FIV+ cat question about transmitting

HELP. I need to know if anyone has had any real world experience with an FIV+ cat biting a non FIV cat. My FIV+ cat saw a cat outside and turned on his brother and bit him (redirected aggression). Anyhow, he drew blood from the capillaries on the tip of the ear. We tried to clean out the wound with water and alcohol. Is it a certainty that he will become FIV+ or is there a chance he'll stay negative? Per my vet I can't test for 5 weeks and then again in another 5 weeks. The waiting will kill me.

 

One of my mums cats a few years ago was bitten by another cat that had FIV and she ended up catching it.
My mum was devastated as she had the cat from a kitten and was 10 year old when she was attacked, she had never been attacked by another cat or a dog in her life.

She was put on some drugs can't remember what they were called as its a few years ago now, but she lived until she was 15 yrs old and passed in her sleep.

Hopefully your swift action might have stopped the virus getting into your other cats blood, only time will tell when blood tests are done..

Please let us know the outcome i have my fingers crossed he is ok

Mike

 

Couple of questions for the FIV biting response

thanks 4 response. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but .... Time will tell. Can I ask couple questions? 1) how vicious of a fight was your mum's cat in? Ripped fur and bloody bites that required vet visit? 2) do u know how long it was b4 your mum's cat turned a pos test? 1 month or longer?

Thanks please keep Georgie in your prayers. Chili loves him and the bite was from redirected agression. Totally sick and depressed over the entire thing.

 

It was that nasty of an attack Her neck was punctured and she was taken to the vets straight away, she had the wounds cleaned and a stitch put in 4 holes she had.

He took blood that day, but told mum she would need another test 6 weeks later, Her first test was negative which we knew it would be, but her second test was positive.

Like i say she lived until she was 15 only problem she had every so often she would get a serious bout of diareah.

Hope this helps

mike

 

FIV+ ca question about transmitting

Thanks for the information. Sounds like a much worse bite, but.... Chili did have a direct hit on a capillary, so.... not sure that it really matters. Thanks again. I'll post the results of the blood test in about 4-5 weeks.

 

had you ever vaccinated your non-FIV cat with the vaccine? I know it's not 100% effective but it might help if he doesn't end up with it.
I'm pretty sure it's transmitted via saliva and that a cat can get it even in a hissing spitting match.
I know fosters who took in cats who tested negative only to find out weeks and weeks later the cat was positive....I'm talking months later as it took time for the disease to manifest.
I hope your cat doesn't get it but at least if he does then you won't have to worry about it....I'm told they can live several years with it

 

No I haven't had him vaccinated and I doubt I will if he turns out to not contract FIV. I've been told that there are so many strains of FIV that the vaccine only provides some protection against several strains. Also, once vaccinated they will always test positive. So, if he were to get out and lost, or if something were to happen to us, someone might think he had FIV when in fact he just was vaccinated against it. And so many shelters and people put cats down when they test pos.

Finally, I sure hope he lives more than 2 years. He's only 3, so I would worry a LOT if he only had 2 more years. Chili, my FIV+ cat who did the biting, was diagnosed 3 years ago and he's been healthy except for one minor fever after teeth cleaning. From others I've talked to its entirely possible that FIV cats will live as long as non FIV. Of course, the concern is that cats who develop the full blown disease, will have a shortened life. Praying that he turns out to be negative. Thanks for the input and I'll post when I have the first test results in 5 weeks. If negative then, I'll still have to retest in another month or so; because as you said it takes some time for the antibodies to develop enough to be detected.

Tracy