Just wanted to say I totally agree about FELV not being as contagious
as one might think. In your situation, I'd think it's so very
unlikely that that kitten picked up FELV from breathing the air for a
short time with a couple of FELV cats.
In our rescue program, we routinely do Elisa tests on our cats.
I've heard that the Elisa is very accurate in detecting if the cat is
positive, and any error would most likely be for a cat shown to be
positive but is actually negative. Also, what I've heard is that the
primary cause of error with the Elisa test is in the handling by the
person who does the test. We've never had problems, and we do
routine phone checks on all our cats once they go to homes.
However, in checking at "Dr Mike's" web site at http://
www.vetinfo4cats.com/, he says - "A positive ELISA (the usual "in
house" test run at vet clinics) is approximately 50% accurate when a
cat tests positive and appears to be healthy. It is much more
accurate in cats who appear ill. It would be best to have the FeLV
test repeated using a more specific test procedure, either an IFA
test or a Western Blot test. These usually have to be done by
commercial labs." Yo - I've never heard that before, something to
really think about.
Not that we have to believe it all (I get used to questioning
everything re FELV) - but it's of real interest! He also says, re
contagion, "It is hard to get a really firm estimate of how much risk
of feline leukemia infection is present for an adult cat living in a
household with an FeLV positive cat. This has been studied in a small
number of studies and it looks like the risk is about 11% for
infection over the course of the life of the cat but the studies were
done in multiple cat households (greater than 5 cats in most cases)
so the risk may be less or more when only two cats are present."
Some on this list, btw, do routinely mix our FELV and non-FELV cats
with no problem, but some of course would never do that.
Best of luck,
Gloria
On Sep 17, 2007, at 11:51 AM, Maryanne Velard wrote:
Hi Diane -
Thank you for the advice. I will be having the kitten tested this
Wednesday with the ELISA in the doctor's office test, it has not
yet been tested. Should I ask then for the IFA test if comes back
negative? I'm not sure the sequence of what to ask for when. I was
just wondering if the exposure this little guy had to the indoor
FeLV+ cats in the man's home could show up later in life and
negative now.
Thanks again -
MaryAnne
"Rosenfeldt, Diane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi, Maryanne --
You'll get some great advice from this bunch, but just a couple
things:
1. FeLV isn't as drastically contagious as is often thought.
The virus doesn't live long in air, and is mostly transmitted
through exchange of bodily fluids, so if the kitten hasn't been
eating or fighting with the indoor cats, chances are the kitten is
OK, at least as far as contracting it from them; there is still a
chance, of course, that it had an FeLV+ mother.
2. I am assuming that you had the IFA test done on the kitten on
Wednesday, since you don't yet know the results; the ELISA tests
are done in-office so you know right away, but they are much less
accurate. Please know that even if positive you should have the
kitten retested in 90 days, since sometimes (this is mostly in
cases where it was exposed via its mother) kits will test positive
but "throw" the virus later as their immune systems develop. I
believe there have been cases of false negatives (but especially in
the case of the ELISA tests, far more false positives).
I'm sorry for the loss of your old kitty. It's very hard watching
them be ill and not being able to help.
Diane R.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:felvtalk-
[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Maryanne Velard
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 11:18 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Kitten potentially exposed to FeLV
Hi, I'm new to this site, and have a question. This past weekend, I
answered an ad in the paper for a kitten found in backyard of
someone's house. I went to the house, and the man there told me the
kitten showed up at his doorstep about 1 month ago. They he had
been feeding him, and I saw the food/water bowls outside. He told
me he had 2 indoor cats. I saw one of them while I was there. He
brought the kitten I adopted inside (it was very friendly,
obviously not ferrel) for me to see. I ended up taking the kitten
home. He looks like he's about 10-12 weeks old.
The next day he called me and told me his 2 indoor cats were FeLV+
and that he lost another cat this past July to FeLV. I asked him if
the kitten I took was exposed to his cats, and he said they
remained outdoors and separted all the time. However, he did allow
the kitten inside when I was there visiting, so I'm not certain I
believe him 100%.
I will be having the kitten tested Wednesday for FeLV/FIV, and if
negative again in 90 days. This kitten is now in my home strictly
indoors, with no other animals. My question is this, if the combo
tests I have done show up negative, could the kitten still have
FeLV lying dormant until something stressful happens to him, or he
gets sick with something else? I've read some controversies on the
Web, and would like to know what the possibilities are.
I had a 19 year old cat that lived her last 4 years with Vaccine
Associated Sarcoma, and it was very emotionally draining. She died
this past July. I'd like to be sure I start with a healthly
kitten, not one that could have this disease lying dormant.
Thank you for your time.
-MaryAnne
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