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Comment by sillysaurusx | Hacker News Reader

Just wanted to leave a plea for someone, anyone, to please start working on FeLV and FIV vaccines. Cats normally live 16 years. FeLV/FIV takes them at age 2 or 3. It happened to both of mine.

Not only is it common, but it's often assumed that it'll happen. It seems almost lucky when cats don't get it.

If an epidemic like that were affecting humans, a trillion dollars would be spent to fight it. But since it's cats, we just stay silent.

I wish there were more commercial incentive. I don't know how there would be, but I hope one day there will be.

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I’m sorry to hear both your cats passed away at age 2-3. Can I ask whether the cats were infected with FeLV or FIV? FIV cats can often live a relatively long life (~10 years) if kept indoors. Whereas the median lifespan for a FeLV positive cat is 3 years from the date of diagnosis.

Not to detract from your point, but HIV is exactly that disease and a lot of money has been spent to treat it with considerable success.

Which is to say you're correct but it's not a hypothetical.

Every university vet-med program in the country probably has people working on FeLV. You can Google for this: ["university" "veterinary medicine" "felv" "lab"].

Lost two little friends because of that ;(

FeLV has a vaccine. Also I guess it’s regional, here not that many cases. Also have personally seen multiple cats live well past 10 with FIV, with no treatment as they are none. 2-3 years seems super short from what I’ve seen so I wouldn’t blame FIV only. (I am an European vet)

> If an epidemic like that were affecting humans, a trillion dollars would be spent to fight it.

Only if it affected rich western countries. Poor fuckers of all ages from around equator are decimated daily and comparatively very little was done and its not great even now. Very easy and cheap to minimize exposure (ie mosquito nets), and completely reachable to eradicate for for maybe 70-80% of affected population. But I guess dying african/asian kid half around the world doesn't stir enough emotions these days.

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