Semi-new cat owner

[CrazyCat]

Can someone give me some information on FIV? I sort of know what it is, but from what I understand, if a cat is vaccinated from it, it will always test positive for FIV? Why would a cat need to be vaccinated? Only if it was in contact with another cat who had it?

Thanks.

[Karen]

It is a disease that can be prevalent among some feral cat populations, and is the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. Here is a good page with info on it:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/cat-care-feline-immunodeficiency-virus.aspx

[5Cats]

As you may see in the thread I posted, I just brought an FIV+ cat into my home of 5 FIV- cats. I had to bring him in - long story. I had read and heard conflicting things about this issue. People who posted about their experiences with having both FIV negative and positive cats helped. My vet said it's transmittable only through serious bite wounds. This site has a list of myths about the disease: http://www.langefoundation.com/index/FIV_Cats.html