You are welcome to describe my information as "inaccurate"; I wrote:
Apparently the virus CAN live for a while. I have read in several
places that you need to clean any area with a bleach/water cleaner if a +
cat has been where a negative one will be staying. It is said that you
should wait 30 days after your + cat is gone before you should
introduce a new negative cat into the household.
I would think that the Cornell University (as well as all of the others
documented below) hold a certain amount of credibility - more so than any
layman just posting their opinions here.
Whatever you believe, I would ALWAYS err on the side of caution and keep all
of the litterboxes, bowls, etc separate. Without knowing it, I put my negative
cats at risk; they had all been vaccinated for FeLV but it isn't 100%
effective. Due to the extreme contagiousness, one of my vaccinated cats now is
FeLV positive. Please note the yellow highlighted part below - by following
this strictly, my other negative cat remained negative.
Suit yourself, but I prefer to be proactive with my cats.
What can I do now to protect my cats?? The only method for protecting your
cats is to remove any FELV-positive cat from other cats completely. You should
also follow strict quarantine procedures including separate utensils, housing,
litter pans for the FELV positive cat, and thoroughly washing your hands,
clothing and shoes after handling and caring for the FELV positive cat. Do not
breed an FELV positive queen!! If you lose a cat to FELV, it is recommended
that you wait 30 days before bringing in a new cat, and then only after the
area has been thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected with a solution containing 4
ounces of household bleach per gallon of water, rugs vacuumed completely, and
all litter pans, food dishes, bedding, etc. have been replaced.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FeLV is considerably unstable and will not survive outside an infected cat
for an extended length of time. It is recommended to wait at least 30 days
before a new cat is brought into the household/facility in which a
FeLV-positive cat once lived
Cleaning:
Thoroughly disinfect or replace the food dishes, litter pans, and bedding that
were used by the infected cat.
Tile or hard surfaced floors should be cleaned and disinfected with a diluted
bleach solution (approx. 4 oz. household bleach to 1 gal. water).
Thoroughly vacuum rugs to eliminate the virus from carpeting.
These plus the thirty-day quarantine, should be sufficient to eliminate the
virus within the household.
--------------------------------------------------
Keep a FeLV-infected cat indoors and away from other cats. If the cat dies
from FeLV, the Cornell Feline Health Center recommends a waiting period of at
least 30 days before getting another cat. The house and cat supplies should be
thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before bringing a new cat home.
An FeLV-positive cat that is not sick is probably still shedding the virus.
FeLV-positive cats should not be housed with other cats. Deciding what to do
with an FeLV-positive cat in a multicat household can be very difficult. There
are several options, including:
Euthanasia
Finding a home for the FeLV-positive cat where it will be the sole cat
Isolating the FeLV-positive cat within the home, by keeping it in a separate
room and providing a separate litter tray and feeding bowl
Because FeLV can be spread through litter trays, water and food bowls, and
bedding, these should be disinfected with a solution containing 4 ounces of
household bleach per 1 gallon of water, or they should be replaced after
isolating the FeLV-positive cat. Floors should be cleaned and disinfected with
a bleach solution, and rugs should be thoroughly vacuumed.
---------------------------------
If you have previously had a cat with FeLV, wait at least 30 days before
acquiring a new cat. During that time, all litterboxes and food bowls should be
replaced, and the premises cleaned thoroughly.
Belinda Sauro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This is why inaccurate information is so harmful, Dorthys info is
wrong, it dries it dies, talk to any vet who is knowledgable about FeLV
if you can find one, there aren't many even today it seems.
> Now I am worried. I have been taking good care of Buzz's dishes and washing
> my hands after I leave his room. If this virus lasts on clothing then I have
> put my other cats at risk every time I pick them up in spite of the
> precautions.
--
Belinda
happiness is being owned by cats ...
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