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You are the person with the FIV+ cats and the 6 mo old kitten with
a weak positive, correct? I replied in depth to your questions last night, here
is the reply again:
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'd just be 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.
And here is that reply, if you missed it too:
I must have missed this conversation, but coming late into it... here
goes:
The serious side effect of the FELV vaccine your vet is worried about
is most likely CANCER. The specific form of cancer associated with the FELV (and
RABIES) vaccine is called Vaccine Associated FibroSarcoma
(VAS). Sources quote the risk of VAS is from 1 in
every 1,000 to 1 in every 20,000 cats vaccinated (the risks are
HUGE, regardless of source). Vaccines containing adjuvant, a component to
stimulate the immune system, are at least 5 times more likely to cause a VAS.
Adjuvanted vaccines have been demonstrated to
induce mutation in cell cultures. Adjuvanted Rabies, Distemper and
Feline Leukemia vaccines have been classified as Class II carcinogens by the
World Health Organization! VAS is 100% fatal if
the tumor is between the shoulder blades. With surgical removal, radiation
therapy and chemotherapy survival time is less than 3 years. If the tumor is in
the distal part of the rear leg, amputation, plus radiation, & chemo may be
curative in 20% of cases. Non-adjuvanted vaccines are available for cats for all
preventable diseases including Rabies, Distemper, Rhinotracheitis, Calici virus
and Feline Leukemia, and are considered safer. Over 22,000 cats in the
U.S. die from VAS every year, many from vaccinations they did not even
need.
I absolutely DO NOT give my cats FELV vaccines (I did
before I read all about them and the risks, and before I learned that they are
pointless in adult cats). I also limit the Rabies to once every 3 years (or
longer, to be honest), and only give herpesvirus 1 (FHV1, also known as
Rhinotracheitis), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) to
KITTENS, once at 10 weeks and once more at 5 months of age. "Booster vaccines" or annual re-administration of modified
live virus vaccines do not provide added protection. In previously
vaccinated adult animals the antibodies from previous vaccinations block the new
vaccine. Antibody levels are not increased, memory cells are not increased.
Note that you MUST be sure your vet does not give your cat a 4 in 1 or 5
in 1 vaccine that contains Chlamydophila felis (also known as Chlamydia
psittaci)! Some vets will give a "combo vaccine" that contains this, and it is
NOT a recommended vaccine in cats (it is very rare, and the vaccine only
provides a month of protection, and the side effects are severe and as high as
3%)! Some "combo" vaccines also contain FELV. Not recommended either, the FELV
vaccine, if given at all, should ALWAYS be given ALONE, on the outside
of a lower rear leg. Which brings us back to the FELV vaccine...
Healthy cats develop a NATURAL immunity against the FELV virus at about
a year of age. Cats over one year of age are naturally 89% immune
to FeLV (age related resistance) whether they are vaccinated or not.
IN addition, the FELV vaccine only has a 75-85% efficacy
rate (and this may be partially due to natural immunity already
developed before the vaccine was even given).
Now, on to part two:
As for the immune boosting drugs you can ask your vet to
give (or have him prescribe so you can give them) to your
cat...
Have you seen the main treatment webpage yet?
It's at: http://www.felineleukemia.org/treatmnt.html and
it's well worth the look. True, it can be hard to convince a vet that has no
experience to try something new. Perhaps you could phrase it so that he has
little to lose by trying, such as "I know you are telling me that these
treatments are unproven, but I am willing to give anything a shot. I don't
expect a miracle, and I wont hold you in any way responsible for any results or
side effects of these treatments, but I want to try SOMETHING, and many people
are saying these things can help. Can you offer me anything that would be more
effective than any of these treatments? If not, then would you please just TRY
them, for me, and for my cat? She really doesn't have anything to lose at this
point, FELV is generally terminal. Can't you please just give these new
experimental treatments a chance? Maybe you could look at this as an
experimental study, we could both benefit from it, as a learning experience.
Please, try it, for me and for my cat!"
In addition, MANY members here also supplement with
various vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Lysine is one that comes to mind, as well as Vitamin
C. B-Complex vitamins can sometimes give a sick cat a
boost as well. I believe I've also heard of co-enzyme-Q10 being
used on this list. Others will pop up and add suggestions. I know many people
here swear by a supplement called Rescue Remedy, and another
one called Transfer Factor. But by far and away, the most
used treatment for non-symptomatic cats with FELV (to boost the immune system so
they stay non-symptomatic and healthy) is Interferon-A, which
you can read about on the Treatment webpage I posted
above.
I hope that helps you get to the bottom of some of your questions. The
info is out there, and freely available online. I suggest the Google Search
Engine at http://google.com
for looking up more info (mind you, you have to dig through pages of crap to
find what you're seeking often) Phaewryn Please adopt a cat from Little Cheetah Cat Rescue!!! http://ucat.us/adopt.html
Low cost Spay&Neuter services in VT, and Emergency Financial Assistance for cat owners: http://ucat.us/VermontLowCost.html Special Needs Cat Resources: http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html The Sofa Poem: http://ucat.us/sofapoem.html Find us on PETFINDER! http://petfinder.com/shelters/VT44.html |
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