FIV transmission in shelters

Good news for FIV+ shelter cats:

A study found in the August 2014 issue of The Veterinary Journal concludes shelters can house FIV+ cats with seronegative cats without concern that the disease will transmit to non-FIV cats.

The study followed two shelter organizations - one in-home rescue and one foster program - for 38 months. The study found that none of the cats followed changed their status (e.g. none of the non-FIV cats who were examined ended up testing positive during the course of the study).

Chairman Meow is one of three FIV+ cats currently
 available for adoption at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City

Hopefully it will be studies like this that will finally reverse the Kansas law that forbids shelters from adopting FIV+ cats into homes. Kansas is the only state in the U.S. that has such a law.

And contrary to popular belief, FIV cannot be transmitted in the same way as feline leukemia or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), both of which are carried in fluids and mucous. FIV is transmitted through deep puncture wounds, not the light scuffle-play that most domestic cats engage in.

To read more about this study, click over to Winn's article, found here.


Sources:
The Veterinary Journal, 2014 Aug;201(2):184-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.02.030.
(read abstract here)

Winn Feline Foundation