Hi all, I do rescue work in the Chicago area. My group took in a queen from another organization; she was about to give birth and in fact did so hours after we received her.
Fast forward three months... three of the kittens were sterilized and SNAP tested negative/negative on 12/2. She was separated from her kittens on 12/18 in order that she dry up so she could be sterilized. On 12/24, another kitten was sterilized and also SNAP tested negative/negative. That same day the queen was SNAP tested, and the test came out a "faint positive", ie a light blue dot instead of a darker blue. She was also sterilized. The veterinarian in attendance recommended we hold the queen and re-test her in 1 month. If she tests positive again, we potentially have an FeLV cat and would follow up with an IFA test. The veterinarian also recommended that the kittens only go to homes with no other cats. Our rescue group does full and honest health disclosure, to the best of our ability, and we can't imagine adopters wanting FeLV exposed kittens, so we plan to hold them at least until her status is known. Before we thought through the implications of the queen's "faint positive" result and asked the veterinarian what to do with the kittens, I integrated them with my four negative, but vaccinated, adult cats. The kittens and the queen had been isolated in a bedroom for all of their 14 weeks and showed inadequate socialization which would be easily corrected by being underfoot with normal cats in a normal household. I now have a lot of questions; this seems like a kind and patient group so please bear with me, for my stupidity in immediately mixing in the kittens, and for all my questions. 1) How much danger of contracting the virus are my cats in (they received their last feleuk vaccine in late October)? 2) How likely is it that the queen is actually positive? (From the research I have done so far, it appears that this is likely an exposure positive, and her body may well fight it off, but then again any possible exposure was more than three months ago, heading on four months, so I don't really see how it can be an exposure positive). 3) Is there any point to doing an IFA test now, rather than waiting a month? 4) If the queen is positive, how likely is it that the kittens will also turn positive? 5) What is the correct process for determining if they are positive, as in what length of time from their last possible exposure until a reliable test can be given. 6) Is there any point at all in locking the kittens up until we are sure of their status (they are blossoming after just a few days and I am unenthused about this)? I don't want to risk my cats lives and health, but I do want to do the best thing possible for the other cats that come my way. Thank you for any answers or links to answers you can provide, and I apologize if I am asking basic questions. Lynette =^..^= "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated." --Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948
