RE: positive

[Chris]

Here’s the thing—these viruses have been around forever—they’re not new.  If they were all that contagious and lethal then there would be NO cats left anywhere.  Back before tests, everybody was mixed and nobody got tested or vaccinated.  Then all of a sudden these tests came out and with them all this rush to pts any cat that tested positive.  Kittens are always at more risk from anything.  No doubt they have the hardest time of all if they have pre-natal exposure and it is heart breaking to see these little one struggle so hard and not make it.  But pts any cat of any age who is pos is a travesty!  I have two adults who are pos.  My vet never batted an eyelash about mixing.  Are there risks? I’m sure there are but I just don’t think they’re anywhere near what the big pharmaceutical companies would have you believe.  Are the adults more susceptible to cancers and blood disorders-sure.  But does that mean they can’t have a good, happy life—of course not!  I don’t have either of mine on interferon—you’d sort of have to know them to know what a MAJOR stress that would be for them.  I do give them some good food, some supplements and a whole lot of loving!  As for my 3 negs, I do get them vaccinated though they lived with what I didn’t know was a positive since their own kittenhood and they all remain neg.    I wish that testing was only used to determine any appropriate medical treatment—not to determine whether cat should immediately live or die; not to determine whether the cat is a ‘death sentence’ for any other cats….   Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of TenHouseCats Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 11:20 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: positive   yeah, well, that IS the question....   70% of adult, healthy cats can be exposed to the virus and throw it off--it's generally believed to take 90-120 days for that to happen if it's gonna. therefore, unless you know EXACTLY where (and with whom!) the cat has been in the previous 90-120 days, you can't really believe either a negative OR a positive result.... this means that cats who have been exposed, but will throw off the virus, will be killed in the shelters/rescues/vet's offices because they don't have either the information or the facilities to hold the kitty for retesting; if also means that a stray from the streets who tests negative may still have been exposed in the recent past and may test positive later on....   even cats tested positive on the ifa can retest negative after a time--i'd found a reference once, tho it's no longer where it was originally!--that in rare cases the time for an IFA to go back to negative was up to 7 months following exposure.   i have never heard of a documented case of a vaccinated negative cat turning positive from living, closely, with positives....   i do know of a number of cats who originally tested positive (back before people knew to retest) who did indeed test negative months and even years after they'd gone to live in positive-only environments--so clearly, they were healthy enough to throw the initial exposure off, and to remain negative afterward. one specific cat in that category went through two major bouts of illness that were considered life-threatening--to the force-feeding stage--and the little brat bounced back from both those episodes, stayed in the FeLV colony, and two years later, was found to be negative after all...       On 4/20/06, carrie chance <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: what the heck good is testing and vaccinating then? ----- Original Message ----- From: Hideyo Yamamoto To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:20 PM Subject: RE: positive   I hasn't happened to me – but statistically it's supposed to have 2/3 of cases – might it might take a few months to really know it, though.   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of hd cc Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2006 3:50 PM To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: positive   Okay anyone ever have a positive turn negitive? or am I screwed!     Sincerely Carrie   -- MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892