Re: SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
You're very welcome! And I'm so glad it was a bad result. Just to be SURE, you should confirm the negative with an IFA, which you can also do right away if you want. I would definitely test the kittens (and mom) for tritrichomonasis. Even if mom does not have diarrhea, she could still be a carrier. The diarrhea symptom usually disappears after 2 years... the cat's body adjusts to the infection and makes corrections. MC sent me a few new and wonderful links (though they are dreaded adobe PDF files), here they are if you want more info: The test: http://www.biomeddiagnostics.com/pilot.asp?pg=Tfoetus-feline http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/mbs/gookin_file2.pdf more info http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/mbs/gookin_file5.pdf owner's guide to trich http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/mbs/Tritrichomonas%20PCR%20submission.pdf (PCR testing - expensive alternative to the In-Pouch) Phaewryn http://ucat.us The easy way out has a bad reputation. Why would anyone take the hard way out? "The door? No thanks, that would be the easy way out. I'm jumping out the window." Quote by: Les U. Knight
Re: SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
if we learn nothing else from this list, RETEST... RETEST RETEST ought to be the one thing! On 1/3/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I would run another SNAP ELISA test asap, as operator error accounts for a hi > gh rate > of inaccurate results. It could have been a bad test, it could have been a bad > testing procedure, it could be anything, but false results are known to happe > n with > that kind of test. Thank you again for this piece of advice. We just re SNAP ELISA tested the mom and she came out negative/negative. The vet feels confident in the result (and I do too; the first place she was tested was by new/young techs who could have done any number of things incorrectly). The kittens are on Albon and low-residue food for their diarrhea. The vet did not see any parasites on the slide but thinks there is a possibility there might be coccidia. I would have spent an entire month worrying whether mom was positive and kittens were exposed had you not said to retest. Thank you again. Lynette -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
Re: SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
> I would run another SNAP ELISA test asap, as operator error accounts for a hi > gh rate > of inaccurate results. It could have been a bad test, it could have been a bad > testing procedure, it could be anything, but false results are known to happe > n with > that kind of test. Thank you again for this piece of advice. We just re SNAP ELISA tested the mom and she came out negative/negative. The vet feels confident in the result (and I do too; the first place she was tested was by new/young techs who could have done any number of things incorrectly). The kittens are on Albon and low-residue food for their diarrhea. The vet did not see any parasites on the slide but thinks there is a possibility there might be coccidia. I would have spent an entire month worrying whether mom was positive and kittens were exposed had you not said to retest. Thank you again. Lynette
Re: SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
Hi Lynette, Bless you for the work you do and for helping this mom and her kittens in particular. I saw Phaewryn's response and I agree with it and don't have anything to add. Please be sure to let us know how everyone is doing and ask as many questions as you like. It's always a shock to get a pos response to a fiv/felv test, we get it, we understand your fears and anxieties. It does sound like these guys are going to be okay. I know how scary it can be to find out you've unwittingly exposed your own brood to the dangers of felv, but in this case I think you guys will be fine. Nina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I do rescue work in the Chicago area. My group took in a queen from another organization; she was about to give birth and in fact did so hours after we received her. Fast forward three months... three of the kittens were sterilized and SNAP tested negative/negative on 12/2. She was separated from her kittens on 12/18 in order that she dry up so she could be sterilized. On 12/24, another kitten was sterilized and also SNAP tested negative/negative. That same day the queen was SNAP tested, and the test came out a "faint positive", ie a light blue dot instead of a darker blue. She was also sterilized. The veterinarian in attendance recommended we hold the queen and re-test her in 1 month. If she tests positive again, we potentially have an FeLV cat and would follow up with an IFA test. The veterinarian also recommended that the kittens only go to homes with no other cats. Our rescue group does full and honest health disclosure, to the best of our ability, and we can't imagine adopters wanting FeLV exposed kittens, so we plan to hold them at least until her status is known. Before we thought through the implications of the queen's "faint positive" result and asked the veterinarian what to do with the kittens, I integrated them with my four negative, but vaccinated, adult cats. The kittens and the queen had been isolated in a bedroom for all of their 14 weeks and showed inadequate socialization which would be easily corrected by being underfoot with normal cats in a normal household. I now have a lot of questions; this seems like a kind and patient group so please bear with me, for my stupidity in immediately mixing in the kittens, and for all my questions. 1) How much danger of contracting the virus are my cats in (they received their last feleuk vaccine in late October)? 2) How likely is it that the queen is actually positive? (From the research I have done so far, it appears that this is likely an exposure positive, and her body may well fight it off, but then again any possible exposure was more than three months ago, heading on four months, so I don't really see how it can be an exposure positive). 3) Is there any point to doing an IFA test now, rather than waiting a month? 4) If the queen is positive, how likely is it that the kittens will also turn positive? 5) What is the correct process for determining if they are positive, as in what length of time from their last possible exposure until a reliable test can be given. 6) Is there any point at all in locking the kittens up until we are sure of their status (they are blossoming after just a few days and I am unenthused about this)? I don't want to risk my cats lives and health, but I do want to do the best thing possible for the other cats that come my way. Thank you for any answers or links to answers you can provide, and I apologize if I am asking basic questions. Lynette =^..^= "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated." --Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948
