I sent this to JJ since she works in a vet's office, but I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else might have some answers.

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I'm getting flak from my ex-husband in regards to Smokey and my decision to introduce him to the rest of my cats. My original cats have been tested and vaccinated for FeLV. Lucky is the only one who's been tested for FIV and I'll be bringing Star and Midnight in for testing as well.

I spoke with my vet and he told me that since FeLV is the worse of the two diseases AND my original three have been vaccinated for it, there's no problem with letting Smokey out of my son's room and socializing with the other cats.

My ex-husband is concerned about Smokey's FIV status and how it will affect the other cats...not because he cares, but because he *thinks* he'll be the one bringing them to the vet if they get infected by Smokey. He wanted to know why I didn't find out which strain of FIV Smokey has and why can't I get my original cats vaccinated against that strain. (Is that even possible??) I explained to him that there are 5 strains of FIV, but only vaccines for only 2 of them.

What, if anything, can I tell him? I've been researching this, so I'm trying to educate myself, but it seems like it's not good enough. He is very analytical and logical. He wants concrete answers, not answers that he doesn't want to hear...even if they are the correct answers.

Tigger is FIV+ and we could bring him in if we wanted - unlike the human HIV virus (which is passed in blood and saliva) for a cat to transmit it, it would have be a deep bite. The common misconception is that it transmits like the human HIV virus.

However, due to Nala's kidney issues and the fact that we have a healthy bunch, my vet told me not to risk it. It probably won't be transmitted, but you never know. Right now he's happy being where he is so we're just leaving well enough alone.

I know nothing about the 5 strains or anything, and I don't even know if your vet can tell you which one he has, from what I've always known it's positive/negative - but of course, JJ would know best.

I would consult your vet for the final word - I know of people who have FIV+ cats living with FIV- cats and they've never had an issue (that's how I came to find out about the whole thing), but you just never know. :wha:

In one of her replies to my earlier posts about Smokey, JJ mentioned that there were 5 strains of FIV. But I think you're right. When the vet tested Lucky for both FIV/FeLV, he just used one test that determined whether he was negative or positive.

Yes, the test that the vet does doesn't test which strain, just if the cat has the antibodies that are present (or not) in a FeLV or FIV positive cat.

As most of you know, my newest kitty, Smokey, tested positive for both FIV/FeLV. My original three had been tested for FeLV (and vaccinated for it), but never FIV. I took Lucky in this past Thursday to be tested for FIV. Since it's a combo test, he was tested for both. Thankfully he's negative for both. What are the odds that his mother, Midnight, will be negative as well? Since FIV is extremely hard for other cats to get (only passed between mother to kittens and severe bites) AND Lucky did test negative, wouldn't it stand to reason that Midnight would be negative? And what about Lucky's brother, Star? Wouldn't he be negative as well?

You have a 50/50 chance, you won't know for sure until they're tested.