Cous Cous is a lovely cat who presented to our clinic, having been in a scrap with another cat. He had sustained some wounds to his chest and face which required an anaesthetic and repair.

This was not the first fight that Cous Cous had been in, so we decided to test him for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Unfortunately, he tested positive for the test. This means that Cous Cous had acquired FIV from one of his previous fights - as it is spread by cat bites.

Cous Cous is currently not showing any signs of the virus and may not for some time. It will be important for him to now stay inside, at night particularly, to prevent further spread of the virus. If Cous Cous now bites another cat, he can infect them and there is no cure for FIV.

There is, however, a vaccine against FIV, which we recommend for any outdoor cats, to give them protection against the virus.