I had one kitten flip from FIV+ to no FIV. I had two adult cats flip from
FeLv+ to no FeLv. Especially in kittens, it's very possible that in two
months, when re-tested, they will be negative. As for your cats
eating/drinking or being near the kittens, that shouldn't be an issue. It's
not that easily transmitted, especially since the kittens are eating well,
growing normally and gaining weight. They are not actually active for FeLv.
________________________________
From: Jamielynn Storch <jlsphotograp...@gmail.com>
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Foster mom devastated at a FELV positive test result
PS- I dont know if this link will work but here is the album of photos of my
sweet foster babies. Gerty, Jean and Henry.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.595079365376.2048530.135501135&type=3
On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Jamielynn Storch <jlsphotograp...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Hi! I am a foster mom for a high kill shelter in Philly. I am fostering my
3rd litter which was my first litter of bottle feeders. I've spent the past 24
hours researching like crazy online and trying to talk to others with
experience but really getting a lot of contradicting information.
>
>The background:
>I pulled this litter from the shelter about 5 weeks
ago as borderline bottle feeders. They were dumped on a doorstep in a
box and brought to the shelter. Apparently there were 2 additional
dropped off a day later that they assume was from the same litter but
they were euthanized due to space/kitten season. When I brought them
home they were all around .65lbs. Two of them were eating wet food and 1
refused it. I ended up having to bottle feed the 1 for 3 weeks before
being able to wean him completely. All 3 have been active, healthy and
playful. No signs of illness. Gaining weight steadily..actually faster
than any of my previous litters.
>Today I dropped them off to be spayed and neutered. My biggest boy
weighed 2.6lbs, girl 2.2lbs and than my smallest boy who was the bottle
feeder the longest came in at just about 2lbs. I got a call this
afternoon that the Feline Leukemia test came back positive. They only
tested 1 at the time so I brought them right to the clinic when I picked
them up and they tested a 2nd one who also tested positive.
>At this point they have been completely unhelpful in giving me any info
or reassurance. The only good thing I got out of them was that they did
tell me that they have a rescue that specifically pulls FIV/FELV+ cats
and if my cats didnt "flip" they would be able to place them in the
rescue. That rescue claims they have a 90-95% flip rate of FELV/FIV+ kittens
they pull under the age of 12 weeks...but they are grouping FELV and FIV
together and I honestly have no idea how many kittens they have pulled to
create this statistic for themselves (it could be 2 litters or hundreds)...they
claim I have a high chance of my kittens still flipping negative.
>
>I have/had adopters lined up for all 3 kittens. I have contacted
them all. One is going to look for another kitten. Two have actually
requested to wait..one is willing to wait "as long as it takes" to see
if he will flip...even if it takes 6 months.
>
>For the past week I had given the kittens much more freedom in my
house. I know for a fact they drank from my 2 resident cats water
dishes. I also caught my 1 resident cat sneak into the kitten room and
eating from their dish. So they have been exposed.
>
>My main questions really are about the possibility of them
flipping. I cant seem to get any kind of consistent answer on this. I
have tons of other foster parents that keep reassuring me that the
chances of them flipping to negative and just that they tested positive
bc they are too young to have an accurate test and than looking online or
talking
with some others make it sound like the chance is higher of a flip if it
was FIV not FELV. So what are the chances of them flipping? Am I
setting myself (and the potential adopters) up with false hope thinkng
there could be a reasonable chance of them flipping to negative? Do I
just keep testing every month for 6 months?
>
>They did the quick snap test. Should I continue to do that test or
at what point should I request or bring to my own vet to have another
type of test done?
>
>If they flip to negative- does that really
mean they are in the clear and its safe for them to be adopted into a
home with other cats?
>
>Someone is suggesting that I take my resident cats in and have them
FELV vaccinated immediately even though they were already
exposed...should I do this? I had called my vet and they told me to
bring my cats in 2 months to be tested for FELV.
>
>So much mixed information has been given to me Im just so
emotionally drained and confused on my next steps. I've grown to love
these kittens very much but Im in no position to make them permanent
resident cats here for long term. At the most I think I could consider
hanging onto the boy Henry who has the adopter willing to wait for him for the
6 months to see if he flips negative
if its worth waiting that long. I just dont know at what point to turn
them over to the FELV rescue. I hate to "dump" them but I feel like if
they truly are positive I cant provide them with what they need so the
rescue specific for FELV is the best for them..but I dont want to put
them there and have them placed in foster care with other FELV cats to
have them just flip to negative but now be infected bc of exposure to other
positive cats. I want to know they are truly positive
before making that choice.
>
>Thanks again. I really appreciate any information or suggestions. Sadly the
>shelter is not offering me a lot of support or advice and at the clinic I felt
>the vet tech had no idea what she was talking about.
>
>--
>Jamielynn Storch
>www.jlynnphotographyonline.com
>
>
--
Jamielynn Storch
www.jlynnphotographyonline.com
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