there's no such thing as very very very, or very very or very positive, or faint positive: there is positive, or there is negative. give me a couple of days and i will even be able to give you the reference from a far more reputable source than myself, because i just found it for sure the other day. i believe the wording, as some of us have less elegantly stated it before, was that the spot responds with coloration, or no coloration. if you've never seen a snap-type ELISA test, it might not make that much sense, but it's a little piece of paper that has dots in different places that are treated to respond to different antigens or antibodies or test solution: it doesn't measure how MUCH, or how RECENT, or any of that, it just says that yes, that particular whatever IS there. i have never seen, anywhere, any reference to the color having any quantifiable value, especially considering the nature of the test: you HAVE to read the dots at a specific time period after the test is started, or it is not valid, as the paper can continue to react past that time. so if the FeLV circle has NO COLOR at 10 minutes or whatever the specific test specifies, the test result is NEGATIVE. ten minutes later, for those vets who forgot to set the timer (doing snap tests incorrectly is one of the top ten mistakes vets admit to) that same circle may actually show color. the cat is NOT positiive, because the accurate testing period is OVER. so a light spot at 10 minutes is as positive as a dark spot at 10 minutes is, either -- it's the existence of color, at the specific time that counts.
do vets not realize this? i'm not sure. i don't remember the last time i read the idexx instructions, but they're pretty detailed, and i don't think they were unclear. so i'm not sure if vets are trying to cushion the blow, knowing that one should never take the results of a single test, especially an ELISA, as the final determinant, they haven't read the instructions themselves in years, or well, it LOOKS lighter, and they've just forgotten whatever they knew about the underlying science of the test..... . On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 10:21 AM, Sharyl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have been feeding a dumpster colony of kitties for several months with > the goal of doing TNR (trap/neuter/release) for those that I can not > rescue. Of the 3 kittens I rescued 2, Sissy and Rocket, were FeLV+. They > are about 9 months old now and are doing well. Both have test positive > twice. > > > > Their sister, Daisy, had a litter before I was able to TNR her. The > kittens were approx. 4 weeks old when I got them. I took them because 1 had > both eyes stuck shut and 1 had 1 eye stuck shut. The next day I was finally > able to trap Daisy using a kitten as bait in the carrier. Daisy has since > been spayed and released. The babies have received one worm treatment, got > terramycin salve in their eyes for a week, and have lysine added to their > food. > > > > It appears that Mattie will be blind. She is the biggest of the 4 and very > feisty. I had her tested and the vet said she was very, very, very FeLV+. > No idea what 3 verys mean. CJ may have some limited vision in her bad eye. > Bright Eyes and Houdini (escaped from the dog crate twice now) seem healthy. > I am adding L-Lysine and Mega C Plus to their food. I am looking for > advice on what else I can do to help them throw off this virus. > > > > They will each be tested when I have them spayed. Sissy and Rocket were > several months old when I rescued them. Didn't know if starting treatments > earlier would improve the odds that they could beat this. Any advise on > how to proceed with now 5 1/2 wk old kittens would be appreciated. > > > > By the way Stormie, same colony but different Mom from Sissy, Rocket and > Daisy, tested negative. I did not have Daisy tested. I knew I could not > afford to keep her if she was positive and simply do not have the > disposition to have a cat PTS simply because she is positive. At least she > will not have any more litters. There is one more sister, Mae, that I have > been trying to trap for TNR. > > Sharyl Sissy, Rocket and the babies > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine
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