I think vaccinations are ESSENTIAL for your negatives. When bringing in an adult, EVEN IF THEY TEST NEGATIVE, I always vaccinate, wait 3 weeks, vaccinate again, wait 3 weeks, then mix them. This is not foolproof because the cat I'm bringing in could have the virus in the bone marrow, been recently exposed, etc.... In other words, they could already be positive and I just don't know it yet. But, if they are truly negative, I have faith in the vaccine.
Also, I recently read somewhere (I thought it was on this list, but maybe not) that the vaccines are more than 85% now. I read that they are very effective, and that typically if a vaccinated cat turns up positive it is probably due to the fact that they were actually positive (with a false negative result) when they were vaccinated.
ANY shelter cat, stray cat, any cat that has had exposure to any cats.......... basically ALL cats that I
would ever deal with, were most likely exposed to felv before I got them. I do test them, but I don't wait 90 days and retest to 'confirm' the negative result before vaccinating. And there are cases where the virus is sequestered in the bone marrow. In that case a cat could test negative for years and have had it all along.
We just have to do the best we can. I don't think anyone on this list is a breeder or anything like that. So we're all dealing with cats with unknown backgrounds. My opinion is vaccinate twice, give the vaccine time to take effect, and mix. Any cat that comes into my household (even if they DID contract felv from one of my positives) has a better life than if I had left it where I found it or turned it over to a shelter.
In my opinion they even have a better life than if I found a 'sanctuary' for them. I'm not saying this to be negative about
sanctuaries. I think many of us wish we could run sanctuaries ourselves. BUT, a sanctuary is not the same as a home. And too many sanctuaries end up in trouble when they take on more than they can handle (Angel Wings) etc... Also, I already worry about what will happen to my cats *7* if something should happen to me.
What happens to sanctuary cats run by one or two people if something happens to them?
Just my 2 cents. I mix. I love all of my cats the same. I would feel guilty if my positive caused one my negatives to get felv. But I would also feel guilty if I let a negative cat go back on the street, go to a shelter, or have to live at a sanctuary instead of a real home. I feel like what is meant to be is meant to be. I feel safe with the vaccine. And this is the compromise I have chosen to live with. I can't communicate all of this to my
cats, but I like to think that if I could they would understand and agree.
I would NEVER bring in a cat under a year old though, as I feel that would put that cat at too big of a risk. If it were a life or death decision I would separate that kitten until it was vaccinated and a year old. I WOULD, however, bring in a positive kitten if I could.
We have pet limits here too. I agree that they are totally unconstitutional. Unfortunately, people in rescue don't have the money necessary to go to court and go to bat for this. I am officially over my limit right now, which is why I don't take in more.
I had a friend who went through what Hideyo is going through right now. She did get through it, but I was not a close friend and I don't know how much it cost her. I try to keep my numbers low enough that if I did get called on the carpet for being over the
limit, I can place animals with friends until things settled back down. I use different vets so that even my vets don't know my total number of animals. But I really feel for Hideyo, there's no way I could farm out that many in her situation. :(
tonya
TenHouseCats <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
TenHouseCats <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
while i know that there can be reactions to the FeLV vaccine itself,
when there are negative cats involved, i'm still one who tends toward
vaccinating the negatives to allow the positive a live free to roam. i
know a great deal of people who have had positives mixed with
VACCINATED negatives for many, many years with no negative contracting
the virus; i personally have never seen any documented proof of a
vaccinated cat who was truly negative actually becoming positive. are
any of my personal cats vaccinated? only the ones that came to me that
way--however, i'd like to be able to hold cats/kittens for retesting,
and as soon as i can afford the series of shots for the whole crew, i
most probably WILL vaccinate them all. it's a rock-and-a-hard-place
decision for me; because my cats are rescues, i don't know about their
genetic backgrounds, so i can't guarantee they would be able to throw
the virus off, and many are starting to get up into their teens with
the decrease immune capacity (is that the right word?)...
while they say the vaccine is only 85% effective, i have serious
questions about whether that's in a healthy, non-high-risk population
or in the whole cat universe. from being at the sanctuary, and knowing
people who mix vaccinated negatives with positives, i've come to think
that that efficacy rate is probably only accurate amongst high-risk,
already compromised animals. otherwise, there is no good explanation
for the very high rate of healthy cats who will test positive after
exposure, then be able to throw the virus off. i also know of a number
of cats who tested positive, were put into an all-positive situation
and not retested (as the info about the virus' being able to work
itself out of the system wasn't known, or because retesting was never
recommended) end up testing negative years after having been in
constant contact with positives when, for some reason (like incredibly
good health!) a retest was done.....
to me, neither euthanasia nor release to the wild are acceptable
choices.... but that's me....
--
MaryChristine
AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats
MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ: 289856892
