Talk:Feline immunodeficiency virus

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The "Symptoms" section talks about transmission vectors, but not actual symptoms an infected cat would display. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.239.77.212 (talk) 17:11, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

I wanted to note that the section on symptoms has nothing whatsoever to do with symptoms but rather discusses theories on how the virus may be transmitted. This may be better off under the Transmission heading created by the same user. This section should be modified to list actual symptoms or removed/re-integrated under Transmission. Yaedaien 03:41, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

Do we really need mention of FIV in a SNL sketch included in this article? FelineAvenger 03:46, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

Could someone clarify whether it's transmitted upon sex? Tokek 08:55, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

It's not clear, Tokek. When a male cat mates a female he often bites her on the back of her neck. If the virus has been passed on, it's difficult to tell if it it was through the bite wound or via seminal fluid. Angelicakrasia 18:33, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

The article mentions there is a vaccine available for FIV, but that is incorrect and if it's not no one else knows about it. My cat was diagnosed and there is no vaccine available for it in the US.
 * I've removed that statement. It was probably inserted by an editor who confuses this with feline leukemia. Durova 17:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

there is not a vaccine that can cure this virus. but there is a preventable vaccine. (above added by anony)

I don't know for sure what the answer is. But vaccine's are generally prophylactic and it would be surprising if there was a theurapeutic vaccine. As such, it's not surprising that your vet said there was no cure when your cat was diagnosed but it doesn't mean there isn't a vaccine. A quick google suggests there is a vaccine 203.109.240.93 17:45, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

There is a prophylactic vaccine available. The problem is that there are lots of different "strains" of the virus and all are not covered. Also, the tests we have for FIV can only look for the antibody, so if a cat has been vaccinated, it will come up positive whether it has the disease or not. Because of the limited spectrum and the confusion it can cause in the future, many vets do not recommend the vaccine.

where and when did this start
Seriously it says that 86 is when feline aids was seen in feral cats, but where was it before? What mutated to create feline aids?66.41.66.213 01:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC) Aids has been in lions and such for as long as anyone can tell. they think it mutated from the big cats to infect the domestic ones as well. Many vets have come to the conclusion that it is not transmitted by sex, just by saliva and milk from the mother.--Mitzei 20:33, 25 February 2007 (UTC)


 * According to numerous websites I've recently read, FIV is not transmitted thru either the saliva or milk of a feline mother to her kittens. However, this info comes with the caveat that various sites make varied claims one way or the other. Essentially, the current risks & precautionary measures aren't yet clear. My cat was diagnosed with FIV & thus, more vulnerable to the incurable cancer that ended his life at only 13 years old two months ago. I plan to ask the family vet what precautions I should undertake to clean my apartment before adopting another cat. Here again, according to the numerous articles I've read, different vets hold different views on what safety measures to follow & how long the virus survives on surfaces. To compound the confusion, different types of tests to determine FIV exist: some take longer, others are less reliable, some more expensive, & others more prohibitively exacting about the conditions of the samples submitted & tests performed. All these factors whether individually or combined can significantly affect the results in terms of false positives & negatives. It would seem more research is necessary since ultimately, the facts of FIV remain inconclusive to a lay person like me. 2603:7000:3806:F700:5980:AB74:596E:9675 (talk) 02:55, 5 July 2022 (UTC)

The reference to 86 denotes when a test become available to detect antibodies to the virus. No doubt the virus has been present in cat populations for a lot longer. M.Beattie B.V.Sc.

There is a vaccine available for FIV, but not many vets will recommend it as it is not proven to prevent FIV and after vaccination your pet will show positive for FIV in the basic blood tests used to check for the disease. 12.40.84.157 18:33, 13 April 2007 (UTC) JW

feline aids
Q: can a dog get infected by a cat with feline aids? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.149.101.6 (talk) 19:54, 9 May 2007 (UTC).

