Dear Kathy: I don't remember if you ever said whether or not Killian had been tested for FeLV during the 10 years your husband had her, prior to her being tested recently and found to be positive on both ELISA and IFA tests. Ten years ago routine testing for FIV/FeLV was not the norm. If Killian has always been an indoor cat wit no exposure to other cats, then the logical conclusion is that she was carrying a latent infection for FeLV and that something caused the virus to activate.
Was Killian ever or routinely vaccinated for FeLV? In his book The Nature of Animal Healing, Dr. Martin Goldstein devotes an entire chapter to "The Dubious Legacy of Vaccines." It is his conclusion over many years of practice, that vaccines, especially the way they are typically given as combo vaccines, with yearly boosters, are more of a threat to the long-term health of animals than whatever benefit they may provide. He believes that in vaccinating a cat for FeLV, you should only do so if the kitten/cat will be at high risk of exposure/infection and should be certain the cat does not have a latent infection prior to vaccinating. His experience has convinced him that the FeLV vaccine (besides being one of two most at risk for inducing vaccine-related sarcoma; the other being the rabies vaccine) can trigger a latent infection to become an active one. Of course it would be very helpful if there was a test for latent FeLV infection other than an expensive and stressful bone marrow biopsy. As there is not, in giving the FeLV vaccine you must assume that risk. His conclusion is that the FeLV vaccine is not safe. Sally in San Jose
