"Kitty Jim," who was given his name by my nieces when they were very young, was one of the FIV-positive cats with whom I've shared my life.

The words “feline immunodeficiency virus” can strike fear into cat owners’ hearts. They imagine a future of illness and suffering leading to a painful death. FIV-positive cats are automatically put down at kill shelters, and even no-kill rescues have trouble finding homes for these cats. But FIV is nothing to be scared of. Cats infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus can live long, happy and healthy lives just like any other cat, as long as they get proper care.

The Basics

The feline immunodeficiency virus is a retrovirus like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Like HIV, FIV kills infection-fighting T-cells and weakens the immune system.

FIV is almost always transmitted through deep bite wounds. Mating and casual contact like snuggling doesn’t spread the virus. FIV is species-specific, which means that cats can’t give humans FIV. (Nor, for that matter, can humans give cats HIV.)

The most common test for FIV is the ELISA, sometimes called the “snap test.” If your cat’s been tested for FIV and feline leukemia at your vet’s office or the shelter, they used the ELISA. Vets usually recommend that if a cat tests positive with the ELISA – especially if it’s a weak positive — he or she should be re-tested using the IFA, or Western Blot, to confirm the diagnosis.

So You Have An FIV-Positive Cat. What Now?

First of all, don’t despair. There are a lot of things you can do to keep your FIV-positive cat healthy. If you have other cats, don’t panic: FIV-positive cats can live safely with FIV-negative cats as long as they don’t have bloody fights.

Keep your cat indoors. That way he won’t be exposed to infections from other cats and he won’t run the risk of infecting other cats.

Be sure to keep his stress level as low as possible by minimizing changes in his life.

Feed your FIV-positive cat the best food you can afford. Higher-quality proteins and fewer chemical additives will keep his immune system from being unnecessarily stressed.

Regular vet care is crucial. If your vet sees your FIV-positive cat regularly, she may be able to pick up on potential issues before they become serious problems. If an FIV-positive cat shows even the slightest sign of an infection, he should go to the vet right away.

Treatment

Treatment generally involves preventive care and helping an FIV-positive cat’s weakened immune system fight off disease with high doses of appropriate medications.

Right now, there is no cure for FIV. However, there has recently been a promising breakthrough in research on the disease, and it’s possible that may change in the not-too-distant future.

Don’t be scared if your cat is diagnosed with FIV. FIV-positive cats have been known to live 20 years or more with no symptoms of any severe disease. Get educated on how best to care for him, and you’ll be able to spend many happy years together.

More Information on FIV

• FIV: Catching a Bad Case of Rumors by Kris Littrell of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a very reassuring article for people with FIV-positive cats
• How Can I Make Sure My FIV-Positive Cat Lives a Long, Healthy Life?, a Paws and Effect column with more detailed information about care of FIV-positive cats
• FIV In Cats: Not an Automatic Death Sentence, at the about.com cats forum
• Owning an FIV-Positive Cat, an article from the Mar Vista Animal Medical Center. There’s also a link at the end of this article for HIV-positive people concerned about pet-to-human disease transmission
• FIVCats, a support and discussion group for people whose cats have FIV

Kimbo is patiently waiting for her forever home. Could it be with you?

This beautiful, loving girl is about 4 years old. She was abandoned by her previous “owners,” but that hasn’t affected her great personality. She greets her people at the door, just like a dog, when they come home from work.

Kimbo would, however, prefer to live in a home without children because their fast movements can make her a bit skittish. She’s lived with other cats and will probably adapt well to a home with other feline friends.

Kimbo is FIV-positive, which means she’s been exposed to the virus but she isn’t sick. In fact, she’s had five visits to the vet, all of which show that she’s very healthy.

Because she’s FIV-positive, Kimbo would do best in a home with other FIV-positive cats or perhaps as an only cat. However, as this article from CatChat states, recent research has shown that the risk of transmission when FIV-positive cats live with FIV-negative cats is minimal.

FIV is spread by deep, penetrating bite wounds, like the kind tomcats might give each other when they fight. It is not spread by casual contact, cuddling, eating or drinking out of the same dishes, or even by scratching or superficial bites. As long as the cats get along well enough not to engage in epic combat, even a home with FIV-negative cats would probably work fine.

Even if Kimbo was never exposed to FIV by fighting with other cats, she could be testing positive because she was vaccinated against FIV. Cats that get the FIV shot develop antibodies to the disease, so they too test positive for the illness.

FIV is not a death sentence. Not by any stretch of the imagination. FIV-positive cats can live long, healthy lives in the care of a responsible owner who feeds them high-quality food, keeps their stress levels to a minimum, and ensures that they get regular veterinary care.

Kimbo is spayed and up to date on all her shots and eagerly awaiting a “forever-family.” Once you earn her trust, you will be delighted by her loving nature, her sweet personality, and her loyalty.

