What Are Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus?
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is contagious among cats. Unlike many other viruses that enter specific cells in the body and destroy them, FeLV enters certain cells in a cat’s body and changes the cells’ genetic characteristics. This permits FeLV to continue reproducing within the cat each time infected cells divide. This allows FeLV to become dormant (inactive) in some cats, making disease transmission and prognosis difficult to predict.
Like FeLV, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is also contagious among cats, and a cat can be infected with FIV for many years without showing any clinical signs of illness. Although FIV is not contagious to humans, FIV has some similarities to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has been used to help researchers better understand HIV.
How Do Cats Become Infected With FeLV and FIV?
FeLV is generally transmitted through contact with saliva from an infected cat. Certain social behaviors such as mutual grooming and sharing food or water bowls can spread the disease. Kittens can become infected during fetal development or during the first days of life as their mothers nurse and care for them.
Like FeLV, FIV is also transmitted through contact with saliva from an infected cat. However, most cats contract FIV through bite wounds sustained during fights with FIV-infected cats rather than through social behaviors. Because of territorial behavior and related aggression of cats (particularly male cats) roaming outside tends to increase the risk for exposure to FIV.
FeLV and FIV are both killed by common disinfectants and don’t live for very long in the environment, so contact with an infected cat is generally necessary for disease transmission between cats.
Signs of FeLV and FIV
Not every cat that becomes infected with FeLV develops clinical signs or long-term complications associated with the virus. The immune system of some cats can eliminate the infection before the cat becomes sick. In other cats, the virus can “hide” in the bone marrow, where it is difficult to detect until it begins to cause problems later in life. Other cats become carriers of the disease or experience various illnesses and immune suppression before eventually dying of FeLV-associated complications.
Like cats with FeLV infection, FIV-positive cats don’t always show clinical signs. Some FIV-positive cats can live a relatively normal life span after becoming infected. Similar to HIV, FIV causes illness by attacking the patient’s immune system. Therefore, FIV-infected cats tend to develop clinical signs related to secondary (related) infections and not necessarily due to FIV.
Clinical signs associated with FeLV or FIV infection can be very similar and surprisingly variable, including the following:
- Fever
- Lethargy (tiredness)
- Chronic respiratory infection
- Chronic dental, oral, and gum infections
Some FeLV-positive cats also go on to develop bone marrow problems and certain cancers. Additional clinical signs associated with FIV infection can include chronic diarrhea and weight loss and chronic eye and skin infections.
When cats infected with FeLV or FIV continue to spend time outside, they are at increased risk for exposure to other viruses, parasites, and infections that their bodies may be unable to handle. Additionally, they are likely to sustain wounds (through cat fights or other trauma) that may become infected or fail to heal properly due to the compromised immune function associated with FeLV or FIV infection.
Diagnosis and Treatment
FeLV infection can be complicated to diagnose because there are several stages of disease and not every cat handles FeLV infection the same way. Blood tests detect the disease in many cats, but for other cats, the bone marrow must be examined to confirm infection. In contrast, FIV infection is usually diagnosed through blood testing alone.
A rapid-result test called a SNAP test to can be used to help diagnose FeLV or FIV infection. The SNAP test is very accurate, can be performed in your veterinarian’s office using a very small amount of blood, and takes only 10 minutes to complete. If your veterinarian obtains a questionable result on the SNAP test, additional testing may be recommended. Some of these tests must be performed at an outside laboratory, from which results take longer to receive.
No medication can eliminate FeLV or FIV. Most treatments involve managing the clinical signs and associated complications. Keeping cats indoors is very important to protect them from these diseases.
When Should Cats Be Tested for FeLV and FIV?
Because FeLV or FIV infection can have many clinical presentations, your veterinarian may want to test your cat if he or she seems to be ill—especially if a fever is present.
Kittens or cats being introduced into the home should be tested for FeLV and FIV, especially if they are ill. Kittens whose mothers were infected with FIV may test positive when they are very young but test negative later as the antibodies they received while nursing from their mother wear off. Some veterinarians, therefore, recommend retesting young kittens when they are older (for example, at 6 months of age) to verify whether they are still positive. With FeLV infection, some kittens may test positive at first but test negative later if their immune system has been able to eliminate the infection. Similarly, some cats may be FeLV-negative at one point and test positive later as the virus progresses through various stages in the body. Because infection with FeLV or FIV can be complex, your veterinarian may recommend re-testing at some point.
Many cats can live reasonably normal lives with FeLV or FIV infection, so if your cat tests positive, do not despair! This result does not necessarily mean that your cat will soon become sick and die. As long as precautions are taken to protect cats from wounds, parasites, and other infections that can make them sick and shorten their life span, some cats can live for many years with FeLV or FIV infection. If your cat tests positive, ask your veterinarian what precautions you should take to protect your cat.
Vaccination and Prevention
Available vaccines can prevent disease associated with FeLV and prevent infection with FIV. Kittens are generally vaccinated against FeLV around 8 to 9 weeks of age. A booster vaccination is given 3 to 4 weeks later, according to the vaccine label, followed by boosters each year as long as the risk for exposure remains. Similarly, vaccination against FIV can begin when kittens are around 8 weeks of age. Two additional boosters are given 2 to 3 weeks apart, followed by boosters each year as long as the risk for exposure remains.
Cats that go outside are at greater risk for exposure to FeLV and FIV compared with cats that stay indoors. If your cat’s exposure risk is low, your veterinarian may not recommend these vaccines, so be sure to discuss this important question with your veterinarian.
Protecting your cat from exposure to FeLV and FIV involves minimizing exposure to other cats and knowing the FeLV and FIV statuses of all the cats in your home. Any new kitten or cat being introduced into the home should be examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible and separated from all other household pets for a quarantine period of at least a few weeks. During this time, the new cat should be tested for FeLV and FIV and monitored closely for signs of illness. Any problems should be reported to your veterinarian before introducing the new cat to your other pets.
