In the spirit of acceptance and being able to share ideas - I,
myself, mix FeVL+ and FeVL- cats. Are there risks?
Yes. Knowledge is power, however, and that is why I vaccinate the ones
who are negative and take additional precautions in keeping litterboxes
extra clean - keeping food and water dishes extra clean - and pay more
attention to frequently washing bedding and keeping shared areas
disinfected. There is scientific evidence that the virus is contained
in the saliva. Scientific evidence as recent as March 2006.
Nobody I know has ever contracted rabies. I don't know of any
pets personally who have gotten rabies either. I could probably let
all my cats run free and they might never contract rabies. That,
however, would be irresponsible - in my view - knowing the risk is there and
not taking preventative measures. Ancedotal evidence indicates that my
cats probably won't get rabies. I disagree, however, that
veterinarians and expert websites should change their information to include
this ancedotal information.
Is ancedotal evidence important? Yes - it is...and it is
extremely valuable. But there has to be a balance between scientific
evidence and practical application. Both are valuable. It is
also extremely important to recovery that the cats feel loved, safe, and
unstressed. Diet is also very important. All of these things go
toward making life better for all of us...not just the cats.
I respect your opinion. I also respect your right to disagree and
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the discussion.
Elizabeth
*Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.*
-----Original Message-----
From: Nina
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To:
felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgSent:
Wed, 21 Jun 2006 01:46:57 -0700
Subject: Safety first? - On my soapbox
again
If the only place
you could be with your loved ones and not feel like a prisoner, was to stand
in thunder storms, (even with a pole in your arms), I wonder how much more
ready to risk it someone might be. I don't know how well this analogy
works, but when you're talking about a pos being segregated away from family
fur members and confined to one room "for each other's safety", there are
other things to consider besides the "safest" course of action. There
is some debate about just how social cats are, how necessary to their well
being it is to interact with each other. I just know from personal
experience that it is important to my guys. I don't know how I would
have reacted if I'd had some warning about the status of my felv kids.
They had already been mixed, and even though it did give me pause, there was
really no decision to be made. I can only tell you how grateful I am
that I didn't separate them from the rest of the household. Maybe I'm
fortunate to not have had anyone else contract the disease, the majority of
this list has had the same experience, but there are some that have
not. I guess part of my decision making process always includes the
aspect of what I consider quality of life. I've never been a proponent
of quantity over quality. Cats need to interact in as "free" and
stimulating an environment as possible. Of course it's important to
keep them safe, but I wonder what their answer would be if we posed the
question to them directly. We could always pole incarcerated humans
and ask them if they'd rather take their chances standing free in a thunder
storm. Maybe my view on this has to do with watching, loving and
learning from my feral colonies. Perhaps it's just a rationalization
to help me cope with not being able to fully protect the "wild" cats that I
love, but I am convinced that they would not be living as full or as happy a
life if they were forced to live in captivity.
So, as
it's too late to not make this a long-winded response, I'll try to at least
cut it short... Should the experts update their websites? You
bet they should. Part of the problem is that the updating we are
looking for is mostly from anequdotal evidence and the experts don't put a
great deal of credence in what guardians like us have discovered. At
the same time, no one seems willing to do the studies that might back up
what we've learned here. There are still many vets that don't think
shutting the pos away in it's own room is enough of a precaution.
These are the vets that take it a step further and advocate euthanasia of
asymptomatic cats, not only for the protection of the negs in the household,
but for the pos as well! The owners unfortunate enough to put
their faith in that kind of expert advice never get the chance to prove them
wrong.
I know that this list and the history of it's members
was a breath of fresh air to me when I was confused, distraught and at the
end of my rope. I know that the advice I've received here has proven
to be as reliable as any I could receive about this unpredictable and
insidious disease. Would I take the advice of some of our members over
that of a trained, licensed veterinarian? You bet I would, and I
have.
Nina
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Here's my take on it. The experts tell me that it is possible
to be struck by lightening in a thunderstorm. Me - I've been outside
countless times when it started storming - and I've never
been struck and neither has anyone in my family or anyone I know. Do
the weather experts need to update their websites and
literature? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to think long
and hard before standing out in the rain with a metal pole. Now - I
don't know if it's easier to be struck by lightening than for casual
contact FeVL contamination to occur - I simply do not know the
odds...but if it's possible - I surely do want to know and take some
precautions where appropriate.
elizabeth
In a message dated 6/20/2006 11:15:05 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
This only tells me it's not nearly as hard to catch
as they try and make people believe. And I still don't think it
would be very easy to catch by grooming, I would watch Bailey and joey
groom each other and they actually would groom and touch tongues and
Joey still never got it!!