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First off: The FELV virus dies almost instantly in the air, so there's NO
need to bleach or sanitize or even throw out anything. Common misconception that
costs people lots of money for no reason. Wash with normal soap and water, let
dry completely, and any feline leukemia virus on it is GONE, period, just like
that. In fact, not really any need to even wash, just dry everything well with a
hair dryer, just as effective at killing the FELV virus as bleach (more so,
actually).
Now, that being said, There is no reason to vaccinate your cats against
FELV again. Like you said, they have already been exposed. The ones with weak
immune systems will have already caught it, the ones with strong immune systems
have already proven that they are immune to it. Giving the vaccine would be
redundant and a pointless expense.
HOWEVER, I DO think you should have all of your cats TESTED for FELV. The
reason is this:
YOU VET WAS WRONG WHEN HE TOLD YOU "NOTHING" COULD BE DONE.
If any of your cats test positive, you should order Interferon, and
supplement them with it ASAP. There are also other treatments listed on the
website that you might also consider, such as Acemann, and supplements such as
Lysine and vitamin C. It is known that it IS possible for a cat that tests
positive to later test negative, giving them good immune support will help them
do this! They CAN fight it off with the right care!
I also strongly urge you to switch to a premium diet if you already are not
feeding one. Innova, California Natural, Waltham, Royal Canin, and Wellness are
a few good ones (others here can name more). Supporting your cat's immune system
is the priority now, and feeding a GOOD diet with natural ingredients and solid
nutrition is a CORE need.
My final suggestion:
GET A NEW VET. Yours is ignorant at best, and an INCOMPETENT, IGNORANT FOOL
at worst. I would "fire" him so fast his head would swim! In addition, 10 FELV
vaccines should not come to $465! That's an outrage! I just called my own vet,
and told them your situation, and they said that yes, your vet sounds like he
made some huge mistakes, and secondly, they said that if you got 10 cats
vaccinated with the FELV vaccine, it would come to a total bill of $175. That's
the $10 for the vaccine itself, and $7.50 for a brief combined office visit
each. Even if you paid for the booster that they should have gotten 2 weeks
later at the time, that would only come to $350.
Lastly: You should NOT beat yourself up for rescuing that cat. You did a
good thing. Yes, you made a mistake by mixing him in with your others without
getting him tested for FELV first, BUT, it WAS NOT YOUR FAULT. Your vet SHOULD
have informed you of the test for FELV, and suggested you get it done before
adding this cat into your household. Your vet was incompetent, NOT YOU! You did
a good thing, and should not blame yourself (or the cat) for anything that has
happened. Mistakes happen. All you can do is call this whole disaster a learning
experience, and grow from it. Take all the things you have learned and take them
with you for "next time" and make the most of the experience.
Afternote: Many of us have or have had mixed households, with FELV positive
cats mixed in with negative cats, and have never had any of the negative cats
catch FELV from them. Many of us choose to do this because the risk is so small.
Test your cats. Supplement the ones that test positive. Then just live, keep it
all as it is, and enjoy them all, as they are all precious, no need to separate
or stress out about contagiousness.
I sure hope I have helped you to see that there IS hope, and that it's not
your fault this has happened to you!
Jenn http://ucat.us http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html Adopt a cat from UCAT rescue: http://ucat.us/adopt.html Adopt a FIV+ cat: http://ucat.us/AWrescue/FIV/ Adopt a FELV+ cat: http://ucat.us/FELVadopt.html "Saving one animal won't make a difference in the world, but it will make a world of difference for that one animal." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I collect KMR kitten formula labels for Bazil, a 3 yr old special needs cat who must live on a liquid diet for the rest of his life. Bazil's caretaker collects labels and sends them to KMR, where they add up until she earns a free can of formula! PLEASE save your KMR kitten formula labels for Bazil! If you use KMR, even just one can, please email me for the NEW address to
send them to!
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