Hi, Thanks for describing your cats' histories. Can you explain what you mean in the last few sentences of your posting? > However, I do not mix positive-for- leukemia cats with my regular group. > Right now all the cats who are with me are either negative or turned.
Shelley On Sep 24, 2013, at 8:37 PM, Lee Evans wrote: > > > From: Lee Evans <moonsiste...@yahoo.com> > To: "felvtalk@felineleukemia.org" <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> > Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:33 PM > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Question about FeLV/FIV testing > > You are a good, caring and compassionate person. I don't feel that FeLv is as > contagious as vets try to panic us into thinking. I had two cats mixed in > with 8 others. They all lived together in cat harmony for many years, > grooming each other, eating, drinking together and using the same litter > boxes. They lived in love and happiness. Then Tiger and Twerp became ill. > They were very old, around 15 years. I had had them tested twice throughout > their lifetime when each had come down with a very stubborn URI. But they had > tested negative both times. At the end of their days, I had them tested again > to see if they were not suffering from old age but from something I could > possibly treat. Along with the fact that they both had renal failure, they > both tested positive for FeLv. Probably, the virus was dormant in the bone > marrow all those years but when their immune system began to break down and > their kidneys were failing, the virus took hold also. They passed away > quietly within hours of each other. The other 8 cats who had been living with them tested negative for everything and all died of old age and renal failure. I don't know when Tiger and Twerp became actively FeLv+ but it doesn't matter. It shows that even with such close interaction, the cats that did not test positive still did not test positive. However, I do not mix positive-for- leukemia cats with my regular group. Right now all the cats who are with me are either negative or turned. However, I do have a few little marshmallows who are FIV+ mixed into the group because they don't fight. I also have a small FIV "shelter", a detached building of one large room and a wire-enclosed porch for four FIV+ cats who have a bit of an attitude and are not to be trusted to keep a friendly discussion friendly. > > From: "trustinhi...@charter.net" <trustinhi...@charter.net> > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 1:22 PM > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Question about FeLV/FIV testing > > Shelley...... > > I lost a cat to FL in the 90's. After that I panicked and faithfully > vaccinated my next five cats every year. Then I rescued another FL cat. > Separated him from the others while he was symptomatic. He threw off the > virus. As fate would have it, other rescues came to my door. I couldn't > afford to have them all tested and vaccinated. (13). All my cats mingle > together and non gets sick. I don't even bother to have my rescues > tested because I know that I would never put them down anyway. I was > encouraged by a women I met years ago who mixed negatives and positves > with good results. When my one FL cat has had symptoms (only twice in 4 > years) I isolate and treat him until he gets better. I am fastidious > about clean bowls and water. God is taking care of them and me. If you > have the money and you have only a few, get what ever treatment/tests > are available. But I wouldn't stress over the testing. My Pookie will > always test positive because he carries the disease in his system. But > he is healthy as can be otherwise. I finally decided when my Lucy was 13 > (she's 17 now). to stop vaccinating her. If they don't have enough > antibodies built up by then, they never will! Maybe I am lucky, or just > stupid, but I couldn't let an animal die form a lack of a home. > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
