You're welcome. I would like to add that if you retest ONLY retest with a different type of test, they can send out blood to a lab too if you want to avoid the faulty snap test issue. It is not recommended that cats be retested before at least 2 months have passed - if it is a positive result the cat may not have had time to supress the virus and you would still get the same result as the previous test. If it were me I would ask someone to foster it for the two months until spaying to be sure. If she isn't pregnant and only in heat you can keep her from getting pregnant but you can't undo damage to the immune system as easily. This all is of course if she isn't a feral that needs to back outside.
Michelle Brockman "It is when we forget ourselves that we do the things which will be remembered" > Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:59:47 -0400 > From: furrygi...@gmail.com > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FIV/FELV teen awaiting retest, in heat--Do we spay? > > Thank you both VERY much for this extremely helpful input--and for > a quick answer for now on one important aspect I absolutely agree on, we > only test rescues/friendlies who we are trying to find homes for, or ferals > who are being treated for serious medical conditions/seeking indoor > placement, etc. We do not routinely test TNR ferals & also discourage the > practice of doing so, or ever test TNR ferals unless they might not be going > back out or sometimes on a cat in really bad shape the clinic might insist > on it & pay for it (still leaving any decisions to us). > > My vet has helped us with a number of FIV & FELV+ cats but I guess the > situation of one in heat when awaiting retesting hasn't come up before. > > It has only been 2 weeks since she was first tested but I also considered > just going ahead and re-testing now and using that info to decide on whether > to proceed with spay or not. I just didn't want to jinx myself by retesting > so soon (I know, jinxes are not scientific so it sounds silly, but my life > seems to so full of them or just bad luck that I worry!) > > This sweet little kitty also has a huge objection to the drawing of > blood...it is quite stressful for her. I'm at work so will re-read & read > the links, thanks for sending! > > On Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 1:36 PM, MaryChristine > <twelvehousec...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > 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 <furrygi...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hello, > > > > > > Seeking input...we have a beautiful young Siamese rescue kitty who tested > > > FIV/FELV positive > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
