Yesterday my cat Tulo was euthanized. He'd been sick for a few days. Bloodwork showed severe anemia and FeLV+. I took Tulo in as an abandoned and abused kitten, approx age 3 mos. I didn't have him tested because he wasn't sick, and in fact the illness this week is the first time he's been sick in the 3-1/2 years I've had him.
I have several other cats. All except one were tested when I adopted them. The untested cat is Dexter, a neutered adult male who has been in perfect health from the day I found him dumped in the woods. I'm having him tested on Monday, and if he is positive, I will never know if Tulo infected Dexter or vice versa. My vet and I decided not to test any of the other cats besides Dexter. None of them are sick, and if anyone does get sick, I'll have them tested at that time, since their FeLV status would affect the treatment decision. I've reviewed the symptoms of FeLV and none of my cats have those symptoms, but neither did Tulo until a few days before his death. This is my question: One of my cats had a bad URI last fall and tested negative at that time. Two others tested negative after I adopted Tulo but before I adopted Dexter. If a healthy cat lives with an FeLV cat for months to years, tests negative, and continues to live with a FeLV cat, is the healthy cat still at risk of being infected? Thanks for your help, Debbie -- *You may not change the world by saving one animal, but to that animal it means the whole world and eventually, saving animals will change the world.* _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
