Cats usually get FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) through deep bite wounds from another infected cat, most often during fights.

What FIV Is

  • FIV is a virus that attacks a cat’s immune system, a bit like HIV does in humans, but it only infects cats and cannot spread to people or dogs.
  • Once a cat is infected, the virus is almost always lifelong and hides in the body, often for years before obvious illness appears.

Main Ways Cats Get FIV

  • Bite wounds: The virus is shed in saliva, and a deep bite that injects saliva under the skin is by far the most common transmission route.
  • Blood contact: Less commonly, infected blood entering the body (for example via a bite that draws blood or a contaminated transfusion) can transmit FIV.
  • From mother to kittens: Some kittens of an infected queen may be infected in the womb or via milk while nursing, though this is relatively uncommon.
  • Sexual activity: Mating-related bites and fighting are the real risk; sexual transmission itself is considered a minor route compared with biting.

What Does Not Commonly Spread FIV

  • Casual contact like sharing food bowls, water bowls, or litter trays is considered a very low-risk or inefficient way for the virus to spread.
  • Normal social grooming and living together peacefully in a stable household rarely leads to transmission if the cats do not fight and do not bite each other.
  • The virus does not survive long outside the body and is easily killed by common disinfectants.

Which Cats Are Most at Risk

  • Outdoor, roaming, or territorial cats that get into fights (especially unneutered males) are at highest risk because they are more likely to bite and be bitten.
  • Indoor-only, neutered cats that live in a calm multi-cat home with little or no fighting are at much lower risk.

How to Reduce the Risk

  • Keep cats indoors or supervise outdoor time to reduce fights with unknown cats.
  • Neuter cats to reduce roaming and aggressive behavior that leads to fighting and biting.
  • Test new cats for FIV before introducing them to resident cats, especially if there is a history of fighting.

Quick Scoop – Key Points

  • FIV spreads mainly through deep bite wounds from an infected cat.
  • Casual contact like sharing bowls or cuddling is low risk and not a typical transmission route.
  • Indoor, neutered, non-fighting cats have a much lower chance of ever getting FIV.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.