Thank you Lorrie - for the clarification. With Tigger I really hoped he would either become negative or just a carrier and not actively ill after his interferon treatments, but that was not to be. I wish I had started him on Winstrol earlier. But you know, if I had not kept him because of him being positive (when he actually tested negative as a kitten), I would never have known the greatest love from a cat I have ever had. I have had cats my entire life and Tigger showed us so much love. Some people don't believe animals can actually care for humans, other than because they receive their care from their humans. We know that isn't true -- he loved us and we loved him. I'm so grateful to have had him for the time we did.
Ardy -----Original Message----- From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lorrie Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 10:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Cats with FelV Hi Ardy, As you probably know we rescue and have 13 cats at home plus 28 more in our cageless sanctuary. Therefore we've had many cats who have tested positive for FelV. Most were kittens and they were isolated in our isolation rooms, and they seemed so playful and well I couldn't believe they had the FelV virus, then one by one at about 8 months old they suddenly started to get very sick. The longest any of these kittens lived was 1 1/2 years. They died of either anemia, cancer, or tumors, and had to be euthanized. Kittens seem to have a worse time with FelV than grown cats because the immune system of kittens is not fully developed, and they usually die. However, this isn't always the case. We have two grown cats who tested positive as kittens and lived many years. One is about 9 now and seems fine, the other one seemed fine and suddenly just died with no signs of illness at all. I do not know if these two cats converted back to negative or not, as they are/were sanctuary cats who were born of a feral mother, and they were very skittish. Only one of them was tested again and she was still positive when spayed at two years old. - FelV is a very complicated virus and we continue learn as much as possible about it. With FelV I understand three things can happen. A positive cat can either convert to negative, or carry the virus all it's life and show no symptoms, or die, usually in their first year. - I don't recall saying "most cats have converted after some time", as sadly "most' don't. I don't think anyone really knows why some cats can live with the virus, others can convert, and some die. It's an awful virus, and I'm sorry your Tigger was one of the cats who didn't make it. Lorrie - On 05-17, Ardy Robertson wrote: > Hi Lorrie - if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by "most cats > you have taken in have converted after some time"? Does that mean they > no longer have FeLV, and if so, what do you attribute that to? > > > Thank you, > > Ardy _______________________________________________ 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
