there are a lot of FeLVs looking for homes--two beauties just posted on the special-needs-rescue-cats list, but you may also be able to find an adult who has already been vaccinated against FeLV so you wouldn't have to go through the long wait if it'd had the full initial series.
while the vaccine is said to be only 85% effective, no one that we can find can show a documented case of a truly negative, vaccinated cat ever contracting FeLV from living closely with a positive. which makes sense, since they say that up to 70% of healthy ADULT cats who are not vaccinated can be exposed and throw the virus off. so some of us question that 85% rate, and wonder if it's not across all populations, including the high-risk ones. On 12/25/06, Karen & Phil Masaoka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi All, I'm Karen - I'm new here. I've been reading about poor Bandy & Tiny & have tears in my eyes. I feel so sad for you guys. We lost our baby, Mr. Spock, a week ago. He was just 6 months when we got him & was FELV+ and had a great year with us and his best pal L'il Abner (also FELV+). Then he was diagnosed with lymphoma, and he did very well with chemotherapy for almost two months; then a sudden decline. We were very saddened to lose him; he was my little baby & such a trooper to put up with everything he went through recently. And he went through so much. (Can I attach a picture to this forum?) Now Abner is super-depressed. We have to get him another pal ASAP. But it's so costly (emotionally & financially) to lose a cat every year (we also lost Max a year ago). My vet says we could get a healthy cat & she can inject him with a great FELV vaccine & he has 85% chance of not getting the virus. But we could never forgive ourselves if he got sick. So Phil, my husband, says let's get a healthy cat that's about to be euthanized and then we would at least be saving him for awhile even if he DOES get the virus. Problem is, vet says to keep new cat separate from Abner for 25 days & then she'll inject him again, and THEN they can be together. But Abner's sooooo depressed, I don't think he can last that long. So we'll have to get another FELV cat for him -- any thoughts as to whether a 4-yr-old may live longer than a 1-yr-old diagnosed with the FELV virus? What's the longest life you know of in a FELV+ indoor cat? I think this is a great support group. Karen
-- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
