It's rather unlikely but not impossible that there was a false negative in the
ELISA test, especially given the history of the cats. The IFA test is not
perfect either. Have you considered any other possibility, such as
Hemobartonella, which can be treated with doses of Baytril? I have had two
cats who suffered from hemobartonella. It's difficult to diagnose but some of
Tux's symptoms seem to be those of this disease. Fleas spread hemobartonella
so you might want to treat Jet with Frontline Plus or Advantage for Cats.
Tests can come up with all sorts of incorrect results. Several of my adult
cats off the street tested positive for FeLv but had so many other issues like
URI, mange, etc. that their immune systems were overwhelmed. After treatment
for the other problems and after three months these cats tested negative for
FeLv. You need to retest both cats but first bring the problem with Tux under
control. Maybe you should seek a second
opinion from another vet not associated with the woman who seems to test for a
pre-determined opinion she has.
Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty neighbors
too!
>________________________________
> From: Dave Arthurs <[email protected]>
>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
>Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
>Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2012 6:40 PM
>Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Re anemia and negative IFA (Dave)
>
>Thanks for the info. We've had Tux and her litter mate, Jet, since they were
>around 6 months old. Both were tested and negative when they were spayed at 9
>months. If they were exposed it had to be 4.5 years ago and then they both had
>false negative elisa tests.
>
>We are going to test Jet. I'll share those results when we get them. Based on
>the flow chart we'll re-test Tux with IFA in 30 and 60 days. If those tests
>are negative then we'll accept the negative diagnosis.
>
>Yes, the blood antibody test may indicate an auto immune disorder. This test
>will also be positive for blood-specific antigens (parasites and FeLV). We
>didn't want to take any more blood so we just started treatment for parasites
>without confirmation. The vet indicated that the antibiotic would be
>prescribed for FeLV anyway to ward off secondary infections.
>
>I read that elisa can be false positive for a lot of reasons. In this case
>technician error is at the top of my thoughts. I think the vet had decided on
>the diagnosis and read the elisa wrong.
>
>Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and experiences with FeLV. Dave
>
>On Dec 25, 2012, at 4:00 PM, Lori <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
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