Not only would I not consider pts those babies, I'd like to go punch
your vet in the nose. It sounds like there is a question about whether
that brave momma was actually pos herself, let alone the babies. So
many vets are so outdated in the way they deal with felv. It used to be
a common practice, (still is unfortunately in some shelters/rescues), to
test one of the kittens in a litter and assume that if one tested pos,
they all were. Or that because the mom is pos presume the kittens were
too. From personal experience and from the folks on this list, I can
tell you that isn't the case. Felv has very few hard fast rules, (it
can make you crazy with fear and grief trying to second guess what might
happen). The people on this list have had much more experience and I
trust their input and knowledge more than any vet I've encountered.
That doesn't mean you won't need a vet to help you with raising these
kits, but you should start looking right now for one that has had
experience with the disease that doesn't just write them off, (or at
least one that will be willing to help you and be open to suggestions
and researching possible solutions).
Take a deep breath Deana. You are going to lose enough sleep with 3am
feedings as it is. Don't allow yourself to fret over something that you
don't have the answers to yet. Speaking of 3am feedings, I have a great
homemade formula that I can send you off-list, (we can't do
attachments), if you are interested.
Welcome, and tell your vet to watch his back :-)
Nina
Deana K. Wagoner wrote:
I am new to the list and need some advice. We have a number of ferals in our
neighborhood and there has been an effort to trap/spay-neuter as many as
possible. I have been successful in turning two of them into great house cats.
One was negative and vaccinated at 6 months of age. She is about 12 months
now. The other kitty is several years old and was spayed, but as far as I know
she wasn’t tested. She lived on my patio for a year then decided to be a house
cat. I haven’t had her tested yet, but she is very healthy. I suspect she is a
cat that ran off/got lost or was dumped. She is a Rag Doll and really doesn’t
act like a true feral.
Another feral in the neighborhood had a little late last summer. Before I could capture these guys, one of the females got pregnant and delivered the litter of kittens on my patio. When the kittens were a day old, a neighbor’s dog attacked the stray mother and got one of the kittens. The mother cat went up a tree, then took off. I tried to follow her, with no luck. I watched the kittens for about four hours, and she never returned. We got some kmr and feed the 4 remaining kittens, continuing to watch for her to return. She returned in the middle of the night on Sunday night in a rain storm, obviously in bad shape. I just happened to look out when I was up in the middle of the night bottle feeding the kittens. I took her to the vet as soon they opened yesterday morning, but she died from the injuries. The vet suggested testing her for FeLV. (with the comment that if the cat was positive, you wouldn’t want to treat her any way.) The vet reported there was a negative test, then a second test was positive. The vet then suggested that all of the kittens be PTS immediately with the chance that they were positive.
I haven’t had cats much for the last 20 years, although I grew up with cats- all before FeLV was identified – so I am not familiar with it. Based on what I am reading, there are LOTS of questions about test results/vaccinating/etc.
We are bottle feeding the kittens and they are growing like crazy, crawling all over the place and don’t appear at all sick. They were only with their mother just under 24 hours. (born last Thursday.)
Is this common to just give up on the babies without knowing if they are positive or not? I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks
Deana
