RE: I'm New....kitten tested positive for FELV

[Chris]

You will get more than these responses—you’ve come to a great place w. some very knowledgable people with first hand experience!   First off, I think you might consider changing vets to someone who is much more current and familiar with FELV—there is absolutely no reason to euthanize a cat because its FELV+!  That’s a very dated protocol!   I had 4 cats—one tested pos for FELV when she was 4 and she’d been around the other cats her whole life (2 of the younger ones had come in as kittens).  They all tested neg and I just get them a yearly FELV vaccine.  They had not received vaccination prior to my Tucson testing pos.   Now I have 2 FELV + adult cats and 3 adult neg that just live all together.  My vet, who cares for a number of FELV cats in his practice, is not particularly concerned about mixing.  It is not an easy disease for an adult cat to get—its not airborne and the virus dies in seconds when exposed to the air!  My cats all ate out of the same dishes, groomed each other, shared toys, shared litter boxes.   Also, its still possible for kitten to throw off the virus over the coming weeks/months.  You may want to wait some time before doing the IFA, the lab test.    SO,don’t panic…  more folks will give you a whole more details… we’ve all been in your situation and it will work out.  Just maybe, start calling other vets to see who in your area is more familiar with FELV…   Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of kandbz_ mom Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 11:42 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: I'm New....kitten tested positive for FELV   Thanks to the two people who have responded so far! Thanks for the words of encouragement. I do have a question..both of my other cats had their booster shots as kittens...but, is this FELV vaccine something they should be getting every year?  I was told that since they are indoor cats, the only shots necessary were the first sets. Is that correct?  I am going crazy with worry. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi there, I would not euthanize a cat because they tested positive, unless they are very ill and suffering. You may want to try finding a more enlightened vet. I had a kitten come up light positive awhile ago. She was negative the next time I had her tested. There are no guarantees this will happen every time, but it does happen. If your other cats are vaccinated it is very very unlikely they have contracted it. Other folks on this list have more experience and will probably be more helpful to you, I just wanted to say welcome and give you some hope. Thanks, Kelley ----- Original Message ----- From: kandbz_ mom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 10:08 am Subject: I'm New....kitten tested positive for FELV To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Hello! I recently adopted a kitten...she is now 15 weeks old. The > lady I got her from emailed me and said my kittens brother tested > positive. We went to the vet for a checkup on Monday and she > tested positive for Felv. The vet came out right away and said I > may want to think about having her euthanized. I asked if we could > wait and then do the other test, the one done at the lab. He said > we can, but since she came up positive so young, she probably does > have Felv. I am just heartbroken. SHe has no symptoms and is > just the sweetest cat ever. I have to get my other two cats > tested for it. My cats are 7 and 3 yrs old. They have never been > tested for Felv because they don't automatically test here. When > you take a cat or kitten in for a "checkup" they just routinely > give out the vaccine and don't test unless you ask for it. You > would think that as fast as this disease spreads, they would be > testing EVERY kitten/cat. I'm worried that my other two cats are > going to > have it now, too. Does anyone know, would I have to have all > three of them euthanized if that were the case?? I'm still > learning about this disease from reading things on the internet. > Would it be possible to keep her?? > Any advice would be helpful and appreciated. > > Thanks. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com     Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.