Dave I would have your other cat tested. I find it hard to believe that an
indoor only cat suddenly tests positive. Here is the link to a flow chart I
found helpful to understand the test results
http://www.felineleukemia.org/felvhlth.html
Hope it helps
Sharyl
________________________________
From: David Arthurs <arthurs.da...@gmail.com>
To: felvtalk <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2012 6:14 PM
Subject: [Felvtalk] anemia and negative IFA
Our female cat, Tux, is 5 years old and is recovering from acute anemia...we
are 2-cat household...both house cats, not allowed outside and no exposure to
other cats as far as we know. Both were tested at the age of spaying (~9 mos)
for FeLV (Elisa) and were negative and vaccinated against it...and boostered 2
years ago.
Tux's blood chem was normal except for severe anemia (10% RBC). She had lost 2
lbs off her normal weight (sudden)...had a positive snap test and negative IFA
for FeLV. Her blood also tested positive for immune reaction to her own blood.
We started treatment on prednisone and antibiotics and she has gained 1/4 pound
and boosted her new RBC count by 5x, now RBC is at 15% by blood volume...all in
one week's time.
The vet is certain she has FeLV...even though we're having a hard time
understanding how she could possibly have been exposed...and if exposed why the
vaccine didn't prevent infection (it seems like a real long shot that she would
have caught FeLV). I am also trying to understand how the IFA test could be
negative...the low RBC count seems to indicate that this is secondary
viremia...and infecting her bone marrow (which should lead to a positive IFA).
The vet keeps suggesting implausible ways she may have caught the virus in
order to maintain the diagnosis as FeLV.
Please let me know your experiences and please be honest if you think we're in
denial. From online research I've been able to determine that the snap test is
about 90-95% reliable (and prone to technician error if faintly positive) and
the IFA is 99.9% accurate...but may not register right away if she has an
initial infection.
Thanks for any advice you can share. Dave
--
Dave Arthurs
415.518.9960 mobile
415.344.6546 office
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