RE: New to FeLV (Kat)

[David]

Hello, Kat:   Many thanks for your warm welcome! I appreciate your heartening info re:  exposure.  It makes me feel a lot better.    What Elvis' vet told my husband was, "He has a 50/50 chance."  Which doesn't make any sense to me.  A 50% chance of...what?  Naturally, I intend to straighten this out tomorrow.   I was happy to hear there are others who mix positives and negatives.  If there were any possible way, I would separate.  However, Elvis, being the Elvis that he is, is one of the most social cats there ever were.  He could NEVER tolerate being away from the "action."    And by "action", I mean "people."  He accompanies us to the telephone, commenting while we're trying to converse.  (He's a talker.)  The doorbell sends him into transports of joy; old friends are always dear, but STRANGERS....I've always been grateful that he can't reach our top latch, because he welcomes all comers.   He's the only cat I've ever known that positively LOVES being in the car, despite its being only the ride to the doctor.  Not that he has a fear of vets...quite the contrary!   At the vet, he always sits primly; long legs perfectly straight in front, tail curled tightly around toes.  In the seat next to mine.  Where I try to pretend that I can't read the signs forbidding such.    Once, hearing his name called clearly, without 'our' last name attached, he calmly jumped down from his chair, and avidly followed the caller into the exam room.(!)   Sorry to go on for so long!  Frankly, I feel guilty about NOT separating, and so feel I must defend my position.  Only to myself, evidently; you and others have been nothing but supportive of either choice.   Elvis is not all that interested in the others, and the feeling is mutual, and so it is for HIS benefit that I hesitate to quarantine.  Such a choice does not consider the others.  Yet at the same time, I KNOW that such isolation would, from his point of view, be a fate worse than death.    But is it fair to continue to expose the others?  After all, don't 9 other lives outweigh...not that it is only numbers that count:  "the good of the many, etc."...but he really COULDN'T stand it, so the only alternative would be...but, not THAT...still loves life, still as interested as ever, not even sick...but what if the others are negative?...would I not be responsible if other(s) turned positive later?  how is THAT fair?  but  what can I do?  not THAT......  GAWD!!!!   I'm sure you all probably know THAT drill.   Happy to hear that you're free of this blight!  And so sorry for your losses.  I'm glad you've stayed in the "community"; please know that this first response, yours, lightened my load and encouraged me to keep reading.   Thank you. Gia   (O-klaw-homa)