Thanks so much for the quick reply. What is LTCI and where would I go to get it? I'm sure the shelter wouldnt cover it but I have a big network of supportive volunteer friends who I believe would step up and help out if I asked for help covering something financially that could help them. I want to do what is best for them but personally dont have the funds to cover it myself with 2 cats and 2 dogs of my own. But I think I could pull something together if its not completely outrageous and seems like something I should really give a shot.
------------------- I wish I could you give you something more definite - but the truth is you just don't know - I know of many people whose kittens became negative later on, but also know many who remained positive. I have one felk kitty, Ginger, I have had her since she was 6 months old - now she is 8 years old and doing very well - One suggestion, if you can afford it - I would recommend LTCI on the kittens as some of the users of LTCI, their kittens became negative - I can't be sure if it's because of it or just a coincidnece - but my Felk kittens did really well on LTCI - On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Jamielynn Storch <jlsphotograp...@gmail.com > wrote: > Hi! I am a foster mom for a high kill shelter in Philly. I am fostering > my 3rd litter which was my first litter of bottle feeders. I've spent the > past 24 hours researching like crazy online and trying to talk to others > with experience but really getting a lot of contradicting information. > > The background: > I pulled this litter from the shelter about 5 weeks ago as borderline > bottle feeders. They were dumped on a doorstep in a box and brought to the > shelter. Apparently there were 2 additional dropped off a day later that > they assume was from the same litter but they were euthanized due to > space/kitten season. When I brought them home they were all around > .65lbs. Two of them were eating wet food and 1 refused it. I ended up > having to bottle feed the 1 for 3 weeks before being able to wean him > completely. All 3 have been active, healthy and playful. No signs of > illness. Gaining weight steadily..actually faster than any of my previous > litters. > Today I dropped them off to be spayed and neutered. My biggest boy > weighed 2.6lbs, girl 2.2lbs and than my smallest boy who was the bottle > feeder the longest came in at just about 2lbs. I got a call this afternoon > that the Feline Leukemia test came back positive. They only tested 1 at > the time so I brought them right to the clinic when I picked them up and > they tested a 2nd one who also tested positive. > At this point they have been completely unhelpful in giving me any info or > reassurance. The only good thing I got out of them was that they did tell > me that they have a rescue that specifically pulls FIV/FELV+ cats and if my > cats didnt "flip" they would be able to place them in the rescue. That > rescue claims they have a 90-95% flip rate of FELV/FIV+ kittens they pull > under the age of 12 weeks...but they are grouping FELV and FIV together and > I honestly have no idea how many kittens they have pulled to create this > statistic for themselves (it could be 2 litters or hundreds)...they claim I > have a high chance of my kittens still flipping negative. > > I have/had adopters lined up for all 3 kittens. I have contacted them > all. One is going to look for another kitten. Two have actually requested > to wait..one is willing to wait "as long as it takes" to see if he will > flip...even if it takes 6 months. > > For the past week I had given the kittens much more freedom in my house. > I know for a fact they drank from my 2 resident cats water dishes. I also > caught my 1 resident cat sneak into the kitten room and eating from their > dish. So they have been exposed. > > My main questions really are about the possibility of them flipping. I > cant seem to get any kind of consistent answer on this. I have tons of > other foster parents that keep reassuring me that the chances of them > flipping to negative and just that they tested positive bc they are too > young to have an accurate test and than looking online or talking with some > others make it sound like the chance is higher of a flip if it was FIV not > FELV. So what are the chances of them flipping? Am I setting myself (and > the potential adopters) up with false hope thinkng there could be a > reasonable chance of them flipping to negative? Do I just keep testing > every month for 6 months? > > They did the quick snap test. Should I continue to do that test or at > what point should I request or bring to my own vet to have another type of > test done? > > If they flip to negative- does that really mean they are in the clear and > its safe for them to be adopted into a home with other cats? > > Someone is suggesting that I take my resident cats in and have them FELV > vaccinated immediately even though they were already exposed...should I do > this? I had called my vet and they told me to bring my cats in 2 months to > be tested for FELV. > > So much mixed information has been given to me Im just so emotionally > drained and confused on my next steps. I've grown to love these kittens > very much but Im in no position to make them permanent resident cats here > for long term. At the most I think I could consider hanging onto the boy > Henry who has the adopter willing to wait for him for the 6 months to see > if he flips negative if its worth waiting that long. I just dont know at > what point to turn them over to the FELV rescue. I hate to "dump" them but > I feel like if they truly are positive I cant provide them with what they > need so the rescue specific for FELV is the best for them..but I dont want > to put them there and have them placed in foster care with other FELV cats > to have them just flip to negative but now be infected bc of exposure to > other positive cats. I want to know they are truly positive before making > that choice. > > Thanks again. I really appreciate any information or suggestions. Sadly > the shelter is not offering me a lot of support or advice and at the clinic > I felt the vet tech had no idea what she was talking about. > > -- > Jamielynn Storch > www.jlynnphotographyonline.com > > -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com
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