Check out the info at www.felineleukemia.org and other sites. Stay on this list.
On this list there are different ways of dealing with cats with the FELV virus. Some - like me - think FELV kitties can be safely mixed with the non-FELV kitties, and that it's not nearly as contagious as some say. There are different approaches in this group to living with FELV kitties.
But we probably all agree - tell your vet you're not going to put the kitty down.
If you don't want to keep the kitty, find another home for it. They are groups out there that can help, depending on the part of the country you're in.
Hope this helps!
Gloria
At 10:47 PM 4/23/2004, you wrote:
Hi, a stray cat that I have become fond of has just tested positive for FeLV. My vet wishes to have her put down. I also have a healthy non-FeLV cat that has had very minimal exposure to the cat, but I am terribly worried. Devastated is more accurate. The + cat is about a year old and not symptomatic. I hate to put a very sweet and nonsymptomatic cat down, but it would be very difficult for me to care for this cat responsibly and protect my much loved and not + cat at the same time. Plus I am overwhelmed with guilt for having put my normal cat at some, albeit limited, risk. (They have had a few casual encounters in the back yard, but they don't live, eat, and sleep together. It is possible that my healthy cat may have had some water from the stray cat's dish in spite of my efforts at keeping everything separated.) Advice anyone?
