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The 9-year-old tabby was diagnosed with FIV, a feline virus similar to HIV. Owners fear for her, not themselves.
By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 13, 2002
LARGO -- Missy loved the outdoors. Most afternoons she stalked birds and small lizards, climbed trees and frolicked about with other neighborhood cats.
But she won't be leaving Patricia and Chris Smith's home anymore. The 9-year-old Tabby was diagnosed Friday with FIV, a feline virus similar to HIV.
Health officials say feline immunodeficiency virus cannot be transmitted to humans. But her veterinarian says Missy must stay indoors or risk serious illness. If she avoids contact with other cats, she has a greater chance of living a normal life without medication.
"Our first concern was our health," said Patricia Smith. She and her husband intend to keep caring for Missy.
"As it turns out, it will not be too difficult. We just have to make sure she does not get sick."
Most cats live on average 15 years. An estimated 1.5 to 3 percent of healthy cats are infected in the United States, according to the Cornell University's Feline Health Center in Ithaca, N.Y.
Cats spread the virus mostly when they bite each other in fights, which is why experts suggest keeping pets indoors. On rare occasions, FIV spreads from the mother to newborns during birth, or from nursing.
Dr. Welch Agnew of Pinellas County Animal Services said the diagnosis is not cause for alarm, as with rabies. His agency often tests for the virus at shelters before allowing adoptions. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent it.
"If cats are allowed to run loose and duke it out, and they get into a little scuffle with a cat that has FIV, there's a possibility the cat could come down with it as well," said Agnew.
Infected cats sometimes show symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, weight loss or inflamed gums. Persistent diarrhea can be a problem, too.
As the immune systems grows weaker, infected cats become more susceptible to upper respiratory infections and pneumonia.
Veterinarians can test for it in a matter of minutes, though most recommend a second test 8 to 12 weeks later to confirm. Kittens should be tested again after six months.
"It used to be far more common because more people let their cats out and let them roam," said Dr. Mac McGlamery, a veterinarian at Park Animal Hospital in Pinellas Park, who has seen nearly 1,000 cases in the past 10 years.
McGlamery discovered Missy's infection during a visit last week. Smith scheduled the appointment after she noticed patches of hair missing above the tail.
"It looked like she was pulling at it," Smith said of bald spots on Missy's back. "She was eating fine and she was happy. She wasn't upset. I think it was just chance. We thought she had some allergy."
Smith couldn't imagine life without Missy. She adopted the striped tabby when Missy was 6 months old, a gift she received when her own mother was terminally ill. Gray and brown with black stripes, she now weighs 8 pounds and until Friday played outside each day for two hours in the afternoon.
"We are going to try and build her something, some wood to scratch on, or something similar to a tree," she said.
-- Michael Sandler can be reached at 445-4174 or sandler@sptimes.com.