Also - you mentioned that the vet isn't worried about her spreading it to your cat unless they bite. That sounds more like FIV. Are you sure he said Feline Leukemia or did he say Feline Aids? Just wanted to check because you mentioned the bite thing. Feline Leukemia can be spread much easier by like mutual grooming, food and water bowls, etc. (and bites of course). But Feline Aides (FIV) is spread by bites almost exclusively. It can't be spread by sharing food bowls or mutual grooming because the virus from the infected cat has to be injected straight into the bloodstream. I hope for the kitten's sake he meant to say feline aids but mis-spoke and said FeLV but was thinking of FIV. FIV is usually not nearly as devastating to the body and isn't as contagious so it's much better of the two dreadful diseases. Either way, Somewhere Sam is right. Need to re-test and two tests much match. If he meant FeLV definitely do an IFA but if he meant FIV then another snap test in a few weeks is probably enough because I don't think the snap test screws up the results of FIV quite as often as FeLV. Not sure but it seems that way from the reading I've done. It's true that you can't trust the results of the snap test on a young kitten either. I've had 3 kittens from a litter of 4 test positive for FIV but then 3 weeks later test negative. That's because they had the antibodies from the mother in their system and it made them test positive but as soon as they had stopped nursing and the antibodies cleared their system they tested negative. Did the vet mention calici virus? It's pronounced like ka-lee-see. That's another type of URI that can cause ulcers on the tongue. You treat it the same though and since it's a virus it just has to make it through the system. L-Lysine is a good supplement for the sniffles. If the ulcers are bad or if she gets too clogged up and she can't smell her food she may not want to eat so you just have to watch for that because young kittens dehydrate easily. You're so kind for taking her in. Check with the vet about FeLV versus FIV. Hopefully he just mis-spoke and hopefully the next snap test will be negative for both. I know Joey would love to have a playmate.
“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: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 08:04:34 -0700 > From: sin...@sbcglobal.net > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Rescue Kitten FeLV+ > > The SNAP test is not as accurate as the maker has hyped, or most Vet's > knowledge. > > Go to this link for Testing Protocols. > http://www.felineleukemia.org/felvhlth.html > http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/FeLV_Web.pdf > > Basically both tests the SNAP(Elisa) and the IFA results need to be the same > results, otherwise the kitten/cat is still not a true positive. > > SomeWhere Sam > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Jenny Orvis <mi...@cableone.net> > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Fri, July 8, 2011 5:06:28 AM > Subject: [Felvtalk] Rescue Kitten FeLV+ > > I just rescued a kitten two days ago, Cali. She was bullied by a dog so was > looking a little rough. She's 8 weeks old. Broke my heart when I found her > in the state she was in and I couldn't leave her. On the drive home she > stayed in my arms clinging close. We stopped and got her a can of food and > nearly snarfed the thing down in one setting! She's a very happy kitten, > little skiddish, but happy. > I took her to the vet yesterday. She has a sore on her tongue and a bit of a > runny nose and small fever, and otherwise heart and lungs sound good. But, > she tested positive for FeLV with the SNAP test. My heart just dropped. I > have an 8 month old kitten also, Joey, who tested negative when we got him, > and am worried about his health. He's up-to-date on all of his shots, and > the vet is not concerned about it spreading to him too much other than > biting. > > I've only had Cali for 48 hours and I'm already attached. I want to keep > her, but am a bit worried about FeLV and Joey. I know I won't introduce the > two until she's over her sniffles. She's in the spare bedroom all set up, > and Joey is quite interested thankfully! Was afraid it'd be World War 3. > > I know I've read somewhere about a kitten being so young and testing > positive, but actually not having it so I'm hoping that's what it is. She > goes back in two weeks. I've just been worrying if I'm crazy for wanting to > keep a possible FeLV+ kitten while my other baby is not positive. Any > advice? > _______________________________________________ > 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
