Cats can get Aids?

my step mom who is a vet tech, and also full of balony says my cat Aristotle has FIV, the cat equivelancy to HIV has anyone heard of such? and does anyone know about it? i.e... life expectancy, contagious, and how, and so forth?

Yes, it's entirely possible for a cat to have FIV. I, personally, don't know much about it, but there are many here who do and hopefully they will give you much more insight than I can. One suggestion would be to do a search, here on Pet Talk (far upper right corner) and type in FIV. If you don't find anything, do a google on FIV and I'm sure you'll find more information than you could ever imagine.

Good luck and I sure hope your kitty is healthy for a long time yet! Oh, and welcome to Pet Talk! :)

FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) works in cats the way HIV works in humans. You cannot get sick from a cat with FIV. It's very hard for an FIV+ cat to give it to another cat. The risk factors are very similar to humans: blood to blood contact or mating. For these reasons FIV+ cats should be solo or only with other FIV+ cats unless all cats involved are known not to ever fight.

Smokey the Elder is right on.

If you are concerned take your kitty to the vet and they can do a test to see if he has it.

First of all, why would your Step Mom say such a thing. Has your cat been acting sick ? If you have any concerns, I'd go to a vet and have him tested. Even some local animal shelters will do testing for the public and much cheaper than a vets office... Yes there is such a thing as FIV, and its a terminal illness that can be passed to other cats... FYI.. my experience working at animal shelters has taught me one thing. Vet Techs have a little bit of knowledge, and like they say, "A Little Bit of Knowledge Is Dangerous" ok ok, all you vet techs out there are gonna be mad for that remark, but I stand by my observations...