You've come to the right place! Many of us do mix pos w. neg-my own pos is 13+ years old & I got her as a kitten. She tested neg as a very young kitten but then tested pos years later. By that point, she'd been around my other cats so I just decided to vaccinate them for felv and mix. Nobody has ever tested pos. I also took in an older stray who (to my surprise) also tested pos. He lived a number of years w. all the other cats & died last year from lymphoma-something the pos cats are more susceptible to.
But mixing is a personal decision. Personally, I wouldn't think twice about it. Now as far as kitty, I would wait a few weeks & get it retested with the IFA (blood drawn & sent to lab. There is always the risk that the Elissa (snap test done in office) could be a false pos or that kitty could throw off the virus. Remember that the virus does not actually kill the kitty-but it weakens their immune system & they can be more susceptible to uri, lymphoma, anemia, gum problems. But my Tucson is a fat 16 lbs and doing fine! From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of dppl dppl Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 6:53 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] stray kitten positive any advice for me I came across this site, having just been informed by the vet that the abandoned kitten I took in three weeks ago. Before I took it to the vet, I have been keeping it in a separate room but admit that since it seemed so healthy I let it out for little walks. I have 4 cats over 12 years old. Other than walking on the same floors, they have not had contact with this kitten. In our short phone call, the vet basically said that she would understand if I euthanized the cat and that she wasn't sure about false positive and whether retesting would be worthwhile. The cat also has hookworms. When I took the cat in, she suggested that I give it its vaccinations before waiting for test results. I asked if the cat turned out postitive, wouldn't this harm its immune system. she said no. Now when she called she said she was surprised that the cat tested positive since, other than the sore gums, which she attirbuted to teething and bad breath, she said it seemed healthy. It does seem healthy , eats well and plays. and is the sweetest cat, loving and intelligent. I am heartbroken about this. I'm sorry I haven't had time to read all archives but I work from home and also take care of my bedridden elderly mother. Is there anyone out there would be kind enough to give me some advice? Thank you. PS the test done was elisa and it just says "positive" the vet estimates the cat is from 5-6 months old.
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