Thanks for sharing! I have 2 cats and a foster cat who is pretty much mine too, and Leo, a neighborhood feral who I trapped last summer to neuter, and he tested FeLV positive, so he is mine too now, and he ended up becoming tame after many months...
I have never had my cats vaccinated for FeLV because they are strictly indoors, and I had always heard that the leukiemia vaccine was the worst of the bunch, but I might get everyone vaccinated before I attempt to mix. I do have a cat with very bad fear aggression, and that is another worry, because I don't want any fighting! Shelley On Sep 24, 2013, at 2:22 PM, [email protected] wrote: > Shelley...... > > I lost a cat to FL in the 90's. After that I panicked and faithfully > vaccinated my next five cats every year. Then I rescued another FL cat. > Separated him from the others while he was symptomatic. He threw off the > virus. As fate would have it, other rescues came to my door. I couldn't > afford to have them all tested and vaccinated. (13). All my cats mingle > together and non gets sick. I don't even bother to have my rescues tested > because I know that I would never put them down anyway. I was encouraged by a > women I met years ago who mixed negatives and positves with good results. > When my one FL cat has had symptoms (only twice in 4 years) I isolate and > treat him until he gets better. I am fastidious about clean bowls and water. > God is taking care of them and me. If you have the money and you have only a > few, get what ever treatment/tests are available. But I wouldn't stress over > the testing. My Pookie will always test positive because he carries the > disease in his system. But he is h ealthy as can be otherwise. I finally decided when my Lucy was 13 (she's 17 now). to stop vaccinating her. If they don't have enough antibodies built up by then, they never will! Maybe I am lucky, or just stupid, but I couldn't let an animal die form a lack of a home. > > On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 1:03 PM, Shelley Theye wrote: > >> Hi Lee, >> >> Thanks for explaining. Not sure if there is hope for Leo to still turn >> negative. He tested positive last July, when trapped and neutered, and then >> again in Nov. I haven't retested yet, and am thinking of doing the IFA too. >> Does the woman who has Taffy have all of her other cats vaccinated for FeLV? >> >> Do most people on this list who mix positive and negatives have their >> negatives vaccinated for FeLV? >> >> Shelley >> >> >> >> On Sep 24, 2013, at 1:00 PM, Lee Evans wrote: >> >>> Hi Shelley - I'm not sure as to when they were exposed. These were cats >>> rescued from different places at different times. One, a male who I have >>> had not for about 6 to 7 years, was rescued when he was not neutered, >>> around age 2, street cat, but tame. Since I was going to get him adopted >>> after neutering, I had him tested before I took him into my own house. He >>> tested negative for FIV but positive for FeLv. I tested again at another >>> vet. Still positive, but that vet suggested that I keep him for two months >>> and then re-test. This guy was on top of the latest literature in vet >>> medicine. So I did so, took Moses (cats name) back and he had turned >>> negative. Not to say that I did not believe the test but too, Moses for yet >>> another test and he was again negative. He's still with me. >>> >>> Bunny (Buns for short) is a female, abandoned at an apartment complex >>> (notorious for abandoned, feral and stray cats). She was less than a year >>> old when she was brought to me on Easter Morning. Thus her name, Bunny. I >>> put her in a separate room, then took to vet to be tested. She tested >>> positive for FeLv. Kept her isolated, did not spay, re-tested in about 3 >>> months, she tested negative. Tested again to be sure. Negative again so got >>> her spayed. >>> However, my luck did not hold very well. Recently had a rescued kitten >>> brought to me. I took Taffy to a local Humane Society in Bulverde Texas. >>> They tested her prior to putting her up for adoption. When they tested her, >>> she tested positive for FeLv. I took her back, found her a foster home with >>> a wonderful foster mom, who kept her isolated for 3 months but Taffy still >>> tested positive at the end of the isolation period. Fortunately, Foster mom >>> loves her and although Taffy doesn't mix in to the community of 7 cats that >>> Foster Mom has, Taffy lives with Foster Mom's dog in a spare bedroom and >>> gets to socialize with the cats except during feeding time. Taffy is >>> perfectly happy with the arrangement. So is the dog. >>> >>> The adults probably contracted FeLv during mating behavior. I suspect that >>> Taffy got it from her birth mother but was not able to fight off the virus >>> as a kitten because she did not have very good care and ended up as a >>> little street stray. >>> >>> >>> From: Shelley Theye <[email protected]> >>> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:49 AM >>> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Question about FeLV/FIV testing >>> >>> Lee, >>> >>> Can you explain more about the 2 month period for the adults that you have >>> that threw off the virus? >>> Do you know when they were first exposed, in other words could they have >>> had the FeLV virus for more than 2 months >>> before they ever were tested? >>> >>> Shelley >>> >>> >>> >>> On Sep 24, 2013, at 11:15 AM, Lee Evans wrote: >>> >>>> I have had a lot of success with adult cats who threw off the virus in >>>> about 2 months and tested negative from then on. For kittens, they may or >>>> may not have been actually positive. Since their immune system is not >>>> fully developed, they might not throw off the virus as soon as adults. Too >>>> bad about the idiot vet who gave the adopters such ridiculously incorrect >>>> advice. Keep the kittens for another 4 weeks, then re-test. You really >>>> should find them a home with a person who understands that a positive test >>>> does not mean the kitten should be killed. If they are still looking and >>>> feeling well, let them live. A home with no other cats or with >>>> cat-friendly dog is the best for this type of kitten. >>>> >>>> >>>> From: Betheny Laubenthal <[email protected]> >>>> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 7:04 PM >>>> Subject: [Felvtalk] Question about FeLV/FIV testing >>>> >>>> What's the earliest that testing using a SNAP test for FeLV/FIV can be >>>> done so that it is accurate? I know that if it is done early on, it can >>>> be inaccurate. >>>> The reason I asked is that we adopted out a 10 week old kitten July 16. >>>> We did not test. I don't like testing before 16 weeks. We pulled the >>>> kitten and her sister from another state. Mom was in a high kill shelter. >>>> She was PTS before we could rescue her. The rest of the litter was PTS. >>>> Miles and Journey were the only ones left. >>>> Today, the kitten (Miles) tested positive for leukemia and was PTS (the >>>> ill informed vet used scare tactics on the owner and made the owner think >>>> that her dogs could get it). I was called after the fact. >>>> What is proper testing protocol? Vaccination protcol? I use a 4 way with >>>> feline leukemia, killed virus. >>>> --Beth >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Felvtalk mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Felvtalk mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Felvtalk mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Felvtalk mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
