FYI - if anybody is in California and can help, contact Susan Hoffman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Susan Hoffman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2006 11:02:06 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: [FeLVPositiveCats] Re: Question - IFA vs. Elisa...
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I am in the San Francisco/Bay Area and the cat is in a foster home
near Sacramento. We should be having her retested within the next
few weeks. If she is FeLV+ and a good adoptive home shows up then
we will find a way to get her there so I don't think geographical
location will be an issue.
Just as an FYI, this is a very sweet well-socialized black and white
tuxedo girl. She loves people and is just a doll. She's about a
year old, maybe a little less. So far she is the picture of health
-- good coat and body weight, good appetite, not so much as a sneeze
even after almost a month in a shelter cage.
shari [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
waht city do you live in...for placement purposes.. :)
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Susan Hoffman
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I see your point, to some extent. It's a little besides the point
though. The cat has been in the foster home for close to two weeks now.
She tested positive on the ELISA before leaving the shelter. I'll
be having her retested with the IFA.
I'm betting on that being a false positive on the ELISA. My
concern was that she might have been exposed to FeLV when she was
double-caged with the other cat who tested positive or that she
mighthave gotten pregnant when they were cagwed together. I want to
give her every chance of testing negative on the IFA and exposure to
an FeLV+ cat or pregnancy could hamper her ability to throw off the
virus if the ELISA test is even accurate.
I have until July for this cat to test negative or to find a
special needs adoptive home for her or get her into a sanctuary. The
foster is a student and gone in August. Taking an FeLV+ cat into my
rescue is a gamble and the odds became less favorable when the shelter
put her in with an adult intact FeLV+ male cat. That was and is my
concern.
So, just in caseif anyone knows of a special needs adoptive
home, or alternate foster home, or as a last alternative, sanctuary
space for an FeLV+ cat, I may need it by summer. I hope not. She's a
sweet, friendly, apparently healthy tuxedo girl.
I have no intention of euthanizing a healthy cat. Period. But I
would hate to have to cage her while looking for a placement. So
let's hope she tests negative on the IFA or, if positive, suitable
accomodations can be made by July.
shari [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
i'm not sure why you would change your mind...why not still take
her in?
were you planning on euthanizing her if you took her in and then if
she tested positive on the elisa test you'd put her down?
i guess i'm confused.
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Susan Hoffman shoffman@
wrote:
Here's a question -- I agreed to take a cat from a high-kill shelter
who tested FeLV+ on the ELISA test. I have a foster where she will be
the only cat. Figured we'd retest with the IFA in a month or so and
do everything to support immune system functioning in the meantime.
This cat is one year old, good coat and body weight and has not gotten
so much as the sniffles in 3+ weeks at the shelter. Well, damned if
the shelter personnel didn't double-cell her with another cat who
tested FeLV+. Better yet, they parked this unspayed female cat with
an unneutered FeLV+ male. They don't think she's gone into heat or
mated but they can't be sure. Any opinions on whether I should still
take her into foster care? I feel like the shelter has now stacked
the deck against her.
TenHouseCats TenHouseCats@ wrote:my understanding is that
it can take a minimum of 3 months for the virus to work itself out of
a cat's system--so a positive ELISA can mean nothing. unfortunately, i
have seen info that says that an IFA, while more accurate than the
ELISA, can stay positive as long as seven months before it too will
show negative. ie, if one can hold the kitty long enough for
retesting (something which most rescues can or will not do), doing so
is the best answer.
a big question would be, do you know enough about her history to
know how likely it is that she may have recently been exposed to a
positive cat--if she's an adult cat who is healthy but has been
outside for the first time in the past few months, then she could well
have been exposed during that time and the virus will process itself
out of her system. if she's very young, or older and not healthy, her
chances of being able to throw the virus off are diminished
not necessarily bad answers, just not definitive!
placing her in a home where she could be an only cat or segregated
until retesting is possible would be a good choice; tho there is some
debate about whether placing a possibly-positive FeLV in a home