A: Yes, if your dog is actually a cat. Ask your vet to check.--129.128.147.200 17:46, 10 October 2007 (UTC)


 * That answer could at best be classified as irrelevant. Said: Rursus (☻) 08:10, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Our cat was recently diagnosed with FIV, as we also have a dog, is there any possibility that the dog could have also been infected with the virus? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.134.241.144 (talk) 11:23, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Feline aids can only infect cats so other species are not at risk including humans. M.Beattie B.V.Sc.

feline SIV!!
I've read theories about FIV originating SIV that originated HIV. Since that was a science magazine and such often treat far out speculations as simple truth, how speculative is this hypothesis? Said: Rursus (☻) 08:10, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Pros and Cons of FIV+ and FIV- mixed households
I have two cats who are FIV- and I'm wondering if I can get some opinions or references to discussion on the pros and cons of adding an FIV+ cat to a negative household. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. --Kijilinn (talk) 15:46, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

I've been reading a lot of papers on FIV, and therefore I can't tell you exactly which one I read this in, but... transmission between cats is largely linked to the level of aggression between them, and typically goes down over time as they fight less. So it rally comes down to whether they're going to be biting each other (saliva can transmit the virus). That said, even if they get along, there's always going to be the chance of fluids being exchanged even when they play.

In this case you may want to consider Fel-O-Vax, the FIV vaccine, for your FIV- cats. It's certainly something that you'd have to talk to your vet about though.

I'd suggest this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2004.08.005 which is titled "Dual-subtype FIV vaccine (Fel-O-Vax® FIV) protection against a heterologous subtype B FIV isolate". The article concludes that Fel-O-Vax provides good protection against subtype B strains. Unfortunately the article's not available for free, but the abstract mentions that 4/8 cats in the control group (unvaccinated) contracted FIV within a few years when housed with FIV+ cats. However, none of the 6 vaccinated cats contracted the disease.

There's still no guarantee though that the FIV+ cat you're bringing in to the home has a strain of the virus that the vaccine would protect against though : \ Redsteven (talk) 03:58, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Ambiguous wording
Under "Transmission", it says "This differs from FeLV, which may be spread by more casual, non-aggressive contact since the virus is also present at mucosal surfaces such as those in the mouth, rectum, and vagina, so casual contact cannot be ruled out as a potential transmission.". I'm rather confused as to which virus it's claiming to be present in mucosal surfaces, and in which case casual contact cannot be ruled out. 198.150.76.150 (talk) 19:05, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that it's saying that FeLV is more likely to be transmitted by casual contact. Redsteven (talk) 20:36, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

I agree that the last sentience is confusing and we can not infer from this statement the author's intent.

In the first paragraph " but FIV is not always a death sentence for cats" i think should be rerite —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.222.163.151 (talk) 01:10, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

- I have moved the text below to here from the main article. - TB (talk) 18:06, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

i know first hand the devastating effects of FIV disease,as my 12 year old cat lucky,had the disease and died 2 years ago.i own 4 cats,and i already discussed FIP in my other cat.the first sign of FIV in luckey was oral thrush,followed by persistant fevers,lymphadenopathy,and weight loss.she was diagnosed 2 months after the first symptoms,and was treated with AZT and interferon,which caused her to improve.alas,this improvement lasted just 2 years,and she went downhill fast at 2 and a half years.she died peacefully later that year.169.244.148.235 (talk) 15:45, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

My cat Sammy died from it too, but he was only 3 years old. =( i never even knew this existed until that day when the Vet told me.. i was.. floored.--Dr. Pizza (talk) 00:09, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

"Treatment Options" Section - Advert?
The "Treatment Options" section seems entirely devoted to a drug called "Lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator." In and of itself, that's not a problem but the text for this section (as well as all of the references) seem to have been lifted and/or copy-and-pasted almost verbatim from the article for the drug, which was flagged as being written like an advertisement.

Regardless, two of the four references for this section seem to have been taken from "T-Cyte Therapeutics, Inc."--a pharmaceutical company which both makes and markets the drug. I'm not sure whether that violates Wikipedia's NPOV guidelines--from what I can tell, the drug IS approved by the USDA--but a better source (if available) might be warranted, just in case. Are there any peer-reviewed journals or articles mentioning LTCI? I'd search myself, but I'm not familiar with veterinary science and wouldn't know where to look. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.50.226.143 (talk) 07:27, 2 September 2015 (UTC)