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Your FIV+ cats are much more apt to catch the FELV than your "healthy"
(non-FIV) cats. I would definitely keep this FELV+ baby AWAY from your FIV+
cats! Normally, in healthy adult cats (with good immune systems) it's very hard
to transmit. Cats develop a natural immunity against FELV at about a year of
age. BUT, in cats with FIV, the immune system is compromised, so the natural
immunity goes right out the door, so to speak. Vaccinating your FIV+ cats is
also not recommended, as the stressor of the vaccine could put them into a
symptomatic form of FIV, AND give them FELV, since they have abnormal immune
systems to begin with, their bodies don't use vaccines in an effective way to
mount a immune response, it simply is one more stressor in their system, and not
advised. The earliest I would do an IFA is no sooner than 6 weeks AFTER they
last nursed off of their momma. If the kitten was weaned late (as recommended)
at 10 weeks of age, then you're just now entering the stage where a test would
begin to show the actual results of the KITTEN, and NOT left-over immunity from
the MOMMA. Since your baby is 6 months old already, you should be good to go,
any time for an IFA. How old was he at his last ELISA (early Sept, or late
Sept)? Keep in mind, if he was under 16 weeks, you could have been seeing MOMMAS
test result, NOT his! I'd say your last test was just on the edge of being
"sure" that the results were not maternally tainted, so there's still hope he's
NEGATIVE. I'd retest on ELISA (since it's cheaper usually) now, then confirm
that with an IFA two weeks later. I usually advise a retest at ONE YEAR of age,
and at that point, it's fairly sure to be a accurate result. Of course, cats of
ANY age can and do sometimes "throw" the virus, and become negative later
in life. There's ALWAYS hope!
Please read my last post as well (Re: one question), it's a good overview
of the basics of the communicable nature of FELV.
Phaewryn Please adopt a cat from Little Cheetah Cat Rescue!!! http://ucat.us/adopt.html
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No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.408 / Virus Database: 268.13.17/505 - Release Date: 10/27/2006
