Hi Pat,
What is your situation with these ferals? Are you giving them sanctuary
and need to know their status for separate housing purposes, or are you
planing to release those that test neg? What would you do with any that
test pos? I don't have any experience with the "saliva" tests you
mention, but I do know that the snap test ELISAs are notorious for false
pos. I wouldn't determine the fate of any healthy appearing cat on any
test without being prepared to retest in 6 mos for a more accurate
determination. Even a true pos result doesn't necessarily indicate that
the cat will remain felv pos, esp when testing kittens. Being someone
that cares enough to research, you probably are already aware of this,
but while we're on the subject of testing kittens... Please don't take
the short cut that so many rescues and vets suggest of testing only one
kitten per litter. Sometimes the blood of all the kittens is mixed and
then tested as well. Each cat must be tested separately, even if one
kitten tests pos, it doesn't mean they all will. I have no idea what
your situation is, thank you for doing your best to help them.
Obviously you are working hard to be responsible when so many humans are
not.
Many TNR programs forgo the testing process all together with
asymptomatic cats. There is an excellent article on the reasoning
behind this that I'll look for if you're interested.
Nina
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Pat,
I have read that the saliva test is not as accurate yet. In fact, I
didn't realize they were marketing it at this point. I can't quote
percentages or remember where I came across that in my reading -
perhaps some of those more expert on the list will add what they know.
elizabeth
*Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.*
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 2:52 PM
Subject: Need advice please
I posted yesterday knowing full well everybody was
SHOPPING. Hopefully today is better for computer time. We have a
number of feral cats on which we need to determine Felv status,
therefore we are looking for in-home test kits. I searched
the archives of FelvTalk but got myself really confused (not unusual).
I notice on line that different in-home kits are available
(Revival even carries two). Of course what I want is
reliability. So my big question: is the saliva test as reliable as
the blood test for diagnosing Felv? Does anyone have a
recommendation of brand and source? I would deeply appreciate advice
from others who know more than I (which is almost nothing!). Thanks,
Pat in WI
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