FIV-positive cats can live long, healthy lives with proper management. Understanding the disease helps prevent unnecessary euthanasia and promotes welfare of affected cats.
FIV-positive cats have historically been subject to enormous welfare injustice — euthanized in vast numbers at shelters despite having the capacity for long, good-quality lives. The misconception that FIV is a death sentence has driven preventable deaths. Modern understanding recognizes that these cats, managed appropriately, face no worse quality of life than FIV-negative cats for most of their lives. The welfare challenges come from secondary infections as immune function declines in late disease, and from social isolation imposed by uninformed owners who separate FIV-positive cats unnecessarily. Shelter organizations that maintain FIV-positive cats in the adoption program — rather than euthanizing them — make a direct, significant welfare contribution. Education of veterinarians and the public about FIV management is one of the highest-impact activities for feline welfare.