if she was tested on the new HW/FIV/FeLV test, you cannot trust the result. find a vet who has a stock of the old, FIV/FeLV-only test--if you can find one, and retest NOW. in checking with MANY rescues and shelters across the country, we have only found one true positive in any cat tested with the new test: way below the natural distribution.
if you do that, the rest of your questions will be moot. BUT: here's the info on the faint/slight positives, directly from IDEXX, who held the exclusive patent on the SNAP technology til last november (tho i'm not sure how come there were cheaper, less accurate tests out there...) http://tinyurl.com/No-Faint-Positives a cat doesn't clear the virus so much as not truly become infected--the ELISA and IFA test for exposure (antigens), not infection (antibodies). send your vet this link (after thanking her PROFUSELY for caring enough to look into it): http://tinyurl.com/AAFP-Retrovirus-Guidelines she sounds like a great vet, and she'll probably check out the merck veterinary manual that talks about how many cats do NOT remain viremic. i've posted that before, so an archive check will bring it up. some folks think that the stress of pregnancy and nursing is much greater on a FeLV mom than that of spaying. but first you need to find out if she's REALLY testing positive for exposure. have you all read the guidelines about testing/re-releasing true FIV/FeLV positives? many TNR groups no longer bother testing, they just treat all asymptomatic cats as that: healthy cats. last time i looked it up, i just did it through a search engine. wordy as ever, MC -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) On Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 12:15 PM, Heather <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, > > Seeking input...we have a beautiful young Siamese rescue kitty who tested > FIV/FELV positive _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
