I found a kitten with HIV. She was about 14 weeks old. She has never had any type of…
Congrats on your new kitten. If a kitten under 6 months of age tests positive for the FIV virus, in most cases it is due to maternal antibodies and not to true infection. I would retest your kitten just past 6 months of age and if she is positive at that point, I would consider her infected. Given this fact, while this kitten poses a possible threat to your current cats, it is likely a low risk. In many households with an FIV infected cat, many of the other cats never test positive. It is most commonly spread through bite wounds so preventing any aggression between the cats is helpful. The safest way to keep your current cats protected is to keep the kitten isolated from them until she is retested. Easier to say than to do, I know! Another consideration at this point, is that because of their vaccination, your cats will now be positive on the test for FIV. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to differentiate whether a positive test is due to the vaccine or true infection. I will keep my fingers crossed for your kitten and for a negative test down the road!
Original post by Cat Advice (Emotional): Purina® Cat Chow® Mentor Amy Shojai and software by Elliott Back
