Feline immunodeficiency virus is a manageable chronic condition in cats that, with appropriate care, allows affected cats to live long, comfortable lives, but misunderstanding leads to unnecessary euthanasia.
FIV-positive cats face a welfare challenge that is primarily created by human misunderstanding rather than by the disease itself. The incorrect belief that FIV is rapidly fatal or highly transmissible leads to unnecessary euthanasia of healthy FIV-positive cats in shelters at rates that reflect prejudice rather than medical necessity. An FIV-positive cat in an asymptomatic carrier phase has excellent welfare and may live 10-15 years without disease progression. The welfare cost of keeping FIV-positive cats indoors is real — indoor cats have reduced behavioural opportunities — but manageable with enrichment. Concurrent infections that challenge the FIV-suppressed immune system are the primary welfare threat and can be managed with prompt veterinary care. The goal of good FIV management is a long, comfortable, indoor life with attentive health monitoring rather than premature euthanasia based on diagnosis alone.