Contact Save Our Strays for more information about Kimbo.

September 19 through 25 is Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable Pet Week. We, along with bloggers throughout the pet blogosphere, are dedicating this week to helping those pets who are often overlooked by potential adopters. These “less adoptable” pets are usually older, or perhaps they have a disability or a chronic illness. Maybe they’re shy because they were abused or traumatized in their earlier lives. Or maybe they’re even — *gasp* — black cats!

We, of course, can’t imagine why black cats are “less adoptable,” since two of us are black cats ourselves and we firmly believe that black cats are the most gorgeous, magical, and special cats in the world.

So what are we doing to help our feline friends who may have more difficulty getting adopted? Each day of the challenge week, we’re going to feature a special-needs cat currently living in a Maine animal shelter. Mama tells us we live in Maine, and that’s why we chose to help Maine kitties.

Jeffrey, an adorable senior kittizen, lives at Save Our Strays in Fairfield, Maine. He'd love to find a forever home where he can lounge around and get lots of love.

He loves to flop on the floor and just hang out, the shelter’s description says, and he would be a great buddy for people who want a mellow kitty friend. Although he does like to lie around, he is apparently a quite athletic couch potato because he loves to bat at balls tossed his way.

Jeffrey is a pretty healthy guy. He was already neutered when he was found, he’s up to date on his vaccines, and he tested negative for feline leukemia. However, he did test positive for feline immunodeficiency virus. That just means he needs extra high-quality food, lots of love, and frequent vet checkups to make sure he stays in good shape.

If you’re interested in adopting Jeffrey, go to Save Our Strays’ website and fill out the online adoption application form. This wonderful senior citizen would love to have a forever home where he can lounge on a soft couch and get all the love he needs.

Mama’s on her way home from BlogPaws West, a gathering of people who blog about pets, so we’ll make our usual weekly advice post tomorrow. But we did want to convey a message from Mama about some of the things she learned.

Once again, she was amazed at the nationwide — and actually, worldwide — community of people who share their love of animals through their blogs, and through their actions in the “real world.”

While she was there, she also found her passion and her particular niche in the world of cat lovers. She has decided (with our approval, of course) that she could make a huge difference in the lives of cats by educating the community at large about the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and advocating for FIV-positive cats.

Why did she choose this particular passion? Well, the first cat that owned her was a gorgeous black tomcat named Castor (of the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux). In 1981, she adopted Castor from her local animal shelter, and he filled her teenage years with love and kindness.

But when he turned 10, he developed an infection in his mouth. Her mother took Castor to the vet, and he got antibiotics. The antibiotics relieved his infection and he began feeling better and eating more. But once the antibiotics were discontinued, he got sick again. This went on several times until the vet suggested that he get a blood test.

There was a recently discovered virus, the vet explained, that suppressed cats’ immune systems, leaving them vulnerable to any number of infections. A blood test would determine whether Castor had the disease.

When the results of the blood test came back, the vet said Castor had this infection, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.

Because of the lack of knowledge about FIV at that time, there was little a vet could recommend to help Castor stay healthy, except for antibiotics to treat any infections.

Mama’s family went this course for a while, until finally poor Castor became so sick that he couldn’t recover and have a good quality of life. Mama came home from college in 1991 and saw how deeply Castor was suffering. He didn’t move from his place on the couch, even to go to the litterbox, and when Mama gave him a comforting pet, he growled at her.

With tears in her eyes, Mama knew it was time. She couldn’t stand to see him suffer anymore, so with her mother’s blessing, she called the vet and arranged for Castor’s final appointment.

She took him to that appointment and stayed with him in the last minutes of his life. She tried to stay cool, but she broke out in tears as soon as the vet began preparing the syringe with the euthanasia solution. With her tears dripping on Castor’s fur, she cried, “I love you, Castor,” as he drew his last breaths.

That was the first time she’d ever made the decision to put an animal to sleep, and the first time she’d ever watched an animal die.

She didn’t know it at the time, as she sat in the car and cried for half an hour, but 20 years later that moment would come back to her in a moment of inspiration at the BlogPaws West conference.

With Castor’s memory strong in her mind, and the memory of several other FIV-positive cats who had touched her life since then, she committed herself to educating about FIV. Her five-year-old commitment to adopt special-needs cats focused into a commitment to adopt FIV-positive cats and give them a loving forever home where they could receive the special care they needed to have the best and longest lives they could.

She knows that means there will be more moments like that sad afternoon at the vet’s office. She knows it means closer monitoring, special care, and most likely more financial outlay to maintain these cats’ quality of life.

But they deserve it. And the world deserves to know that FIV is not an instant death sentence. And Mama has a new mission: she is going to Be The Change for FIV-positive cats.