I second this. You say she stayed away from the others pretty much, and FeLV is pretty hard to catch casually. And when you do have the others tested: Please ask your vets BEFORE you take the others in for tests what their philosophy is on treating FeLV+ or FIV+ cats. If they routinely euthanise asymptomatic kitties, you may want to find another vet who is more enlightened. Do NOT let the vet euthanize anykitty just because it tests positive. There's a huge possibility for false positives with the in-office test, and aside from that, otherwise healthy FeLV+ cats can live long happy lives. It sounds as though the one you lost was starting to get sick, and possibly the stress of the surgery moved things along. It sounds to me like the vet did stuff in the wrong order, actually. You would think they'd have done the non-invasive tests first, and maybe an ultrasound, before doing the invasive stuff. I'm sorry for your loss. Gentle Bridge vibes to her. You sound like great catparents. Diane R.
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kelley Saveika Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:59 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Help needed Hi Debbie, I would check around with other places in your area to see if you can find the tests cheaper. I can get a combo test here for $16 per cat, which would be way less than $1,000. At this point I'm not sure I'd be in a rush to test all of them. They have been together and likely either have it or they don't (most likely not). On 2/26/07, Debbie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: The cats were all spayed and neutered and had all shots except the feline leukemia. They have been to the vet yearly or whenever needed. We aquired so many at once we could not afford the testing and shots. A lady I worked with found 3 kittens in a dumpster, 2 weeks later 4 more - we bottle raised all of them and they all lived. At that same time a stray came in winter and had 4 babies. They all lived also. A month after this we took a trip 500 miles away and found 2 kittens starving in a field in the middle of nowhere. We brought them back. These were tested (not sure why vet decided this) and they were ok at that time. All the cats got along and seldon fought. If they did it was not the biting, scratching, etc... Soon after that a cat roamed up at a barbeque we had. She was young and in heat. We did not want her to get pregnant and she stayed so we brought her in. She was a very shy cat. She liked attention but seldom went near the others. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were clear (no discharge). A few weeks ago she started throwing up. We took her to the vet. She had nver been seriously ill (none have). They are all around 4 yrs, old now. Anyhow the vet said something was probably stuck in her intestines so they operated. All they found was enlarged lymph nodes. They did a biopsy and said they were not cancerous. She started doing better but then it was hard to get her to eat. We took her back in and they said her lungs had fluid in them. They drained it off. After all of this they came back and said she tested postive for leukemia. They recommended putting her to sleep. Now we have a nightmare. We have all the others, plus just paid out $700.00 for a cat that they ended up putting down. Don't know if the operation threw her into it all or what. We are going to have the others tested but it will be over $1000.00. We feel awful. If you don't have the money though it isn't always as some people think to keep up with everything. -----Original Message----- From: Kelley Saveika Sent: Feb 26, 2007 11:25 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Help needed I don't think anyone can give you odds on that. I would say it would be unlikely that they will all be positive and quite possible that none will be positive. If there is anything I have learned from this list it is that FELV is pretty hard to catch. Were any of the cats vaccinated against FELV? On 2/26/07, Debbie <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: What are the odds of having 15 cats and one tests postive - will the others all be postive? These are cats that are strictly indoors now in a 1200 square foot house. The infected cat was not outwardly sick and di not socialize with the other cats, however they used same litter boxes and ate from same dishes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. All cats are close to same age, different litters, aquired at the same time. -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org <http://www.rescuties.org/> Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20 -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20 This electronic mail transmission and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. They should be read or retained only by the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the transmission from your system. In addition, in order to comply with Treasury Circular 230, we are required to inform you that unless we have specifically stated to the contrary in writing, any advice we provide in this email or any attachment concerning federal tax issues or submissions is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, to avoid federal tax penalties.
