Yo Jenn -
My darling Calawalla Banana Boo-boo was 3 years old. (2004)
My sweet Mittens was maybe 2.5 yrs. (2003)
My baby Mr. Black kitty was FIV and FELV+ - vet said he was 18. I
don't believe it. Think he was a bit younger than that - 10 yrs
maybe? (2002)
Gloria
Well, my Moogie, who was born with FELV, lived 18 months, but it
varies widely, and also, I did not take drastic measures to prolong
her life. Had I done everything to the extreme, she may have lived
to be 2 years old. I'm not really sure what the "average" life span
of FELV+ cats is, but one study has been done on the lifespan
expectations for cats infected with feline leukemia virus that
tested persistently viremic (continuously tested positive). In the
study, reported by Dr. Susan Cotter in the November 1991 issue of
the Journal of the AVMA, most cats died within two years but about
20% of the cats lived three or more years. Of course, if everyone
here tells you how old their FELV+ furangels were when they passed
on, then you'll get a good sampling, and be able to draw your own
conclusions, but you'll have to know how long they had the virus,
not just how long they lived, because some of them may have caught
it later in life, and that would skew the numbers.
This could potentially be a very interesting thread, I wonder if we
qualify as a "study group"?
Jenn
<http://ucat.us>http://ucat.us
<http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html>http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html
