, it can be controlled, in such a way that the deterioration of the animal is avoided or slowed down; specialists in the area assure that cats that have been diagnosed and follow the appropriate treatment have quality of life and a higher life expectancy than those that are not diagnosed and continue without treatment.
How is AIDS transmitted and spread in cats?
The way in which a contagion of this type could occur is through contact with either saliva or blood from an animal that already suffers from this disease, for this reason, one of the most common ways that a feline gets infected of this disease is by being bitten by one who has AIDS, which usually happens in street cats when they face each other.
It is rare for cats that are usually in the houses to get this condition, however. If they can be prone to escaping or another cat entering the house, so it is important to be alert to this type of situation, prevent your cat from leaving in any way and take certain precautions when taking it for a walk.
In this sense, it is highlighted that there is a factor that can be differentiated in terms of what happens with human beings, and that is that in this case there is no proven evidence to ensure that between felines they can be transmitted by copulation, or through reproduction. , and there is even talk that there are no data that reflect that eating or drinking from the same cup may have possibilities of contagion.
Another interesting fact is that cats that are pregnant or lactating have a high chance of passing this condition on to their offspring. It should also be borne in mind that there are no proven facts about the possibility of transmission through fleas and ticks, so it is necessary to prevent. It is best to do the corresponding blood test.
Symptoms of feline AIDS
In cats, just as it happens with people, this condition can be present in the body for a long time, even years, without manifesting itself, that is, without showing itself through symptoms, but not only this, but this can be a of the reasons why the disease is not detected in time and therefore put into treatment.
Even so, at the moment in which the lymphocytes begin to be damaged and destroyed and the immune system becomes more deteriorated as time passes, the deterioration of the cat can be seen, since the bacteria and viruses that are in the environment and to which these animals are prone to acquire and will begin to invade the cat and the cat will have no way of defending itself; the mange in cats it is not a symptom of FIV.
From that moment is when the symptoms appear and can be detected in this animal, some of these most common and frequent symptoms are:
- can have high temperatures
- You are not hungry or eat very little
- His hair no longer has the same shine as before.
- You are suffering from gingivitis and/or also from stomatitis
- You are constantly getting infections
- Your connective tissue feels swollen
- She has diarrhea very often
- There is a great mental deterioration
- She has lost a lot of weight lately
- Has no ability to fertilize or has lost many pregnancies
You must bear in mind that other conditions appear most frequently, remember that the immune system is not at its optimal point, so if you notice that diseases have appeared very frequently and that, in addition, they are very complicated to cure, then it could mean that you have VIF; if it presents conjunctivitis in cats don't worry, this doesn't mean he has AIDS.
Diagnosis of AIDS in cats
Regardless of whether your cat presents some or all of the symptoms mentioned in the previous segment, you should not diagnose the animal on your own, you should go to a veterinary center to carry out the corresponding physical evaluations, nor should you self-medicate it assuming that it has this condition, always consult with specialists in the area.
The first thing that the veterinarian will ask you is about the symptoms that your cat has had for a while, he will also review the medical history if he has previously taken him to his respective consultation, so he can have greater certainty of the moment of appearance of this disease and determine in what phase it is in and therefore resort to the most indicated treatment in that case.
This will use some tests to verify if there are antibodies that are against this specific virus, as for these tests, it should be noted that they are not one hundred percent reliable, which is why they are often repeated several times to be accurate. at the time of diagnosis.
In cases in which the results of these tests are not reliable, it will be possible to resort to other types of medical evaluations that are usually more powerful and safe, in addition, techniques are also used by which the virus is totally isolated, in any case, The decision rests with the veterinarian.
Treatment for cats with immunodeficiency
As you can already imagine, the best thing you can do is prevent, following many of the tips mentioned in the previous paragraphs, since there is no vaccine that cures this virus, but there are certain cares that you can carry out to guarantee a good quality of life to your cat and give it a long life.
Carry out a yearly check-up of your cat with the veterinarian, it will be the best way to act in time, especially if it has fought with cats or if you have let it go out on the street on several occasions and you have noticed that it has an injury, such as a scratch or a bite, in any of the cases, if you did not manage to prevent its infestation, then you must act so that its immune system does not weaken and on the contrary remains strengthened.
Surely your veterinarian will tell you that you should use medications called antimicrobials, which are responsible for keeping track of the bacteria that may occur in the cat in the body; Regarding this type of treatment, it is important to bear in mind that you must give them regularly, since otherwise the cat may relapse.
It was previously mentioned that one of the symptoms or conditions that can afflict the cat is gingivitis and stomatitis, in cases like these it is good to attack them with anti-inflammatories, the veterinarian will recommend the best option.
But you should not only be attentive to the treatment, but also with everything related to its diet, the advice of the specialists refers to the high consumption of calories, so you can use cans of some food, so that you help your animal. to have a good quality of life
What else should I know about feline AIDS?
Surely one of the questions is regarding the life expectancy that your cat has from the moment of being diagnosed, however, this is unknown with certainty, everything will depend on the quality of life that you can guarantee and their respective care, but also will depend on your body's response to the treatment.
You should always be checking his temperature and weight, so you will know if he is relapsed or if his health is in optimal conditions; the quality of life is guaranteed if you carry out each of the tips already mentioned.
One of my cats has AIDS, but the others don't.
This will not be a problem as long as there are no problems such as scratches or bites between them, so none of the others will be infected.
My cat has died of AIDS, is it safe to bring a new one?
The data and previous experiences show that without the carrier, the virus will only be able to resist a few hours, also if your cat has died, there is no possibility of it biting or hurting another cat, therefore, some probability of contagion is minimal.
Can a cat with AIDS infect me?
As mentioned in previous segments, there is no chance of that happening, since FIV only occurs among felines, the human virus is different.
Immunodeficient cat care
- His food should be of the highest possible quality, nutritious and he likes it.
- You must be deworming it with great regularity
- Do not allow him to leave the house, so he will not get complicated or be able to infect other cats in the area
- Make your respective vaccinations in the given period
- If it is within your reach, you can give it homeopathy for cats, so you can prevent other types of infections.