Shown below are some basic statistics from the project and some comments arising.
STATISTICS - NOTES - OBSERVATIONS - COMMENT
Statistics
The table below shows some basic statistics taken from the FIV cats listed -
Over 70% of these cats are still alive, so their stories are not yet complete,
but you will see from the section on the right, which isolates those cats who have completed their lives, that only life-threatening issues have increased in any major way.
|
|
Number |
Percent |
|
|
Number |
Percent |
|
Died |
Percent |
|
|
FIV cats listed - Total |
1199 |
100.0% |
|
FIV total |
1199 |
100.0% |
|
334 |
27.86% |
|
|
Male |
943 |
78.6% |
|
Health issues |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Female |
256 |
21.4% |
|
Allergies |
54 |
4.5% |
|
10 |
3.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anaemia |
39 |
3.3% |
|
11 |
3.3% |
|
|
Country |
|
|
|
Arthritis |
35 |
2.9% |
|
13 |
3.9% |
|
|
USA |
724 |
60.4% |
|
Asthma |
25 |
2.1% |
|
8 |
2.4% |
|
|
UK |
276 |
23.0% |
|
Bartonella |
4 |
0.3% |
|
1 |
0.3% |
|
|
Europe |
71 |
5.9% |
|
Cancer |
103 |
8.6% |
|
94 |
28.1% |
|
|
Canada |
41 |
3.4% |
|
Cystitis |
10 |
0.8% |
|
7 |
2.1% |
|
|
Ireland |
27 |
2.3% |
|
Dental |
297 |
24.8% |
|
92 |
27.5% |
|
|
Australia |
26 |
2.2% |
|
Diabetes |
27 |
2.3% |
|
23 |
6.9% |
|
|
South America |
10 |
0.8% |
|
Digestive |
125 |
10.4% |
|
40 |
12.0% |
|
|
New Zealand |
6 |
0.5% |
|
Ear |
78 |
6.5% |
|
21 |
6.3% |
|
|
South Africa |
8 |
0.7% |
|
Eye |
176 |
14.7% |
|
59 |
17.7% |
|
|
Singapore / Malaysia |
4 |
0.3% |
|
FIP |
5 |
0.4% |
|
4 |
1.2% |
|
|
Japan |
2 |
0.2% |
|
Gingivitis |
109 |
9.1% |
|
40 |
12.0% |
|
|
Asia |
2 |
0.2% |
|
Heart |
58 |
4.8% |
|
39 |
11.7% |
|
|
China |
1 |
0.1% |
|
Herpes |
15 |
1.3% |
|
4 |
1.2% |
|
|
Russia |
1 |
0.1% |
|
Kidney |
95 |
7.9% |
|
68 |
20.4% |
|
|
Household |
|
|
|
Liver |
21 |
1.8% |
|
16 |
4.8% |
|
|
Indoor only, single cat |
248 |
20.7% |
|
Pancreatitis |
18 |
1.5% |
|
12 |
3.6% |
|
|
Indoor only, multi-cat |
699 |
58.3% |
|
Respiratory |
225 |
18.8% |
|
69 |
20.7% |
|
|
Indoor/outdoor, single cat |
54 |
4.5% |
|
Ringworm |
13 |
1.1% |
|
3 |
0.9% |
|
|
Indoor/outdoor, multi-cat |
198 |
16.5% |
|
Seizure |
15 |
1.3% |
|
7 |
2.1% |
|
|
Mixed FIV pos/neg household |
701 |
58.5% |
|
Skin |
87 |
7.3% |
|
25 |
7.5% |
|
|
Feeding |
|
|
|
Stomatitis |
87 |
7.3% |
|
26 |
7.8% |
|
|
Wet food |
135 |
11.3% |
|
Thrombosis |
5 |
0.4% |
|
5 |
1.5% |
|
|
Dry food |
168 |
14.0% |
|
Thyroid |
33 |
2.8% |
|
22 |
6.6% |
|
|
Combination |
873 |
72.8% |
|
Urinary |
78 |
6.5% |
|
22 |
6.6% |
|
|
Raw (mainly) |
23 |
1.9% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA |
UK |
|
Total cats in project (so far) |
724 |
276 |
|
|
|
|
|
Indoor only_single cat |
107 |
106 |
|
% of total cats |
14.8% |
38.4% |
|
|
|
|
|
Indoor only_multicat |
523 |
75 |
|
% of total cats |
72.2% |
27.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
Outdoor single cat |
17 |
20 |
|
% of total cats |
2.3% |
7.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
Outdoor multicat |
77 |
75 |
|
% of total cats |
10.6% |
27.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pos/Neg household - all cats |
480 |
116 |
|
% of total cats |
66.3% |
42.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
Pos/Neg h'hold - indoor cats |
407 |
48 |
|
% of indoor multicat |
77.8% |
64.0% |
Prior health issues
Health problems reported prior to when cats were taken on have largely been ignored - this is because we felt they were not relevant to keeping an FIV cat - many FIV cats came from being a stray or poor care before being homed, so any previous health issues would more likely be due to previous circumstances than FIV.
You will see from the health charts that, if a cat had health problems when homed, it will show on the health chart, but usually these issues are resolved in a short time after being homed and receiving good care.
Health issues mentioned by the owners as having occurred after taking them on, have been listed, and show in the statistics.
Indoor-only / indoor-outdoor
When we classify a cat as indoor only, it includes cats who have access to an outdoor pen or enclosure - this is because we feel that, to be classed as having outdoor access, the cat should have full freedom outside, not just in a protected area.
Health issues
Many of the health issues allocated to an individual may well be fairly insignificant, but they were mentioned by their owner, so warrant being listed as an issue for that cat. You will need to read the full details of an individual cat to judge the severity of any health issue - use the health issue selection facility on the results page to find those with specific issues.
This is not a scientific study and vet notes are not required to specify particular health issues - this is because we want the results to reflect what owners experience as issues and not every veterinary blip - if the owner doesn't remember it, or feel it worth mentioning, that is the reality of owning the cat, which is what we are aiming to portray.
Observations / comment
With 1000 cats now in the project collection, we are seeing a few points of interest.
USA / UK differences
There seems to be a marked difference between the way FIV cats are kept in the UK when compared to those in the USA.
In the USA, indoor single-cat households come in at around 14% of the total, whereas in the UK, indoor single-cat households form over 38% of the total.
This almost certainly reflects the common policy of the major national rescue charities in the UK, only to home FIV cats as single indoor-only cats. This is preventing many possible owners from taking an FIV cat into their multi cat household.
In the USA, there seems a more balanced view. With nearly 67% of the project FIV cats in the USA living in mixed positive/negative households, and with no reports of transmission from those in the project. It would seem that the UK is still missing potential for good homes for FIV cats with more than 40% living as only cats, despite an increase in numbers in mixed households during the time this project has been running.
Maybe the results of this project might help persuade UK homing centres to widen their options for FIV cats.
However, it is encouraging to see that, for indoor-only FIV cats, around 65-75% are living in mixed positive/negative households - both in the States and the UK - that shows the 'casual transmission' myth is being overcome on both sides of the Atlantic, which is really good news!
FIV symptoms
Whereas most 'authority' information about FIV warns of common symptoms for FIV cats being the likes of stomatitis, digestive, and other complaints; the results of this project so far show that no health issue features in more than around 20% of the cats, so hardly the 'common' expectation or symptom.
It will be interesting to see if those percentages change much as we get more cats on the project.