Re: Hi, I'm New to the Group

[Nina]

Hi Shana, Thank you so much for taking in little Audrey!  I'm so glad you followed your heart and didn't take the advice of your vet!  If you take a look at our archives, (you could probably do a search on "mixing"), you see that a great many folks on the list mix their negs and pos.  I no longer have any felv pos in the house, but when I did, I mixed them too.  Are your other cats vaccinated?  Are they adults?  If so, in our experience there is very little chance of them succumbing to the disease.  Vets warn against mixing for the same reason they advise pts, it's the safest and easiest solution.  Pure ignorance.  It's a real hot button with me.  We're all going to die sometime, why should our little pos friends be denied the chance to live, just because their life spans may be shorter? It sounds like a wonderful solution to have your MIL adopt Audrey.  Bless her heart!  I hope she's as nice in every other way!  If you decide at the outset that you won't be taking extraordinary measures to prolong Audrey's life, should she become terminal, then it doesn't have to be expensive.  There are things you can do to help her stay healthy and happy that won't cost much at all.  Being an indoor, only cat is a great start!  Keeping the stress level down, adding immune boosting supplements and feeding her a high quality diet are the best ways to maintain her health.  Finding a vet that understands their needs and isn't willing to write them off at the first sign of illness is another.  With felv, it's the secondary diseases that take hold that cause the problems, not felv itself.  If you catch things quickly enough, they can recover, they just need extra support because they're immune systems don't allow their bodies to heal themselves as easily.  There is also a great possibility that she may have been infected and is in the process of shedding the disease naturally.  She may test neg in the future! As far as having her spayed...  If she were mine, I'd go ahead and do it.  I'd do it now, while she's healthy.  Coming into season is stressful, (at least it has appeared so to me, all the yowling and trying to get out to find a boyfriend).  You certainly don't want to take the chance of her becoming pregnant.  Talk about stressful to the system!  Hideyo had some good advice about insuring her safety during the operation, and once you find that felv friendly vet, they'll understand that add precautions might be necessary.  I'd look for a board certified internist to help you and your MIL with Audrey's care.  One more thing...  Where did Audrey come from?  If there's one intact kitten out there, there are probably more.  You could do them all an enormous favor by getting some help to TNR (trap/neuter/release), the colony.  Just think about the sweet angels that weren't as lucky as Audrey in finding their way into your home. Let us know what you've decided.  Ask as many questions as you like.  We're all here to support each other and together we've got an enormous amount of experience and information to share.  Welcome to our group Shana, Nina shana tarver wrote: Hi Everyone,   I am new to the group. We found a beautiful sweet little kitty in our yard 3 wks ago that we named Audrey. She behaved like a feral cat the first week we had her but is now a complete love. She purrs when she hears your voice and jumps into your lap for pets. She has had both the ELISA and IFA test and sadly both have come back positive. She is 1 yr old (although she's tiny, 6 lbs) and in perfect heath. We have 2 others cats that are negative (we have kept her in a separate room). We just received the results of the IFA today and we are heartbroken. We were hoping the ELISA was a false pos. Our vet said there is really nothing we can do to help her. My Mother in Law has offered to give her a home and has no other cats. I would love suggestions on our next step with her and any success stories you may have. Also, we need to have her spayed but I am worried about doing it. Any thoughts?   thanks so much, Shana - Toulouse, Pollock and Audrey