I was disappointed with the front page article in the CWD 23^rd of February concerning Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), not only because of the factual errors that it contained but also because of the unnecessary fear and concern that it caused amongst cat owners in Orange. The truth is that we don’t fully understand FIV yet, but we do know that the story is complicated. Information in this situation has to be carefully, sensitively and accurately disseminated to cat owners. In the past misinformation about other animal diseases, such as toxoplasmosis, have lead to an increased incidence of animal cruelty, abandonment and needless euthanasia of healthy animals.

The CWD article stated that cats with FIV eventually develop serious symptoms. This is incorrect. In 2005 seven of the leading specialist feline vets in Australia wrote a letter to the Australian Veterinary Journal in an attempt to outline issues around FIV. They felt the need to write this letter because of the controversy surrounding the marketing of a FIV vaccine. They wrote “.. it would be misleading to imply that all FIV infected cats inevitably progress to ‘feline AIDS’. FIV infection is typically characterised by a long asymptomatic period and the life expectancy of FIV infected cats is unknown.”. That is, we don’t even know if being FIV positive decreases a cat’s life expectancy, let alone it inevitably leading to serious health problems.

We know that 14-20% of the cat population is infected with FIV, but as vets we also know that we do not see anything like this number of cats succumbing to the disease. Most cats with FIV die with the disease not from it.

The article of the 23^rd in the CWD stated that we have “no cure and ongoing treatment of symptoms can be costly.” The truth is that most cats that are FIV positive need no treatment or cure. “Sick cats who are FIV positive should not be assumed to be suffering from the effects of the virus” wrote the seven leading feline specialists.

It is true that FIV is being diagnosed with an increased frequency by veterinarians but it is wrong to think that this is due to an increase in the incidence of the disease in the cat population. We are identifying more FIV positive cats because as vets we are looking for it more. The recent marketing of a vaccine for FIV has made FIV topical in the veterinary community and testing for it has become more common with the use of the vaccine.

The only sure way of stopping your cat getting FIV is to isolate it from FIV positive cats. Bites incurred during fighting are the major way this disease is passed on. So I agree with Nick Redmond from Orange city council that it is a timely reminder to practice responsible pet ownership. Keeping cats contained, particularly at night, not only assists in keeping them healthy but saves native wildlife from predation.

Having said all of this, FIV is still an important and common virus in the cat population and decreasing its incidence would lead to an increase in the general health of cats. The headline of the article - Deadly cat virus stalking Orange, I am sure it sells papers but does nothing to help our feline friends.

Geoff Freeth BVSc (hons1) MACVSc MVSt