Hi Avia
I've heard about the five year mark and I've also heard the three
year obstacle and I've learned from my cat that
there are no guarantees for any of us.
When I got my cat she was highly symptomatic (URI, swollen glands,
stomatitis, diarrhea...you name it). I have had her for three years
and she has recovered from everything with the exception of stomatitis.
She is roughly four years old and I sweated getting her past the
three year mark and of course I am trying to ignore the 'five year
theory'
because I think we can all become victims of statistics and other
people's consideration. I am coping by doing everything I can to help
her live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible. She is
doing fine. I'm the one who needs to do the work. Ignore the woman
from the rescue group. Every FeLV kittten
has its own path. Just keep loving them.
Jane
On Jan 26, 2010, at 2:15 PM, Avia Rauscher wrote:
I've been a member here for a while, although I don't post much. I
lost a 20 month old cat (Cinder) to FeLV a year ago. We found out
her status post-mortem and through subsequent testing of my other
three cats found one of them (Onyx) to be FeLV+ as well (Elisa and
IFA). The other two (Horus & Blackie) have been vaccinated, and
will be re-tested soon. I did not separate them after learning that
Onyx was + because - well, any of you who mix your +'s and -'s know
why.
Although there is no 100% sure way to know which cat gave the FeLV
to the other, we are working on the assumption that Onyx had it to
begin with and gave it to Cinder. Cinder was 9 weeks old when we
adopted from ACC, and Onyx was about 20 months old at the time. I
got Onyx from a pet store (lesson learned!) and she was in sad
shape, only six weeks old, dehydrated, malnourished, and with
coccidia. I couldn't return her to the people who allowed her to
get into that condition (as suggested by the vet I used at the
time), but for whatever reason, testing her for FeLV never came up.
Cinder was tested at the shelter, and came back negative. Horus and
Blackie both tested negative when they joined our family. At first
I thought Cinder tested false negative because of her age, but in
my many conversations with many, many people it seems more likely
that Onyx had it from birth (or shortly after, she has never been
exposed to FeLV other than with Cinder) and gave it to Cinder (they
were very close as almost as soon as I brought Cinder home). Cinder
developed a URI shortly after leaving the shelter, which Onyx
caught, of course. Onyx had a much harder time beating the URI,
part of which was due to a poorly prescribed antibiotic. I realize
now that it may have been the FeLV that made it so hard for her to
kick it.
So, Onyx is now four years and a couple of months old. She is
healthy and active, and I have been so happy that she seems to be
one of those cats who lives a long time with this virus. Until I
spoke to a woman from a rescue group doing cat adoptions in a
nearby pet store. Through conversation I told Onyx's story and this
woman kindly (hah!) informed me that the life expectancy for a cat
with FeLV in the bone marrow is five years, so while I'm lucky
she's survived this long, I shouldn't expect Onyx to be around a
whole lot longer.
Which brings me to the advice I would like: What are the chances of
a cat who is FeLV+ from birth living past 5? I have been reading
all the posts about LCTI, but I am not clear on whether you start
when they develop symptoms or while they are still healthy. Does
anyone here know if recurrent FLUTD is commonly seen in FeLV+ cats?
Horus tested negative and was vaccinated, but he's lost two pounds
in the last month (his appetite seems fine) and is in the middle of
his third bout of FLUTD in as many months - he's also asthmatic. I
am in panic mode right now. Should I re-test him early? Any advice
anyone here can give me would be very much appreciated.
Avia Rauscher
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