Cat AIDS a Real Problem in South Florida

You wouldn't know it, but Alex Guterman's 8-week-old kitten might have AIDS.

"My first reaction was like 'Oh my god, I can't keep him,' because I didn't want to infect my other cat," said Guterman, who rescued Smokey off the street near his Hallandale home.

When he took the stray cat to the vet to get checked, Guterman learned that Smokey's mother was a carrier of Feline AIDS.

"At first, I was trying to get him adopted, but people were like, 'A cat with AIDS? Are you nuts? I don't want a cat with AIDS,'" he said.

Guterman understood the reaction. But once he learned more about Feline AIDS, Smokey became part of his family.

"There's no danger, for any kind of animals, any kind of people," he said. "Only other cats."

Like HIV, FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) can be easily transmitted, but only from cat-to-cat.

"It is not transmitted to humans, it is not transmitted to other animals, only cats," confirmed Dr. Maria Serrano, a veterinarian at Miami-Dade County's Animal Services.

All stray cats that get adopted from Animal Services get a routine test for Feline AIDS. Only a small percentage of them test positive, but the virus is more commonly found in South Florida because of the high number of unsterilized cats.

"If they're not neutered, males tend to go looking for girls and they also tend to go looking for fights," said Dr. Serrano.

"If you're animal is positive, it doesn't mean it has to be the end of him," she said, offering the following advice. "You just have to be very careful, you just have to make sure you spay and neuter, make sure it doesn't roam the neighborhoods and you can still have a happy, loving relationship with your cat."

Back at home in Hallandale, Guterman is planning to take Smokey for another AIDS test in six months. But even if it comes up positive, adoption is no longer an option.

"No chance," he said. "This guy is taken, he's got a home."

Leave Comments