Well, she's had a few episodes of very low white blood counts in the last few years. Each time, vet treated her with immune regulin and it bounced back up. She's a hefty 18 pounds, a cantankerous calico. I will when I get a chance find the references to the need for repeated testing of kittens in order to really rule FELV out.
Christiane Biagi 914-632-4672 Cell: 914-720-6888 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Katrina Animal Reunion Team (KART) www.findkpets.org Join Us & Help Reunite Katrina-displaced Families with their Animals From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Caroline Kaufmann Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 1:59 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: more questions and thankyou Chris- it sounds like she was a "carrier?" Have you heard this term used before as it relates to Felv? When Monkee tested positive for the third time, my vet said it didn't look good for him to "just be a carrier"- a cat that carries it in the bloodstream, but not in the bone marrow where it would actually be replicated and circulated throughout the whole body. Obviously, it was in his bone marrow and I didn't need to put him thru a needle aspiration to find that out. I think carriers-only is possible tho w/ Felv and I guess it's what we all hope for, especially if a cat is asymptomatic and thus, not "viremic"- aka, actively shedding the virus, then yes, it's possible to have multiple false negatives- and also possible for the carrier cat to not transmit the virus to others, no matter what the contact- b/c the cat is not "shedding" the virus. I think we all need to keep in mind that Felv is a VIRUS (despite it's misleading name- just as FIP has a misleading name). Viruses in general are extremely complex and extremely misunderstood. They are very complicated. Nothing is 100% when it comes to viruses and we need to remember that. No vaccine is 100% against a virus, but on the other hand, exposure is also not 100% for contraction. Example, we are all exposed to the human herpes virus so much more than any of us of want to think- and some of us probably are carrying it some where in our bodies, yet we are asymptomatic- but not every single one of us in the world "has" herpes!!! That is just one easy example, but there are many others for sure. Some of us have better immune systems than others. Some people can be faced with an onslaught of viruses and never come down with anything. We are all exposed to viruses everyday (and I do mean viruses, not bacteria-- altho that too!), but we aren't all "sick." Because viruses are ancient and they constantly mutate, it's not worth fretting over daily unless you are one of the researchers devoting your life to studying them them in a lab! We do the best we can, period. As much as we don't want to admit it, all of our cats WILL die...period. Yes, we want them to have a long, pain free life, but that can't always be accomplished so the best we can aim for is to give them a sheltered and loving life- long or short. If you spend all of your time worrying and fretting over them, then you are cheating your cat out of quality time spent with you. caroline _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: more questions and thankyou Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:06:55 -0500 Dorothy You are correct in the fact that this is what's on the Cornell web site-unfortunately that site has not been updated in years and does indeed contain some very outdated info. That info was then used by a variety of other sites as gospel and therein the dilemma. I know there are other references, more recent, that verify the 'if it dries-it dies' construct. I spent hours and hours researching when my Tucson was first diagnosed at age 5 and that first hit on the Cornell site gave me countless hours of sleepness nights! And you are correct in saying that FELV vaccine is not 100%--no vaccine is. But one thing I did learn in my readings became a critical piece of info when I was trying to figure things out. My Tucson had been tested when I first got her at about 8 weeks old & she was neg. Then all of a sudden, almost 5 years later, she tested positive. She was an indoor only cat from the moment I got her & the other 3 cats I had, (2 of whom came in as kittens after I got Tucson) consistently tested neg when I had them tested as adults. Turns out that depending on the 'stage' of the virus when snap test is administered, the results can be a false negative. Indeed, the ideal protocol for kittens is to test at the point of weaning, and if neg, test again no sooner than 6-9 months-of course, that would eliminate all adoptions! Anyway, based on my personal experience (such as it is) & the exhaustive reading and consulting I did, I (and the 2 vets who treated Tucson) were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that she harbored the virus all along. And, it is not such a transmittable disease because the 3 cats she lived with all those years are still neg, still share food/water dishes, litter boxes etc. The only changes I made after Tucson's diagnosis was to vaccinate the other 3-and yes, I took in a stray I'd been feeding for two years who was never sick a day in his life and he turned out to be positive. Christiane Biagi 914-632-4672 Cell: 914-720-6888 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Katrina Animal