The Reason Behind Nadya's Absences

If you've been watching the the Ustream webcam, you may have noticed that Nadya and her kittens have been absent a couple of times. Nadya has been fighting fevers off and on for about two weeks now. Nadya had blood work, X-Rays (to make sure there weren't any kittens stuck inside her), and three FeLV/FIV tests. Her blood work showed that she had chronic anemia. The first FeLV/FIV test was performed when she was about seven weeks pregnant (two weeks before the kittens were due). The next test was performed a week after the kittens were born, the first time Nadya had a fever. Both came back as negative. The third FeLV/FIV test was performed the second time Nadya had a fever. This one came back positive. Nadya has FIV.

One of the reasons that the first two FeLV/FIV tests came back negative is because Nadya may have been recently infected with FIV. It takes the antibodies 8-12 weeks to appear after infection. If we work along that assumption, Nadya was most likely infected at the time of her pregnancy. Unaltered tom cats have a higher percentage of being infected with FIV. FIV is transmitted through bites; unaltered tom cats tend to fight more. When cats mate, the tom cat bites the scruff of the female's neck. Usually, the bite does not break the skin. In Nadya's case, she may not have been so lucky.

There are three stages of FIV. The first stage occurs when the infection is new to the system. The body fights off the virus and any new foreign bodies act as triggers. Bacteria that won't harm a healthy cat will cause infection - and fevers - in a new FIV cat. The infected cat usually has frequent bouts of fever, anemia, swollen lymph nodes, and a variety of other ailments.

Once they pass the hump of stage one, it's on to stage two. Stage two can last for many, many, many years. Stage two is the "recovery" stage, the "normal" stage. The infected cat lives a perfectly happy, healthy life during this stage. The virus is still there, however, the cat does not show any signs of illness.

Stage three is the end of life phase. FIV cats are always more susceptible to any illness and this is the stage that will eventually claim the cat's life. Fevers, sores, dental issues, eye issues, and all sorts of infections can occur. FIV affects the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to all sorts of diseases - including cancer.

The optimist in me wants to believe that Nadya is indeed in the first stage of FIV. Several pieces of  "evidence" point to a recent infection (like the fact that the first two tests came back negative; the antibodies may not have formed yet). If that is the case, hopefully Nadya will jump to stage two very quickly and will live a long, healthy life. However, it is certainly a possibility that Nadya is in the final stage of FIV. There is evidence to support that theory, too (her frequent bouts of high fevers, her anemia, and her swollen lymph nodes).

We're still in the discovery phase for Nadya. We're working to keep her stable and comfortable.

For more reading on FIV, click on these links:

Don't Fear FIV Cats
All About FIV