I was on this list years ago, when I had my first FeLV cat, Denzel, and I
adopted my second, Saki Tofu, from a list member shortly after Denzel died
in 2009. Happy to report, Tofu is still going strong, but I havent been on
the list since then.
I currently work at a rescue facility and we have had 4 kittens test
positive for FeLV in the past few months. We routinely test every cat and
kitten. Previously, our policy was to euthanize any with confirmed positive
results (sending off for IFA to confirm). The first on who tested positive
last Fall went on to a rescue that takes a limited number of FeLV cats.
About a month ago, we had a litter of 4 kittens dumped here, 3 of whom
tested positive. We split them all into separate cages to quarantine, then
retested after a month and now all are showing negative. My question is, I
have read that cats who seem to clear the virus can have a latent infection
that will reappear later in life if they develop another illness or have
some type of extreme stress. Does anyone have any links to actual studies
showing this information? Everything I can find has been anecdotal, and I
would like something more official for us to determine our policy on how
to counsel potential adopters for cats who have cleared the virus.
My second question relates to my personal cats and strains of FeLV. I have
3 who have tested positive (just lost a 4th the same day she got the
positive test result, she was an indoor feral who was hiding her illness
until she was too sick to resist being picked up, by the time I could get
her to a vet she was severely anemic and in liver failure, she went into
seizures and died in my arms after they drew blood). Saki Tofu is going on 5
years since her positive test result, she is FeLV and FIV positive, the only
recurring health issues have been a couple of bouts of overheating if the AC
goes out. Annie is a 7 year old declawed DSH whom I adopted (declaw was done
years before I got her) 3 years ago. She tested positive in routine testing
after I got her, and her only symptoms have been bouts of diarrhea that
clear with Iams hairball control food. Finally, I have little Blanche, who
is 3 ½, also adopted 3 years ago. She has a problem with swollen paws and
has had persistently runny eyes and is very susceptible to URIs. Blanche is
in week 4 of fighting a very severe one, she is on her second round of
Azithromycin and is finally starting to put weight back on but it is very
slow going. They are all presenting quite differently and I am very curious
about the strains of FeLV they may have. I am assuming that testing would be
pretty pricey but would like to know where it could be done, if any of the
labs do it for pets rather than for research animals.
Thanks for any input!
Emily Hunter
Fuzzy Friends Rescue
254-754-9444 Ext 3
Fax 254-754-9959
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