Living with aids

A READER has asked me to give her some pointers about her cat, who has just been diagnosed with feline Aids (Fiv).

Since I’m not a vet, I can’t give her much medical advice, but I do have a bit of experience. In my cat-herd live two cats with the same virus - my six-year-old white lady Mekhala, and my three-legged Varee, who is around three years old.

How Mekhala and Varee acquired the virus I don’t know. My guess is that they might have been bitten by an infected cat.

Researchers are certain that the virus can move from one cat to another through bites, when the blood of an infected cat is transferred to an uninfected cat.

Less clear cut, however, are other ways the virus can be transferred. Can it travel in the air? In water? In grooming? Research is not yet clear.

For this reason, I have all the feline members of the household vaccinated against Fiv every year, for added protection.

Researchers do know that feline Aids acts differently from human Aids. It is possible that kittens born to an infected mother may not be infected. For the first six months of their lives, though, they test positive. Tests don’t indicate the virus but the antibodies that the cat’s body produces to fight the virus. It takes a few months for the babies to eliminate the antibodies they’ve acquired from their mother’s milk, and then they test negative.

The reader’s cat, alas, is already a year old. In this case, she is indeed infected.

“What should I do?” the reader asks.

I think she already knows that a cat with Fiv cannot be cured. She may not know that the disease seems to affect each infected cat differently. One infected cat may die within two years; another may live a long, normal life.

She can, however, take steps to ensure that her cat’s life is the best she can provide.

Injuries on an Fiv cat don’t heal as quickly as on a healthy cat. Whenever I see a scratch on Mekhala or Varee, I very carefully clean the wound every day, no matter how slight it is.

Both cats constantly have eye infections too, and I use eyedrops from the vet to soothe the pain those red eyes cause.

Mekhala, whose case is more advanced than Varee’s, suffers from teeth and gum problems. She feels much better now that the vet has just given her mouth a thorough cleaning.

I check the two constantly. Are they eating well? Are they active? Are their gums pink and not white? Are their ears pink inside? That pink indicates that the cats are not anaemic, that red blood cells are being produced.

The two cats have top-quality food, as well as extra cat vitamins.

I also check their blood cell count regularly. Last year, Mekhala’s counts dropped dangerously low, and it was then that we began administering the medicine that brought the red and white blood cells up to better levels.

Varee’s blood count tested so well last year that I relaxed, but this year, when I tested both cats, I was horrified to find that Mekhala’s blood count had begun to drop again, and Varee’s white blood cell count had dropped by half. Have last year’s terrible times returned?

“Don’t worry so much,” my vet tells me, but I do. I’m not as bad off as the reader, who hasn’t been able to sleep since she found out that her cat has Fiv. I’ve also learned to be thankful for every day the two girls are with me. You know, it’s a perfect example of hoping for the best but planning for the worst.