How Marca Found His Groove
Marca, on the road to being a lap cat.
Marca came into VOKRA’s care in early March 2022 when he was found at someone’s home looking a bit beaten up. On intake he had a cut on his left ear, a broken tooth, cuts on his nose and the right side of his face, and his eyes were watery. He needed our help! Once he was able to get in to see the vet, he was diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), a disease that attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to many other infections.
When he first arrived at our Operations Centre, Marca was calm and the team classified him as tame on intake. However, once he was placed in a kennel, he became upset and started hissing, biting and swatting when people tried to interact with him, other than to give him food or treats. At times, he would confidently walk to his door when someone was in his area, expecting food or treats, and would calmly accept people in his space, but he could still bite at your fingers or hands when given the chance.
Marca when he was first rescued.
Remarkably, quite quickly he learned our volunteers were people he could trust. They were able to introduce him to petting with a wand and gradually moved to a gloved hand. Marca appeared to remember enjoying being pet and started to purr and climb on laps for headbutts. Within a relatively short period of time, Marca was happily receiving pets with bare hands. (See the videos at the end of this post to see what we mean.)
“Once he starts purring, it's incredible how affectionate he gets,” says socialization volunteer Brett Filiatreault. “He rubs, rolls, headbutts and lets me rub his tummy. It seems like he can get overstimulated and lash out, but I think he'll get over that quickly in a stable home.”
Since moving into foster care at the end of April, Marca’s continued to progress and his foster reports they’re “starting to get into our groove”. Now that he’s settled in, Marca’s feeling secure around the house and his aggressive behaviors are gone.
On the positive trajectory he’s one, Marca will be ready find his furrever home very soon.
What you should know about FIV
While it sounds scary, FIV is one of the most common diseases in cats around the world. In infected cats, FIV attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to infection. Although cats may appear healthy for years, their immune deficiency allows otherwise harmless bacteria and viruses to attack and weaken the immune system. There’s currently no cure for FIV, however, recent studies suggest kitties with FIV can live average life spans. FIV-infected cats exist worldwide and approximately 2.5-5% percent of healthy North American cats are infected with FIV. It’s important to note FIV can’t be passed from cat to human.
Transmission
FIV is primarily transmitted through bite wounds from an infected cat. This is why outdoor cats are especially susceptible, particularly un-neutered males who fight with other cats.
Casual, non-aggressive contact, such as sharing water bowls or mutual grooming, doesn’t appear to spread the virus. As this is the case, cats in households with stable social structures where everyone gets along are at little risk of acquiring FIV infections.
On rare occasions, an infected mother cat may transmit the infection to her kittens. However, if the mother becomes infected with FIV during her pregnancy, the transmission risk to the kittens is increased. Sexual contact is not a significant means of spreading FIV among cats, unless the male cat bites the female during mating.
Symptoms
Due to how it affects the immune system, many signs associated with FIV are due to other infections. Some symptoms may include:
Gingivitis/stomatitis (inflammation of the gums and mouth)
Weight loss
Poor appetite
Fever
Persistent eye problems (chronic conjunctivitis)
Vomiting and diarrhea
Swollen lymph nodes
If a cat has any persistent or recurrent illness it should be tested regardless of lifestyle.
Treatment
Although there’s no cure for FIV, infected cats can live very normal, healthy lives for many years if managed appropriately. However, once a cat with FIV experiences one of more severe illnesse due to infection, or persistent fever and weight loss are present, the prognosis is generally less favourable. This is why it’s very important to reduce the risk of secondary infections in a healthy cat diagnosed with FIV.
Cats with FIV should be fed nutritionally complete and balanced diets, and the risk of food-borne bacterial and parasitic infections should be avoided by ensuring they don’t eat uncooked food, such as raw meat and eggs, and unpasteurized dairy products.
Close monitoring of the health and behavior of FIV-infected cats is even more important than it is for uninfected cats. It’s very important cats be promptly evaluated and treated when any signs of illness occur and a vet check-up should be scheduled every six months.