Reunion Team (KART) www.findkpets.org <http://www.findkpets.org/> Join Us & Help Reunite Katrina-displaced Families with their Animals From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dorothy Noble Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 12:26 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: more questions and thankyou You are welcome to describe my information as "inaccurate"; I wrote: Apparently the virus CAN live for a while. I have read in several places that you need to clean any area with a bleach/water cleaner if a + cat has been where a negative one will be staying. It is said that you should wait 30 days after your + cat is gone before you should introduce a new negative cat into the household. I would think that the Cornell University (as well as all of the others documented below) hold a certain amount of credibility - more so than any layman just posting their opinions here. Whatever you believe, I would ALWAYS err on the side of caution and keep all of the litterboxes, bowls, etc separate. Without knowing it, I put my negative cats at risk; they had all been vaccinated for FeLV but it isn't 100% effective. Due to the extreme contagiousness, one of my vaccinated cats now is FeLV positive. Please note the yellow highlighted part below - by following this strictly, my other negative cat remained negative. Suit yourself, but I prefer to be proactive with my cats. What can I do now to protect my cats?? The only method for protecting your cats is to remove any FELV-positive cat from other cats completely. You should also follow strict quarantine procedures including separate utensils, housing, litter pans for the FELV positive cat, and thoroughly washing your hands, clothing and shoes after handling and caring for the FELV positive cat. Do not breed an FELV positive queen!! If you lose a cat to FELV, it is recommended that you wait 30 days before bringing in a new cat, and then only after the area has been thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected with a solution containing 4 ounces of household bleach per gallon of water, rugs vacuumed completely, and all litter pans, food dishes, bedding, etc. have been replaced. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- * FeLV is considerably unstable and will not survive outside an infected cat for an extended length of time. It is recommended to wait at least 30 days before a new cat is brought into the household/facility in which a FeLV-positive cat once lived * Cleaning: Thoroughly disinfect or replace the food dishes, litter pans, and bedding that were used by the infected cat. Tile or hard surfaced floors should be cleaned and disinfected with a diluted bleach solution (approx. 4 oz. household bleach to 1 gal. water). Thoroughly vacuum rugs to eliminate the virus from carpeting. * These plus the thirty-day quarantine, should be sufficient to eliminate the virus within the household. -------------------------------------------------- Keep a FeLV-infected cat indoors and away from other cats. If the cat dies from FeLV, the Cornell Feline Health Center recommends a waiting period of at least 30 days before getting another cat. The house and cat supplies should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before bringing a new cat home. An FeLV-positive cat that is not sick is probably still shedding the virus. FeLV-positive cats should not be housed with other cats. Deciding what to do with an FeLV-positive cat in a multicat household can be very difficult. There are several options, including: * Euthanasia * Finding a home for the FeLV-positive cat where it will be the sole cat * Isolating the FeLV-positive cat within the home, by keeping it in a separate room and providing a separate litter tray and feeding bowl Because FeLV can be spread through litter trays, water and food bowls, and bedding, these should be disinfected with a solution containing 4 ounces of household bleach per 1 gallon of water, or they should be replaced after isolating the FeLV-positive cat. Floors should be cleaned and disinfected with a bleach solution, and rugs should be thoroughly vacuumed. --------------------------------- If you have previously had a cat with FeLV, wait at least 30 days before acquiring a new cat. During that time, all litterboxes and food bowls should be replaced, and the premises cleaned thoroughly. Belinda Sauro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: This is why inaccurate information is so harmful, Dorthys info is wrong, it dries it dies, talk to any vet who is knowledgable about FeLV if you can find one, there aren't many even today it seems. > Now I am worried. I have been taking good care of Buzz's dishes and washing my hands after I leave his room. If this virus lasts on clothing then I have put my other cats at risk every time I pick them up in spite of the precautions. -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://www.bemikitties.com HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting & web design] http://www.hostdesign4u.com ForYouByUs.com [custom printing] http://www.foryoubyus.com _____ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51733/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8H DtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ> _____ Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. 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