there's a HUGE difference between being cautious, and chosing ignorance. using statistics that are as outdated as 60% efficacy for the vaccine isn't caution, it's bordering on malpractice.
no, none of the vet schools, or the veterinary associations, are gonna say, "sure, go ahead and mix them!" until there's solid, hard evidence--which has been impossible when the treatment of choice has been euthanasia. i understand that position--vets ignoring the current knowledge base, the research done by the vet schools and the professional associations, and the merck manual, in favor of stuff that wasn't standard practice even years ago isn't caution. my vet, who is NOT a young man, was taught quite awhile ago not to make a decision re: FeLV based on a single positive test: the information has been out there, and so much has been learned in the past six years that i know of that there is truly no excuse for vets to be further behind in their knowledge than a batch of folks on an internet list who are NOT scientists. i don't expect any vet to know everything about anything--that's an absurd thing to require. but when faced with a situation, to not even find out what the current standard is, is no more acceptable. i came into this FeLV thing late--i have nothing but the utmost respect and awe for those folks on this list who, when it was much harder to do so, said, "NO! you cannot kill my cat just because it has a virus," and either worked with their vet to find options, or went out on their own to get the information. without them, all of our lives would have a lot less love (and fur) in them. On Sat, Mar 1, 2008 at 10:47 PM, Marylyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A thought: Most vets are going to steer toward caution because they do > not want to be blamed if a cat develops FeLV+. This is human nature and > part of their ethics system. Knowing that, we can ask more questions and > pin them down. The good ones who are up on FeLV will be forthcoming with > answers. I have found this to be particularly true with those who accept > alternative medicine even though they do not practice it themselves. Once > we, not they, make the decisions the vets I know and go to are very > supportive. I can really understand why they would not want the > responsibility. > > On Mar 1, 2008, at 4:44 AM, Pat Kachur wrote: > > My vet says the vaccine is 90+% effective. My 6 negatives were vaccinated > and all are over 5 years old. My vet and I agreed that mixing my one > positve with the others had very little risk. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* catatonya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > *To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > *Sent:* Saturday, March 01, 2008 1:12 AM > *Subject:* Re: FeLV Vaccination > > I would vaccinate my negatives, wait the 2-3 weeks necessary and booster > them, wait 2-3 weeks more and let them mix. All this IF the other cats are > over a year old. That has always been my protocol and I've never had a > negative cat 'catch' the leukemia from my positive. > tonya > > *Sue & Frank Koren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>* wrote: > > 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? > > > > > -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
