Gia,
I am sorry to hear about your loss of the black stray
kitty and sorrier to hear that your Elvis has been
diagnosed with FeLV. You should not feel guilty
because of your ignorance. Even the vets are somewhat
mystified by FeLV as not a lot is known about the
virus. You can akin FeLV to HIV. The veterinary
industry only knows for sure that FeLV is spread by
blood or birth. They do not know for sure that it is
spread any other way, but many suspect that close
contact (saliva) is another way you can spread the
virus. The virus can only live outside the host for a
very short period of time. If Elvis and your black
kitty were close, it is possible Elvis got it that
way. But if not, maybe (but not proven) through
litter boxes of food/water bowls or maybe Elvis
already had it from birth and it is just now
manifesting itself. It would probably be very
unlikely that ALL your cats have contracted FeLV from
that one kitty. So many of us here have a lot of
cats, but maybe only one or two who have FeLV. Many
have cats that lived for years with FeLV and they
never contracted it. Mine haven't, and were with my
Cricket for 4 and a half years before he passed last
week. Also, FYI, the FeLV vaccine is supposed to last
2-3 years, so your others are most likely ok from the
first vaccine. How old is Elvis? This website was a
life saver for me when Cricket was sick. He was my
baby and I took his illness very hard. He was sick
for 3.5 weeks before he died. Everyone here was so
kind, encouraging, and best of all, informed. I hope
Elvis, with proper care from you, lives a long life
with FeLV. I want to encourage you to read up on all
the posts you can because you will learn a lot and
learn that FeLV is not an 'immediate death sentence'
as many vets think it is. Let us know if you need
anything.
Prayers-
Wendy
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