Regarding Amber - Been doing more reading. By keeping Amber in the basement you're not putting your cats at risk at all so don't feel guilty about that. One thing said 60% of cats exposed to FeLV don't get it. 5-10% put it into a latent stage. Only about 30% get it and die (still too many though). Sometimes it can take up to a year of prolonged exposure for a healthy adult cat to get the virus in it's system. I honestly think with Amber in the basement your cats have no chance of getting it. You have done a wonderful thing by taking her in.
Also - do the IFA test too. Or do it in a couple months when you re-test if the ELISA comes out positive again. Another website I read said the in office ELISA combo test are wrong about 50% of the time. Wonder how many cats have been put down because of that. “I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn’t….the pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further.” – Mark Twain > Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:04:47 -0700 > From: jannestay...@yahoo.com > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > I use to have indoor/outdoor cats, but now they are strickly indoor. There > are > so many dangers outside such as cars, dogs, and the chance of encountering a > another cat with felv, for example. I do feel sorry for them sometimes, but I > have to say I would trade places with any one of them to live the life of > luxury > they experinece indoors. They do "long" to go outside sometimes, but I open > up > the windows and let them smell the fresh air. I don't feel too guilty about > it. > LOL > > Update on Amber, my felv kitty. I've had her three and a half weeks now and > she > is looking and feeling so much better! She has gained weight and still has a > good appetite. She is so sweet. My husband is building her a "kitty palace", > which is eight feet long, four feet wide, and six feet tall. We bought a cat > tree to put in it so she can climb and get her exercise. I have been keeping > her > in a much smaller cage (the only on I have) and letting her roam in the > basement a few hours a day when I can. I so wish I could bring her upstairs > with > the other cats, but just don't feel I should take the risk. I am still > struggling a little bit with putting them at risk at all, but it is what it > is! > I still plan to have Amber retested in a couple of months. Whatever happens, > I > am still glad I have been given the opportunity to make a difference in her > life. Jannes > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Natalie <at...@optonline.net> > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Wed, March 23, 2011 8:13:09 AM > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > As an adopter, my views on this are very strict and well-defined - I am > responsible for placing cats in the safest possible homes, and I would do no > less. I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing that the cats that I > rescued and invested so much time, energy, and emotion will be safe and > happy for a long time. > Yes, I agree, there still are a few safe area left, but not many and none > are 100% safe, ever. It is true that times used to be safer for cats to be > outdoors - ours always had been, especially when I was growing up, until one > of our kittens was killed by a car....Unfortunately, it takes many people to > understand this only after a tragedy occurs. When an adopter tells me that > their cat ALWAYS sat on the front porch, and never left....and they intend > to do the same with a new adopted cat, I say NO! Their old cat may have > indeed done that, but it doesn't mean that a new cat will do it: It takes > ONLY ONE TIME - chasing a squirrel or bird across the street, and WHAM! > Cats can be perfectly happy indoors with tall cat trees by a window, a > window perch, the right kind of toys to keep them interested and active. > More and more people construct outdoor enclosures; simple ones to really > elaborate ones, even just a little window screened porch. I don't believe > that cats need to hunt; if they are homeless and hungry, yes, but there's no > need for a well-fed cat to kill small wildlife, not for food, but for fun > and the reflex of chasing something (could be a toy). > > -----Original Message----- > From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org > [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Lorrie > Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 7:56 AM > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > This is a hot topic, but I agree humans and loss of habitat > are the main threat to birds. > > As for keeping cats inside. I've had cats all my life and they > have always been indoor/outdoor cats. All of them have lived to > 16 to 17 years of age unless they've had some genetic problem like > heart disease. My cats were all rescues and they lived outside > before I had them, and they are totally miserable inside. > > It's really only the last couple decades that cats have been living > indoors, but the invention of cat litter and urban sprawl have made > us think all cats have the perfect life indoors, when in reality, > cats are happier if they can live outdoors. They are programmed to > hunt small animals....which is the best nutrition for them. They need > to climb trees, stalk at night with their night vision, and be free. > Cats were not made for sitting in a window sill, and a prison is a > prison no matter how many cat toys and kitty kondos we buy for them. > > It's true that some outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy, but > this mostly depends on where they live. If they live in a safe area > with little or no traffic then I feel they should be allowed to be > outside. There are some cats who will never willingly settle for the > indoor life. We live in the middle of the woods on a dead end road > with no traffic and our cats are allowed to go outside. I rarely see > them catch a bird, but they catch many mice & moles. I feel sad to > see anything killed, but cats and dogs are predators and this is what > they were designed to do. > > Lorrie > > > > Sorry but that information is outdated or biased. The number one > > killer of birds is humans due to habitat loss or construction for same. > > > > Humans: The Number One Threat to Birds > > > http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=325 > > > > > > SomeWhere Sam > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
