Twenty-year lifetime histories of FIV- and FeLV-infected cats in a sanctuary in the UK indicate an effect of retroviral infection on longevity.

FeLV drastically reduces cat lifespan; FIV has lesser but significant impact on longevity.

This retrospective cohort study analyzed 20-year lifetime health records of 132 cats in a UK sanctuary to evaluate the impact of FIV and FeLV retroviral infections on longevity and clinical outcomes. Cats were stratified into four groups: uninfected (n=22), FIV-positive (n=82), FeLV-positive (n=24), and FeLV/FIV co-infected (n=4). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed median life expectancies of 160.3 months for uninfected cats, 149.1 months for FIV-infected, 41.5 months for FeLV-infected, and 74.2 months for co-infected animals. Both retroviral infections significantly reduced longevity, with FeLV demonstrating the most marked impact (p<0.001). FeLV infection showed strong association with neoplastic disease, particularly lymphoma (76.9% of FeLV cases). FIV infection was significantly associated with oral/dental disease. The study acknowledges limitations including small sample sizes in the FeLV/FIV and uninfected cohorts, warranting cautious interpretation of these subgroup analyses. Despite limitations, findings demonstrate that FeLV poses substantially greater threat to feline longevity than FIV, while FIV-infected cats may experience reduced maximum lifespan without severe early mortality.

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