3 of my cats lived with one of my FELV+ for 5 years until I found out the 4th whad been positive all along. They shared the same food bowls, litter, toys; groomed each other, etc. All 3 were tested when I found the 4th was pos and all 3 were neg. I did vaccinate them at that point. While kittens may be a bit more vulnerable, I've come to believe that transmission among adult cats is a lot harder than many people think. My vet never once considered any option but mixing and he's got some good experience with FELV. He left the decision to me but there really wasn't any decision. To separate them at that point would just have been a nightmare worse than any risk of FELV.
No vaccine is 100% but between the vaccine, the cats' ages, the fact that they were all in reasonable, though not perfect, health-mixing was not a problem for me. Christiane Biagi 914-632-4672 Cell: 914-720-6888 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Katrina Animal Reunion Team (KART) <http://www.findkpets.org> www.findkpets.org Join Us & Help Reunite Katrina-displaced Families with their Animals From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sue & Frank Koren Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 9:50 AM To: fe lv Subject: FeLV Vaccination Several people here have said that they have their FeLV + kitties living in with FeLV - cats, and the negative cats are not getting infected. I am trying to decide if I should vaccinate my others and let Buzz out of his room. My vet is against it and says the vaccinations are only 60 - 80% effective. The vet does not seem to be up on all that is going on with FeLV, though, and I am considering switching vets. Buzz really doesn't,t mind his room, but he is a social boy and cries when he doesn't want to be alone. I visit him as often as I can and spend at least an hour or so in the evenings in with him, but such minor details as a full time job and the rest of my human and cat family keep me away from being with him as much as he and I would like. It seems as if vaccinating the others and freeing Buzz from his prison room is the best solution, but not if any of the others end up being infected. Their ages range from 2 to 8 years. Two of them, Charlie and Tucker have other health problems and I don't know if that would put them more at risk. Anyway, has anyone ever heard of a vaccinated cat being infected?