Re: SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
1) How much danger of contracting the virus are my cats in (they received their last feleuk vaccine in late October)? Little to none. Adult healthy cats are naturally immune to FELV in most cases, plus yours were recently vaccinated with a vaccine that is 85% effective, so I'd say you are fairly safe. If you're worried, have them all tested. 2) How likely is it that the queen is actually positive? (From the research I have done so far, it appears that this is likely an exposure positive, and her body may well fight it off, but then again any possible exposure was more than three months ago, heading on four months, so I don't really see how it can be an exposure positive). I would run another SNAP ELISA test asap, as operator error accounts for a high rate of inaccurate results. It could have been a bad test, it could have been a bad testing procedure, it could be anything, but false results are known to happen with that kind of test. If she re-tests positive again right away, THEN wait a month (or two even) and retest again, and confirm with an IFA at the same time. You are using BLOOD, right? Go to a different batch of test kits, if you can, to retest, that would eliminate the likelihood of it being a bad batch of kits, and have a different vet or vet tech run the test, that would reduce the chance of a bad procedure IF they last test was inaccurate due to human error. 3) Is there any point to doing an IFA test now, rather than waiting a month? Sure, it can't hurt, so if you have the money, I would. That would confirm the SNAP result, at least. 4) If the queen is positive, how likely is it that the kittens will also turn positive? At this point, if they are weaned and have tested negative, it's unlikely they will ever be positive. 5) What is the correct process for determining if they are positive, as in what length of time from their last possible exposure until a reliable test can be given. Retest with IFA at least 3 months after last exposure, the retest SNAP at 6 months po st-exposure, and again with IFA when-ever they turn 1 year old. That would rule out any shadow of a doubt. 6) Is there any point at all in locking the kittens up until we are sure of their status (they are blossoming after just a few days and I am unenthused about this)? No, I don't think so. They have already been mixed, any exposure has already happened, plus, they are negative anyways and probably will stay that way. Let them be kittens. Phaewryn Donations Needed for Whitey's emergency Vet Care! http://ucat.us/Whitey.html DONATE VIA PAYPAL: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=seething%40vtlink%2enet&item_name=DONATION%20to%20Whitey%20Veterinary%20Bill%20Fund 12/24/06 Whitey Pictures: http://ucat.us/Whitey/WhiteyNewPics.html Whitey Models on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Cleos-Catnip-ORGANIC-2-ounces-cat-nip-KITTY-YUMMY_W0QQitemZ140067996154QQihZ004QQ
SNAP test faint positive, queen, 5 kittens
Hi all, I do rescue work in the Chicago area. My group took in a queen from another organization; she was about to give birth and in fact did so hours after we received her. Fast forward three months... three of the kittens were sterilized and SNAP tested negative/negative on 12/2. She was separated from her kittens on 12/18 in order that she dry up so she could be sterilized. On 12/24, another kitten was sterilized and also SNAP tested negative/negative. That same day the queen was SNAP tested, and the test came out a "faint positive", ie a light blue dot instead of a darker blue. She was also sterilized. The veterinarian in attendance recommended we hold the queen and re-test her in 1 month. If she tests positive again, we potentially have an FeLV cat and would follow up with an IFA test. The veterinarian also recommended that the kittens only go to homes with no other cats. Our rescue group does full and honest health disclosure, to the best of our ability, and we can't imagine adopters wanting FeLV exposed kittens, so we plan to hold them at least until her status is known. Before we thought through the implications of the queen's "faint positive" result and asked the veterinarian what to do with the kittens, I integrated them with my four negative, but vaccinated, adult cats. The kittens and the queen had been isolated in a bedroom for all of their 14 weeks and showed inadequate socialization which would be easily corrected by being underfoot with normal cats in a normal household. I now have a lot of questions; this seems like a kind and patient group so please bear with me, for my stupidity in immediately mixing in the kittens, and for all my questions. 1) How much danger of contracting the virus are my cats in (they received their last feleuk vaccine in late October)? 2) How likely is it that the queen is actually positive? (From the research I have done so far, it appears that this is likely an exposure positive, and her body may well fight it off, but then again any possible exposure was more than three months ago, heading on four months, so I don't really see how it can be an exposure positive). 3) Is there any point to doing an IFA test now, rather than waiting a month? 4) If the queen is positive, how likely is it that the kittens will also turn positive? 5) What is the correct process for determining if they are positive, as in what length of time from their last possible exposure until a reliable test can be given. 6) Is there any point at all in locking the kittens up until we are sure of their status (they are blossoming after just a few days and I am unenthused about this)? I don't want to risk my cats lives and health, but I do want to do the best thing possible for the other cats that come my way. Thank you for any answers or links to answers you can provide, and I apologize if I am asking basic questions. Lynette =^..^= "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated." --Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948
