Wendy, Here's the breakdown: I've had Grizzabella since 2001, and she was approximately a year old at that point, so she's about 7. She came from a rescue shelter that went terribly bad, but I'm almost certain I had her tested and she was negative at that time, because I remember she came with an awful URI when I got her. :( Poor thing. But what happened was she spent about three years with my mother. I had moved back home to help care for a terminally ill relative, and by the time she passed, Grizzabella had gotten so attached to mother and mother to she that I couldn't separate them. Bella came back to live with me after mother passed away in December 06. I think she likely contracted the FeLV while she was with mother, as she would often get outside, and mother wasn't able to chase her down. She went to the vet several times in that period for rabies shots and the like, but they never recommended FeLV vaccines, and I still don't know why. As for Poppy and Penny, I'm certain they were negative when I got them, as they came from Virginia Siamese Rescue. They were kittens, so at this point they're almost 2 1/2 years old, and Bella has only been here about 8-9 months, so I assume Poppy contracted it at somewhere around a year and a half to two years old. Penny tested negative on the ELISA. I'm going to take her back in 3-6 months and have her retested and insist on an IFA test. I say I'm certain they didn't have it when I adopted them because I know how thorough Va SRC is, especially with the fosters I got them from. I've gotten to know them, and I'm certain they tested. I guess its possible the test was a negative when I got them and they were in fact positive, but I kinda doubt it. I got poppy at approximately 12 weeks old, and Penny at approximately 8 weeks old. As for the bleaching...the food bowls are nonporous glazed porcelain, and they're bleached in the dishwasher, as dishwasher detergent has bleach in it. The drinkwell I can understand, though, being plastic. I usually dilute quite a bit, but I'll certainly stop if you all think it could cause more harm than do good. Thanks again!
Michael ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
