Q:  >I have a question. We were given 2 cats. After we had them a week or so, we took one to the vet because it stayed sick. It had Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome. They said the brother probably has the same thing. I have 3 children. Can this be passed along to them or will they catch anything?

A:   I live with a 19 YO FIV+ cat, and I can attest that it is NOT catching to humans. It is an entirely different virus. FIV in cats is not an automatic death sentence, and many cats can live a full lifetime with no adverse symptoms. The main thing you need to do is keep them indoors. FIV is primarily caused by "saliva to blood," i.e. deep biting. Cats who are allowed to roam outdoors inevitably get into territorial battles, and diseases such as FIV and FeLV (feline leukemia) are spread that way.

My site offers a huge resource section for more information about the FIV virus, at http://cats.about.com/cs/fiv/index.htm

Hope this will ease your mind.

Return to Q & A Index

All Articles