by Frank Will

Created on: May 08, 2009   Last Updated: May 09, 2009

Feline immune deficiency virus (FIV), a term that can place immediate fear in a cat owner, is not a mandatory death sentence for your cat.

High protein diets, continually building up your cat's immune system to help starve off secondary infections, and with aggressive treatment of those possible infections, your cat can still lead a long and relatively healthy life

Feline immune deficiency virus can be helped tremendously by building the immune system. The immune system in cats is a complex system that when functioning properly, fights off bacteria, parasites, fungi, and infections. Critical nutrients and supplementation of those nutrients to stimulate the immune system are a must to keep it functioning properly.

Vitamins A, C, E and essential fatty acids, as well as Minerals that include manganese, selenium, zinc, copper and iron, all help the to build and maintain the immune system.

FIV in cats is not the same as human immune deficiency virus which leads to AIDS.

The biggest threat to cats with this disease is the secondary infections, such as upper respiratory infection, skin infections, bladder and kidney infections, and or failures.

These infections should be treated very quickly by your veterinarian any time they occur, but especially in a FIV feline.

Your cat can become infected with viruses which can cause deficiency of the immune system along with FIV, and your cat could also contract feline leukemia virus which is from the same family of virus as the human form, known as AIDS. However, it is extremely important to note that feline immune deficiency virus and feline leukemia virus cannot affect or can it cause AIDS in people.

They are specific only to cats and were first diagnosed in 1965.

However, this virus in your cat leads to blood borne infection, the next stage will most likely be Feline leukemia, and this is a life threatening situation. It can be transmitted through intimate contact with an infected cat via the mouth and nasal cavities, but is more often caused by biting. Feline immune deficiency is also found worldwide, but the degree of severity will differ greatly depending on the region of the world.

In the United States, most cats are household cats. Aggressive, male roaming cats are most frequently infected, especially if prone to roaming freeing and fighting (biting and clawing) with other cats.

The infection entering through open wounds is by far and away the most common way a cat will be

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