I have been waiting for Nina to answer this question because I knew she
would put my thoughts in words better than I could...
It was just 3 years ago that I brought home 4 cats from a rescuer that
had 16 rescues in a one bedroom apartment...
One neg. was a litter mate of a pos.... The other 2 were close to each
other as well as the kittens...
My vet said ethically he was required to advise PTS but when I said NO
he became very happy/helpful in devising
a plan to keep them and keep my family of siamese cats safe....
A word here... PTS is the only really safe thing to do I think it is
wrong to condemn a good vet because this is his
initial advise... Give him the chance to see how he reacts when YOU show
him that you are committed to keeping
pos. cats...
Once my vet and I got into it he admitted that many of the FeLV+ cats he
had seen lived with neg. cats and he had
never seen other cats from that family go pos...
Here in Vermont we don't seem to have much FeLV and very few people test
for it... Maybe that is why we don't
have much that we know about... Also the stray problem isn't that bad
because many people will adopt a cat because
it finds its way to their door...
Of my original 4 it was the neg. 4 month old kitten that was the 1st to
go.. The pos kitten is still with me... He has a chronic
gum problem... He gets L-liseen and amoxi and interferon that seems to
keep him going.. And he is totally spoiled at eating
time.. We have a special routine that I have to follow but he does eat
well...
He would have been totally lost if I hadn't gotten him some new company....
I have had a dozen cats that more or less share a living room and
attached close in breeze way
and they all get along well...
Currently 2 were neg. but were so close to pos.'s that it wasn't safe to
call then neg. for adoption..
All of them would have been PTS on the day I brought them home if I had
not saved them...
However if you even get to hear a bout a FeLV+ cat looking for a home
its probably because
it is a very special cat .. At any rate I have had very good luck at
introducing new cats to this group
without causing much stress on the old cat and I feel that they have
been happier because of the other
cats and I don't believe that it has shortened any lives... There is a
bit of luck to that though...
The rough part is if you get a companion for Crackers he probably will
grow on you too...
Last fall/winter I lost one a month for 6 months strength... I needed
the spring summer with
everybody staying healthy... If you can be happy knowing that you gave
then some good life
that they wouldn't have had otherwise then there are many many great
cats that need you...
Tad
Nina wrote:
I can't say for sure, (Hell, there's nothing "for sure" about this
virus), but I don't think that prolonged exposure would have any
effect on whether a cat cleared the virus. It seems to me that they
are either going to be able to beat it, or not. I've asked several
vets if a cat that has tested pos for felv clears the virus, does that
mean they would then be immune to it? I get a lot of "huh, gee, hmms"
out of them, but no answers. I know there are different strains,
perhaps that would play a part, I just don't know.
I do think the possibility of an immune compromised cat being in
danger in a multicat household, from exposure to other common
illnesses, is much more likely. It's a personal decision that each
one of us has to find our comfort level with and make for ourselves,
(much like mixing negs and pos). I didn't tell you folks, (I was
ashamed of the vet for suggesting it to me), but the last time I
talked to the vet she suggested re-testing my other kitties and
"euthanizing" anyone that tests pos. I know she feels that a
multicat/rescue situation should be treated differently than a single
indoor cat household, probably for the reasons we are discussing
here. I mention it because I don't give a hoot what the
"professionals" have to say on the subject, I'd rather take my chances
with life any day. Will I be crushed if one of my previously negs
turns up pos? You bet I will. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to
kill them to prevent further possible spread of the disease.
Katey has some soul searching to do here. There's no doubt that
whoever she takes in will have a better life, but there is a potential
risk to her beloved Crackers. The way I look at it is that life is
full of risks. There's no way to avoid them, we walk around with them
all the time. We can do our best to protect ourselves and our loved
ones, but there's a fine line between protection and life limiting
paranoia. I've finally gotten through my thick head that no matter
how diligent, no matter how researched, no matter how careful I am, I
still don't have the power of ultimate control. I choose to have
faith that when I make decisions based on quality of life for everyone
concerned, I'll be able to handle the consequences.
How's that for not answering your question?
Nina
kelly wrote:
At 07:58 AM 9/16/2006, you wrote:
There is still the possibility Crackers may clear the virus,,,and
bringing in another FELV cat could insure he doesn't I considered
that myself..if after 2 years of positives I may do it but for me
that issomething to consider.
Kelly
Hi everyone! I know that many of you sweeties own more then 1 FELV
pos cat. My question is this...Does having more then 1 FELV pos
kitty risk infection to others.? Crackers right now is doing great!
Would me bringing in 1-2 more FELV pos kittys be a risk to him?
Since Crackers is FELV pos but showing no symptoms could bringing in
another risk his immune. Financially I can take on a few more. And
it finally sunk in my thick head. These poor kittys many wont adopt
end up in a crate most of there lives. I could give them a better
quality of life. NOW PLEASE DONT think im mean and hateful. I also
DO NOT wanna do anything to hurt my Crackers. He is 5 and my baby. I
also have a 4 yr old son. So to me its like I have to sons:) Also
new kitties wouldn't bother Crackers. He loves companions and still
even cries for Pokies who passed almost 3 weeks ago. I cherish your
opinions.
love
kayte and crackers
No virus found in this incoming message.
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Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.4/449 - Release Date:
9/15/2006
