with the lack of research available, i'm surprised anything has been found....
it used to be (just a few years back) that if one kitten in a litter was positive, or if mom was positive, it was assumed that all kittens had to be positive, and that there was almost no chance of them reverting to negative. this is no longer the case--many folks on this list know of litters with positive moms where the kittens, or some at least, have never tested positive, or where some of the litter test positive consistently while others test negative later on, and every other possible permutation.... i, personally, wonder if dad's status may have any effect--tho the latest stuff i've read implies that the kittens are actually picking up the virus through the birth process itself and subsequent nurturing rather than in utero, i'm not sure that's definite..... but since a litter can have as many dads as there are kittens, what if DAD is positive, and mom isn't--mating certainly isn't "prolonged, persistent" enough contact to infect her, perhaps, but could that help explain the mixed litters we're seeing????? On 3/6/07, Debbie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Am taking our 14 cats in tonight to be tested for FELV. This was after we had Elsa put to sleep because of fluid in her lungs and her testing positive. Wish us luck. I don't know what to expect. I'd like to think no one else will test positive, but I doubt that will be the case. All the cats are around the same age (3-4 yrs). Different litters though. Has a genetic factor to this disease ever been found?
-- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
