Percentage of cats with FIV in various countries

16-year-old Freckles with FIV needs a forever home. Image in public domain.

The percentage of domestic cats (‘client-owned’) with FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus) various substantially depending on the country and the status of the cats. The variation is surprising to me. The differences may be due to the fact that sometimes domestic cats are stray cats and there is a big range of lifestyles of domestic cats which dictate the vulnerability of the cats to getting the virus.

The information below comes from studies which are listed at the base of the page.

The occurrence of FIV in naturally infected domestic cats by country:

• Germany 2-3.2% of cats depending on study
• Netherlands 2% of cats
• America 1-16%. Another study reports 2.5%
• Japan 44%
• UK 3% – 33%. One shelter study reports 3-11.5%
• Malaysia 12%
• Hungry 9.9%
• Brazil 5.84% – 14.7%
• Asia 0-22%
• Northern Europe 2-6%
• Southern Europe 10%
• Turkey (Istanbul) 22.3%
• Canada 5.5%

Infection rate depends on lifestyle, gender and health status. The virus damages cells in the immune system often white blood cells. Males are at least twice as likely to get it than females as they are in more fights where the infection occurs after a bite with the disease transmitted in the saliva.

Some links to more

• Can FIV Positive and FIV Negative Cats Live Together?
• Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Ten Times More Common Amongst Strays in Norway Than in America?
• Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Ten Times More Common Amongst Strays in Norway Than in America?

There are more articles, please search.

Studies:

• Prevalence of and risk factors for FIV and FeLV infection in two shelters in the United Kingdom (2011–2012) – UK data.
• Prevalence of and factors associated with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in cats of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil – for the 5.84% figure for Brazil.
• Naturally acquired feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection in cats from western Canada: Prevalence, disease associations, and survival analysis.
• Prevalence of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus among client-owned cats and risk factors for infection in Germany – 3.2% figure above for Germany and 2.5% for USA.
• Prevalence of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus infection in Malaysia: a retrospective study.
• Occurrence of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus in Naturally Infected Domestic Cats – for Europe, America and Japan.
• Prevalence of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus in domestic cats in Hungary
• Occurrence of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in cats – Brazil.

Squirt. She’s about 11 years old. She was thrown outside to fend for herself after her elderly owner died. Squirt’s the neediest of all and needs a special human for her golden years. She is a senior with arthritis and is FIV-positive, and she really deserves a forever home to call her own again. Squirt will paw at you for attention—she’s desperate to be someone’s lap cat and best friend.