Saturday

Should You Get Your Cat Feline Vaccinations for Feline Aids?

If you are trying to determine whether or not you should get your cat vaccinated for FIV (Feline Aids), you should know a few things. Twelve percent of all cats in the US have at some point been exposed to FIV. Unlike the human version of HIV, cats can live many years with FIV and exhibit little in the way of health issues.

But, eventually viral infections, kidney disease or diabetes can begin to affect the cat and attack its immune system. Cats with FIV that contract a disease like those, has less chance of being able to fight it off that cats that do not have FIV. So it would be natural to assume that if you get your cat feline vaccinations for FIV, everything is good, right? Well, actually there has been a lot of debate over the issue of getting your cat feline vaccinations or not.

Some Reasons Not to Get Feline Vaccinations:
There are five strains of FIV that are known, and the current feline vaccinations for FIV do not protect against all of the strains.
After the cat is vaccinated for FIV, it will continue to test positive for it, this makes it impossible for the veterinarian to determine whether or not the cat being tested is healthy and vaccinated or infected.
FIV vaccine is a type of vaccination called adjunctive, which means it can produce tumors.
The success rate of FIV in feline vaccinations is 82%. Basically, one of out five of the cats that are exposed to FIV will actually contract it, even thought they were given feline vaccinations for it.

Keep in mind that if you have a cat that is only indoors and not in contact with other cats, there is not really a need for feline vaccinations for FIV. If the cat is outdoors, prior to considering vaccination for FIV, make sure that the cat is spayed or neutered which will decrease the likelihood of getting in a catfight. Remember, cats can live a healthy full life with FIV, and you should consider carefully giving it feline vaccinations for FIV.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this great article. I was exactly what I was looking for. My cats mother had this disease and I was told to have my kittens put down. We went against the recommendations and had them tested several times. They never developed the disease and are still doing just fine today. Their only ailment is that they get the occasional hair ball. I appreciate you getting this info out there for everyone to see.
Chris Marcum

Saman said...

You are welcome.If you have any other question,do let me know and ill solve it for you.

Anonymous said...

I have a 5 month old kitten at home. He has not been tested for the Feline Aids because he is strictly an indoor cat with no exposure to other cats. I came out to my Mom's house a week ago and there was a cat outside that is super friendly and I wanted to take him home with me. I brought him to the vet for his shots and I got a call from the vet saying he has Feline Aids. He is such a sweet boy, I think he deserves a home. I am trying to find out if I can bring him home and still protect my kitten from getting the disease also. I am reading conflicted reports all over the internet. I have a call in to my vet at home. I guess I already know that I can't be 100% sure that my kitten will not get it, but what are the chances?

Saman said...

Cats with feline aids can live a long life with proper medication and care.Although to be sure,you should get the other one vaccinated.
The best thing to do is go to your vet and ask him what will be best for you kitten.
Both cats might have an adjustment problem,you will have to be careful. Do let me know what the vet says.

Anonymous said...

I heard from the vet today. She said that I should get my kitten tested for Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), and Feline Aids (FIV). If he has the FIV also it doesn't matter. If he doesn't then I should have him vaccinated for the Feline Aids. If the kitten is positive for the leukemia virus then I should have the outside cat vaccinated against that. After the vaccination of my kitten she said to introduce them first through a door, and then one in a cat carrier for awhile. She said that as long as they don't fight (draw blood) the chance of transmittal is low.

Saman said...

This seems good,all you have to do is NOT let your cats fight.You should be very careful with your kitten do.He can feel neglected when a new cat comes same goes with the new one.New environmnet can be tough.So both need lots of love and attention by you.Keep pe posted please.If possible take some pictures and let mek now.Ill have them posted along with yours and if you want write a few lines on each of them.Ill post them