Janet, I have to agree with everything that Nina said. Having the cat spayed would probably be the humane thing to do. My cat Cricket was born with Feline Leukemia; his mother had it. I would like to urge you to consider keeping this cat if you are at all attached to it, and caring for it yourself. FELV+ positive is not necessarily a death sentence; many cats throw off the virus after they've been exposed, expecially those with good health care and a lot of love. FELV+ cats are hard to place, and many times, are euthanised because a lot of vets recommend it. But we do not agree with this policy. These kitties deserve a happy life being loved just as much as a cat that isn't FELV+. Cricket lived 4 and a half years, and probably would have lived longer had he not been stressed out by a house full of Hurricane Rita evacuees for a week, when the virus kicked in and he became anemic. Because he was born FELV+, his life expectancy was a lot less than he actually lived. Many kittens die by 6 months because their immune systems are so weak, and even more by two years old. No one can make this decision for you, but learn a little more before you make the decision and I wish you luck. Let us know what you decide. I'll keep you in my prayers.
:) Wendy --- Nina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Janet, > As Terri and Tonya have already mentioned, many of > us mix adult negs > that have been vaccinated with pos. It's a > judgement call and of course > no matter what our success rate in doing this is, > there's no safer > protection for your elderly cat than to not mix them > together. That's > what most vets will tell you. Being that your > current kitty is older, I > might not mix them together either. That said, if I > were in this > situation, I'd figure God sent her to me for a > reason and I'd personally > dive in with both feet and do whatever I could to > save her and her kittens. > > I am all too familiar with the heartache involved > with pos kittens. My > experience with felv came when my husband and I > found a box of kittens > that were just 2.5 weeks old. Because they were so > young, I assume the > mother succumbed to felv from the stress of having > them and the people > who abandoned them didn't know how to care for them. > Why else would > they take them from their mother at that age? We > lost 2 of our babies > when they were about 6 mos old and two more before > their 2nd birthday. > The other two are doing fine and are reaching 2.5 > yrs. Their lives were > filled with love and concern and I'm not a bit sorry > that I made the > commitment to try and save them. > > Janet, you have some tough decisions ahead of you. > You don't know me, > so you might think I'm a monster for even bringing > this up, but given > what you've said in your post... It's going to be > hard enough to place > the mother, if she's healthy. I can't say what I > would do in your > place. I'm not you and I have no idea what you have > to contend with. > If someone steps up very quickly to adopt her, > knowing she's pregnant, > well that's a different story altogether. If you > just found out she's > pregnant, I'm supposing she's not too far along. > Under the > circumstances you describe, if you have her spayed, > the kittens would be > aborted at the same time and praying that she > remains asymptomatic after > the stress of the operation, you might have a chance > of placing her. I > couldn't bear to think about what might be in store > for those babies if > they lose their mother, and don't have a human > willing to step in and > care for them. My 2 cents on the harshness of > reality. Now, what I'm > praying for is that you've fallen in love with this > little stray and > you'll want to adopt her yourself. If so, there are > many wonderful, > knowledgeable people on this list who will support > you no matter where > that decision takes you. I'm also praying that > someone, if not you, > will hear this little girl's story, take her in and > give her the kind of > life every kitty deserves. > Nina > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Hello, > > Two weeks ago I took a cat in that had been > abandoned. Today, I took > > her to the vet and found out she was tested as > positive for feline > > leukemia. I also found out today that she is > pregnant. > > > > I have a 15 year old cat that does not have > leukemia. Thus, I cannot > > keep this new cat but I need to find a shelter > that can take her or a > > family that this will be their only help. > > > > Please let me know if you have any ideas. I live > in Florida. > > > > Thank you in advance, > > Janet > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com