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Wednesday: 9PM ET: Feral Cats - Angels Among Us - MeowChat - 10PM ET: Cat Health, Kitten Kapers

Posted by Deerhounds on January 23, 2003 at 20:48:30:

In Reply to: FIV shot: information requested posted by sandrajbond on January 23, 2003 at 14:30:50:

My personal position is, I don't like this one. The problem with the vaccine, as I understand it, is not that your innoculated cat can infect your uninoculated cats; it is that a cat who has had the vaccine will forever test positive for FIV, making diagnosis of the disease itself problematic. If the cat is tested by someone who doesn't know he was vaccinated, he runs the risk of being put down, and if the vaccine fails (as all vaccines can, nothing is 100 percent; this particular vaccine was found in ideal circumstances to be 82 percent effective, and probably less in real world conditions), you have lost a very valuable diagnostic tool.

However, if any of your cats go outside, then in effect all of them do. If one of your outdoor kitties were to get the disease, they could transmit it to your indoor kitties. Keeping them separate, or creating a safe outdoor enclosure for the cats who cannot be kept indoors, might mitigate this to the point where you can follow your vet's advice about indoor cats.

You might want to look at this article from the American Association of Feline Practicioners:

FIV Vaccination

I wish you luck with your research on this issue!

Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
http://www.caberfeidh.com

:I recently acquired a Ragdoll kitten. I have five other cats, all of whom are up to date on their shots. Two of the five go outside--one refuses to use a litter box and the other is incontinent. The Ragdoll breeder advised against getting the FIV shot for the kitten, since he is an inside-only cat and because of controversy around that shot. Can my outdoor cats, who HAVE been innoculated for FIV, infect the kitten, who has not? Also, what is your position on the FIV innoculation? Even my vet is against it for indoor cats because of possible carcinomas at the vaccine site. Thanks for any help.

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