Steven, I'm not sure why your vet would assume that the others will test positive. It's certainly possible, but I wouldn't be quite so quick to assume. There seems to be a lot of debate about just how communicable the FeLV is; however it's seems widely held that it doesn't really become terribly infectious until the positive cat becomes symptomatic. I understand your devastation & confusion; my 10 yr. old buddy was just diagnosed a few weeks ago. It may give you some hope to know that he has shared the house with two other cats for years, fighting, playing, sharing bowls etc, and the other two are negative. My cat is believed to have lymphosarcoma as well. I would tend to believe that the lymphoma is in fact a 'secondary disease', but there are others here with more knowledge who can comment on that. I would think that the chronic URI could be chronic as a result of the FeLV compromising his immune system. In my cats case, we are treating the symptoms as they arise, feeding him the best diet we can, immune boosting vitamins, etc. There is a wealth of information on here about diet. I have had the other two cats vaccinated & everyone is mingling. We are not pursuing the cancer at this time. We've had him for five years, assume that he had FeLV when we got him, and he only started acting 'off' in the last month or so. There are many anecdotes here about FeLV+ cats who lived well into their middle to golden years, in mixed households. You've come to the right place for info & support. Good luck on tuesday. Talk to the specialist & your vet extensively about supporting Sammy's immune system during any chemo. Amy _________________________________________________________________ Get quick access to your favorite MSN content with Internet Explorer 8. http://ie8.msn.com/microsoft/internet-explorer-8/en-us/ie8.aspx?ocid=B037MSN55C0701A _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
