FeLV

Jax_Dusky, I am pretty sure that some of the people here have kitties or have had kitties who had FeLV. Here is a link for some info on it….

http://www.petplace.com/cats/feline-leukemia-virus-felv/page1.aspx

I haven’t dealt with it myself amongst any of my own cats, I know that others have and did well. Because its the weekend, don’t be dismayed that no one comes on right away and suggests anything.

J_D…… Good info from PK. I only have experience with a FIV+ kitty. Similar to felv, with the weakened immune system,etc. He just died at 15 1/2 years old. There were frequent bumps in the road with various health issues, that took longer to “heal” than a healthy kitty. I would have never considered euth. when he was diagnosed at a year old. I’m going from memory, (which is always scary), but I think Soxsmom had a felv kitty, and that there was a support group from Cornell University that was very helpful to her, and also alot of information concerning felv. The below link has some info….. hoping others with felv kits will share their experiences.

http://pet-diseases.suite101.com/article.cfm/cats_with_feline_leukemia_virus_infections

JD, it is possible that Dusky had a ‘false positive’ for FelV; One of my kitties had a false positive, and if I’d listened to the vet, I would have put him down. I didn’t listen, went to another vet & had him retested. He was negative, and lived to be 19 years old. Bixby was his name {{RIP}}. He eventually died from a cancerous tumor. Don’t rush into any decisions right now, please, please, please.

Ok, first thing I would do if I was in your shoes is to request a propper diagnostic blood test to be done. Most vets use snap tests to test for FIV/FeLV. Snap tests only pick up antibodies, not the actual virus, and since your kitty has recently been vaccinated, its possible that the snap test is picking up the vaccine. I had an FIV scare like this with Stumpie. For FIV the confirmation test is called a western blot test, but I’m absolutely certain there must be an equivalent test for FeLV. I would really say get it done asap, because if your kitty does actually have FeLV, you will have the necessary blood values from that test that the vet will need to put a treatment plan together. If you wait 6 weeks to have another snap test done, and its positive, you are going to waste another 2 weeks waiting for those blood values. From what I’ve learned with my experience with FIV & FeLV, time is absolutely crucial. If you catch it early enough, you have options.

I am sending good vibes to little Dusky.!!! Look at all the people here that had positive kitties and they lived nice, long lives, so hope is not lost.