Special Needs: FIV Positive. FIV is not tranferrable to humans, just to other felines.

Description:
Ramey is a lovely, affectionate cat who has the misfortune of being FIV positive. Usually cats who test positive for FIV are immediately put to sleep if for no other reason than it is difficult to find them a home. Fortunately for Ramey, David, one of our wonderful volunteers, step forward and offered to foster her.

FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. It is basically the feline form of AIDS and acts similarly to HIV in humans. The disease is not easily transferable, but when it is passed it is usually the result of a deep-tissue bite, which is not a common occurrence in neutered cats since they prefer to establish dominance through body language.

FIV symptoms can include severe gingivitis (gum disease), frequent and recurring skin infections, weight loss, fatigue, and frequent and/or recurring infections of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and uro-genital tract. However, FIV symptoms may never appear or may not appear for years, so that means the disease is not necessarily a death sentence and an abundance of these cats can live a happy, normal life when fed a high-quality/high-protein diet, stress is kept under control and plenty of love and care is given. Owning an FIV-positive cat just means that you need to be extra sensitive to symptoms of any illness, since these special cats have a compromised immune system and have a more difficult time fighting off sickness.

You can read more about FIV on our webpage, FIV- Feline Aids.