Wendy, thank you for the info. I never knew you could mix feline positive cats with negative ones. Luckily, the other cats are not losing weight and have better kept coats. My cats don't bite. They generally just hiss at each other. I try to keep Samantha as comfortable as possible. I also have two dogs. But she has never exhibited any slightest hesitation about giving the dogs a whack when she wants to be left alone.
Nancy Schneider Management Analyst Dept of Transportation 12544 Saticoy St N Hollywood 91605 Voice(818) 756-9558 Fax (818) 756-9245 >>> wendy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 10/25/06 11:07 AM >>> Nancy, I'm sorry to hear that Samantha has tested positive, but happy you found us. This a great and very well informed group. I'm even happier that you have decided to keep Samantha and want to give her the best care possible. Bless you for doing this. About FeLV and transmission. I had a stray give birth on my porch about five years ago. I found her a home and two of the three kittens a home. The third kitten I named Cricket and ended up keeping. He was my baby. I had two others in the house as well. Two years after Cricket was born, he got very sick and ended up testing positive for FeLV. He probably was born with it. We got him over that illness and he was fine for two more years, until he succumbed to FeLV related anemia that I believe was brought on by the stress of having a lot of family living with us for a week during Hurricane Rita last year. I lost him last November. None of my other cats are positive. Two of them lived with him more than four years (they are 10 now) and another lived with him for two years (she's 17). They all shared the same water and food bowls and litter boxes, but no grooming. There are a lot of people here who mix. The big thing you will need to worry about is fighting. If blood or bites are exchanged, then the FeLV is more easily transmitted. Also, we've seen a pattern here that it is much harder for an adult cat to contract FeLV. Samantha may still throw off the FeLV virus, so you'll need to retest in several months. I think the statistics say this happens 40% of the time. FeLV is not a death sentence, whether she throws the virus or not. There are many kitties here who have led long, happy, healthy lives. The two big things in keeping Samantha healthy and helping her to throw the virus are her diet and keeping her stress free. Make sure she is getting a good, quality food (anything you can buy at Walmart does not count nor does Science Diet, which is what I fed mine before I joined this group; I feed mine Innova Evo now). Also, supplement her immune system by giving her L-Lysine (without propylene glycol) and Vitamin C. Others here use a few other supplements. She will have the upper hand by getting all the love that you will be giving her. I think that goes a long way in keeping any cat healthy. Please post if you have any more questions or just need an ear and good luck! :) Wendy Dallas, TX __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
