Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - Disease Stages

Disease Stages

FIV progresses through similar stages to HIV in humans. The initial stage, or acute phase, is accompanied by mild symptoms such as fever, lethargy, anorexia, pyrexia, and lymphadenopathy. This initial stage is fairly short and is followed by the asymptomatic stage. Here the cat demonstrates no noticeable symptoms for a variable length of time. Some cats stay in this latent stage for only a few months, but for some it can last for years. Factors that influence the length of the asymptomatic stage include the pathogenicity of the infecting virus and FIV subtype (A-E), the age of the cat, and exposure to other pathogens. Finally the cat progresses into the final stage known as the feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome (FAIDS) stage where the cat is extremely susceptible to secondary diseases which inevitably are the cause of death.