Attitudes towards feline immunodeficiency virus

13 May 2026

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, OBE, received PetSavers funding in 2024 for a student research project comparing the perception and attitudes of vets, animal shelter staff and the cat-owning public towards FIV in cats against the published literature. Student Isidore (Izzy) Adams describes their study:

INTRODUCTION

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus with an estimated seroprevalence of 9.43% in the global Felis silvestris catus population1. The welfare, quality of life, and life expectancy of FIV+ cats are contentious topics among veterinarians, animal shelter staff, and cat owners.

FIV was first isolated in 1986, in a feral colony of cats in California displaying signs of immunodeficiency2. The similarity of this feline T-lymphocytic virus to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a subject of fear and misinformation at that time3, may have contributed to the stigmatisation of FIV+ cats. Many researchers hoped to use FIV as an animal model for HIV treatment development 4,5, but experimental errors made in early studies led to an overestimation of FIV’s virulence and speed of progression2,6,7,8,9,10,11. Consequently, euthanasia of infected cats became routine in veterinary and shelter practice12,13,14. However, subsequent research into FIV’s pathogenesis has since refuted these conclusions15. It has highlighted the mild progression of natural infections compared to experimental ones and shown how host resistance and viral adaptation render FIV less pathogenic than HIV16. Many rescue centres and veterinary organisations now advise that FIV+ cats, with proper care, can live normal lifespans17,18,19.

Our project aimed to investigate whether perceptions of FIV differ among veterinary personnel, animal shelter staff, and FIV+ cat-owning members of the public. It also aimed to compare public understanding of FIV with scientific literature. To do this, we designed a 12-question, anonymous questionnaire hosted online at http://www.vetprofessionals.com and shared across cat-focused social media groups. Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. The questionnaire assessed participants’ knowledge of FIV transmission, clinical signs, effects on life expectancy, and treatment strategies, along with opinions on the rehoming and treatment of FIV+ cats.

WHAT WE LEARNT FROM THIS STUDY

Evidence from this study (n = 110) suggests veterinary personnel may demonstrate negative affective bias towards FIV. Upon comparative analysis, veterinary personnel showed consistently elevated z-values relative to shelter staff and cat owners. ‘Z-values’ are a numerical expression of how much a group’s average response differs from the average response across all participants. In this context, higher z-values indicated that veterinary personnel perceived FIV as more virulent and transmissible than current scientific literature suggests.

Risk was significantly overestimated in two scenarios: FIV transmission risk in a multi-cat household (p = 0.002) and from an individually hospitalised infected cat (p = 0.002). Additionally, 73% (n = 21) of veterinary personnel believed FIV reduces life expectancy, and they were more likely than shelter staff or cat owners to view euthanasia as an appropriate treatment method (p = 0.000). In addition, only 48% (n = 15) of veterinary personnel considered FIV+ cats very suitable for adoption, compared to 80% (n = 40) of owners and 68.2% (n = 15) of shelter staff. These views contrast with current recommendations from the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV).

Given the limitations of small sizes, convenience sampling and a potentially unrepresentative population, further research is needed before drawing firm conclusions. Moreover, stratified random sampling would have been ideal to reduce bias and increase generalisability but was impractical for this study. In addition, nearly half of the veterinary personnel respondents were third- and fourth-year veterinary students, who may be unrepresentative of the wider veterinary community and of qualified clinicians. While students should be knowledgeable about the transmission and management of FIV, they may lack the clinical experience necessary to contextualise this knowledge. This negative bias is still disappointing, as clinical teaching about FIV should detail that this infection only slightly affects prognosis.

Of note, veterinary personnel are more likely to encounter FIV+ cats during episodes of ill-health, and due to the availability heuristic are therefore more likely to recall terminal cases. This may result in conflating FIV with poor prognosis, despite unrelated clinical conditions. Additionally, a poor understanding of retroviruses could lead to confusion between FIV and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), a retrovirus with a far worse prognosis.

WHY IS THIS RESEARCH IMPORTANT?

This study highlights the need for greater education about FIV within the veterinary community—at both student and clinician levels. As practitioners of evidence-based medicine, veterinarians should advocate for FIV+ cats. By not hesitating to treat manageable concurrent illnesses, we can reduce the number of unnecessary euthanasia cases.  Veterinary personnel prompting a social change in perspective around this disease may also reduce the extended periods that these cats may reside in rehoming centres due to potential adopters being deterred by their FIV+ status.

CONSIDER PETSAVERS FOR YOUR RESEARCH

Without the grant from BSAVA PetSavers, we could not have achieved the participant numbers required to satisfy our power analysis and identify meaningful effects. The grant allowed us to host our questionnaire on the VetProfessionals website, which reaches a diverse user base of veterinary professionals and invested pet owners—ideal for engaging all the subgroups relevant to our study.

I encourage any student with an ambitious idea and structured research plan to apply for a BSAVA PetSavers grant. This experience has been invaluable for my growth as a future veterinary clinician and scientist.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isidore Adams

Jon Snow, the handsome FIV+ cat who inspired this study

Professor Danièlle Gunn-Moore, with beautiful Brora

Izzy is a fifth-year veterinary student at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Easter Bush, due to graduate in 2026. In their third year of veterinary teaching, they adopted a beautiful white cat—a FIV+ ex-stray named Jon Snow. In conversations with colleagues at the boarding cattery they worked at that summer, they noted that opinions about this virus differed. While Izzy considered FIV a relatively minor condition, their colleagues viewed it as controversial—sometimes warranting euthanasia or rendering cats unadoptable. This contrast inspired Izzy to replicate the staff-room discussion on a broader scale, to explore how a person’s perception of FIV varies depending on their background in domestic cat care, and how that perception aligns with published scientific literature.

Prior to this project, Izzy had only written and analysed scientific reports dealing with quantitative data. Designing their research plan took time as they taught themselves qualitative statistical analysis to interpret the ordinal data generated by the questionnaire. Strengthening their statistical reasoning skills will benefit their future evidence-based veterinary practice by improving their ability to critically appraise scientific articles and apply them to clinical reasoning.

This idea would not have progressed without the guidance of Izzy’s supervisor, Professor Danièlle Gunn-Moore, RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine. Izzy is immensely grateful that despite Danielle’s many responsibilities, she found time to engage, motivate, and guide Izzy in the creation of their first scientific research project. Similarly, they are grateful for Jon. Although he did not live to see the end of the project, Izzy hopes the data it has produced will benefit other FIV+ cats.

REFERENCES

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  2. Pedersen, N. C., Ho, E. W., Brown, M.L. & Yamamoto, J. K. (1987). Isolation of a T-lymphotropic virus from domestic cats with an immunodeficiency-like syndrome. Science 235, 790-793
  3. Curran, J.W., Jaffe, H.W. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2011). AIDS: the early years and CDC’s response. MMWR supplements, [online] 60(4), pp.64–9.
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  14. fivcats (2016), Introductions to the risks faced by FIV cats. Available at: https://www.fivcats.com/up_against/risks_to_fiv_cats_introduction.html (Accessed: 2 January 2024)