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ALBATROSS
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Horsham
West Sussex
RH12 4WL
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The FIV-positive Cat
Part 3 - Maintaining
Health and Well-being
Anne Haughie
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| Health
and well-being will be more easily maintained if the cat is
living in a stress-free, cat friendly environment. If the
cat goes out, it is important that it does not become chilled
if it gets wet. The fur should be dried off as soon as it
comes home and a warm, cosy bed away from draughts always
available.
For the cat that is confined to home
or garden, human companionship and a variety of stimulating
toys will help. These do not need to be expensive or sophisticated
- even elder statesmen cannot usually resist interactive games
involving pieces of string, cat mint mice, ping-pong balls
or scrunched up balls of kitchen foil. Large paper bags and
ridiculously small cardboard boxes are always irresistible
to even the most dignified of cats and will provide both cat
and owner with hours of entertainment. A carpet scrap or scratching
post will ensure claws are kept well stropped while a large
clump of cat-mint in the garden or growing in a pot indoors
will keep a cat happily ‘sozzled’ for hours. If
there is a vantage point for the cat to perch while snoozing
or watching the world go by, so much the better. A very useful
product to use in the home is a Feliway diffuser (Ceva Animal
Health). When a cat feels safe in its environment, it rubs
its head and face against familiar objects marking them with
substances called facial pheromones; these convey a message
of well-being, calm and absence of stress. Feliway contains
a solution of a pheromone that mimics the cat’s own
facial pheromones. A Feliway diffuser placed strategically
in a room occupied by the cat or near its bed can prove extremely
beneficial to its general state of well-being and calm.
For the owner whose cat is an incorrigible
fighter that cannot be totally confined and where fracas with
local homeless strays are a constant nightmare, one solution
is to round up each one in turn, test for FIV and if negative,
neuter then rehome or if positive, euthanase. Radical maybe
- but it has certainly worked wonders for the writer’s
nerves and the well-being of her FIV-positive cat, not to
mention the welfare of the local feline population!
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Research and Recent Developments
Treatment of FIV-infected cats with
specific therapies conducted under experimental conditions
is very controversial, with few good scientific publications
available. Many of the reports on current research into
FIV that appear in veterinary journals and therefore not
usually available to cat owners are often difficult for
even experienced veterinarians to interpret for a number
of reasons; these include the natural variability of the
disease, unclear diagnostic criteria, small numbers of cats
used in experimental studies, the lack of control groups,
lack of follow up and additional supportive treatments that
may be given to research cats that can influence results.
The major obstacle to producing drugs
to combat FIV, together with an effective vaccine, is the
large genetic diversity of the virus - researchers have
never identified a single identical isolate. There are five
known subtypes of FIV, all of which also have the ability
to mutate. Currently, the only drugs available merely suppress
the effects of the FIV virus and do not destroy it. Some
of the antiviral drugs specifically intended for treatment
of HIV and AIDS patients may also have the potential to
act against FIV but most are still in the experimental stages
of development and testing on felines. The side-effects
of these drugs appear to be greater in cats than in humans
and they are also very expensive; they are therefore unlikely
to be accessible to veterinarians and cat owners in the
foreseeable future.
With the exception of a new product
(feline interferon alpha) that has recently come on the
market in Japan and some European countries, no antiviral
drugs are currently licensed for veterinary use. At the
time of writing (July 2005) the only reported study performed
to test the efficacy of feline interferon alpha in a group
of research cats that was conducted in France did not show
significant changes in the survival rate when compared with
a placebo group.
As a result of more than ten years’
research, a commercial vaccine produced by Fort Dodge Animal
Health came on the market in 2002. This vaccine, currently
only available in the United States, is advocated as protecting
82% of cats from infection - which in practice means that
18% or nearly one in five can still be infected. Additionally,
because the vaccine contains whole virus it interferes with
all the current diagnostic tests that detect antibodies
as cats respond to vaccination by producing antibodies that
are indistinguishable from those that are detected if a
cat is infected with FIV. After vaccination a cat will test
positive for at least 12 months and nursing queens will
transfer antibodies to their kittens through colostrum.
In some cases, immunisation has paradoxically enhanced viral
replication and has been found to cause FIV infection. Hopefully,
other vaccines that do not interfere with testing and that
can overcome these problems will be developed in the not
too distant future.
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Management in the Boarding
Cattery
The prospect of boarding an FIV-positive
cat does seem to cause some boarding cattery proprietors
anxiety but there is no reason why a positive cat should
not be boarded. In a well constructed and correctly managed
boarding cattery where cats do not come into contact with
each other, routine hygiene and cleaning procedures will
be adequate to prevent any risk of transmission of the virus.
If the cat is asymptomatic you should
keep a careful eye on it throughout its stay and, if you
notice any changes in condition or behaviour such as increased
drinking, ill formed stools or perhaps a variable appetite,
then these should he reported to the owner on his or her
return in case they wish to follow up with a visit to their
own vet. Weigh the cat on admission and keep a check on
its weight throughout its stay so that any weight loss is
picked up immediately. You will need to monitor carefully
any known chronic condition for any signs of deterioration.
It goes without saying that if any change occurs that gives
you real cause for concern, then you should seek veterinary
advice without delay.
With any new clients who wish to
board a cat with FIV you should be as clear as you can as
to their cat's current state of health and any special requirements
that will be asked of you during its stay before you agree
to accept it. It may be that the cat is on some form of
medication for an ongoing condition, so it is important
that you make sure that you know exactly what is required
of you. If the cat's health has begun to deteriorate as
a result of FIV infection, you need to check this out very
carefully with the owner. It would be advisable to contact
the owner's own vet prior to admission to get an idea of
the severity of the illness, together with details of any
supportive treatment that will need to be administered or
any special diets that may need to be provided. Veterinary
advice should be sought as to whether it would be advisable
for the cat to receive an additional booster before admission
to the cattery if it is more than six months since one was
administered. Ideally, you should ask the owner to provide
a dated letter from their vet acknowledging the cat's FIV-positive
status and any illness episodes prior to boarding. This
will cover you in the event of any subsequent problem with
the owner should the cat deteriorate whilst in the cattery.
Make sure that you get full instructions
from the owner in writing with a signed form of authorisation
allowing you to take decisions on their behalf should the
cat need any veterinary treatment. Remember that your cattery's
veterinary insurance will not apply for a pre-existing medical
condition. Ensure the owner realises that they will be fully
responsible for all extra costs incurred should the cat
require any treatment. Keep a record of the name and telephone
number of the owner's veterinary surgeon in case you or
your own vet need to contact him or her to discuss any problem
that might arise whilst the cat is in your care. Make sure
also that you obtain a contact number for the owner in case
of an emergency.
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A Rewarding Challenge
Taking on an FIV-positive cat is
undoubtedly a challenge for an owner and the prognosis must
always be guarded. No-one knows for sure whether an infected
cat will become ill and even if it does, it may be many
years before it succumbs to the disease. FIV-positive cats
can and do co-exist happily with feline companions without
infecting them. Certainly, in my experience of living with
Bijou, my own FIV-positive cat, the mutually beneficial
pleasures and rewards have been beyond measure.
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