What should we do? We have 3 cats, one of which tested positive for feline leukemia.
September 11, 2010 2:35 AM Subscribe
What should we do? We have 3 cats, one of which tested positive for feline leukemia.
Loki was a young stray (4 months?) when we took him in 5 years ago. We took him to the low cost spay/neuter clinic and he tested positive then but they said he was young enough that he might fight it off and clear it. He was kept separate from our other cats for 2 months before we took him back to the clinic to be retested.
It was negative. The tech said he was very lucky and would now be immune since he had fought the virus off. We thought everything was all good. I had my cat vaccinated for FLV before he was allowed out because I'm a worrier. My sister's other cat wasn't. They both seem healthy so far.
The last 6 months Loki had lost a little weight and had gone through a few spurts of throwing up. He's a long haired cat so that's not surprising but we set up an appointment with a new vet that came highly recommended.
This vet says his tests have all come back healthy except the FLV and he could live out a normal life. He said if the other cats haven't caught it by now, they're most likely immune.
Loki is a big cat (12-14 lbs) and wants to play with the other cats. They do not want to play with him. There have been a few sparring matches, no real wounds but sometimes a spot where one cat has clawed the other. I've trimmed Loki's claws to prevent this and any spat is broken up right away now.
So I'm worried. Most sites online say to isolate the cat from all other cats. Is the new vet right? The practice is suppose to be very good but I'm really worried about our other cats. Is it safe to let them hang out together now or do we need figure out a way to keep Loki isolated?
Loki was a young stray (4 months?) when we took him in 5 years ago. We took him to the low cost spay/neuter clinic and he tested positive then but they said he was young enough that he might fight it off and clear it. He was kept separate from our other cats for 2 months before we took him back to the clinic to be retested.
It was negative. The tech said he was very lucky and would now be immune since he had fought the virus off. We thought everything was all good. I had my cat vaccinated for FLV before he was allowed out because I'm a worrier. My sister's other cat wasn't. They both seem healthy so far.
The last 6 months Loki had lost a little weight and had gone through a few spurts of throwing up. He's a long haired cat so that's not surprising but we set up an appointment with a new vet that came highly recommended.
This vet says his tests have all come back healthy except the FLV and he could live out a normal life. He said if the other cats haven't caught it by now, they're most likely immune.
Loki is a big cat (12-14 lbs) and wants to play with the other cats. They do not want to play with him. There have been a few sparring matches, no real wounds but sometimes a spot where one cat has clawed the other. I've trimmed Loki's claws to prevent this and any spat is broken up right away now.
So I'm worried. Most sites online say to isolate the cat from all other cats. Is the new vet right? The practice is suppose to be very good but I'm really worried about our other cats. Is it safe to let them hang out together now or do we need figure out a way to keep Loki isolated?
We've had two FLV cats and three non-FLV cats, all with overlapping life spans. The first FLV cat died within two years, while one of the non-FLV cats died at twelve years in his sleep (possible heart attack). We currently have an FLV cat that seems to be very, very healthy and has lived with us for almost two years. The other two non-FLV cats have both been vaccinated and seem to be fine.
posted by Slothrop at 6:10 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Slothrop at 6:10 AM on September 11, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. It's comforting to hear of non-FLV cats doing alright with FLV cats. I think I'll probably still worry but this is helping ramp it down.
posted by stray thoughts at 10:37 PM on September 11, 2010
posted by stray thoughts at 10:37 PM on September 11, 2010
My understanding is that FeLeuk spreads pretty easily (saliva & litterboxes = easily) and generally restricts the lifespan to about 2 years after becoming infected. FIV, on the other hand, does not spread as easily (blood, deep bites) and most FIV+ cats go on to have normal lifespans with a little careful care. So I find it very interesting that your guy is five and nobody else has contracted it. That's pretty neat.
In any event, a friend of mine fostered a FeLeuk cat during his last months, I'm pretty sure she had other cats in the house at the time -- she intended for them to stay separate but with 4 kids in the house, sometimes separation didn't happen, and the other cats were fine. With yours, I would say that if they've already been exposed for five years and they're negative, I wouldn't bother changing anything up now.
posted by MeiraV at 6:10 PM on September 15, 2010
In any event, a friend of mine fostered a FeLeuk cat during his last months, I'm pretty sure she had other cats in the house at the time -- she intended for them to stay separate but with 4 kids in the house, sometimes separation didn't happen, and the other cats were fine. With yours, I would say that if they've already been exposed for five years and they're negative, I wouldn't bother changing anything up now.
posted by MeiraV at 6:10 PM on September 15, 2010
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I can give you anecdata: I've had two cats with FLV. One died within a few months. The other (who caught it from the first) lived for 7+ years. We got a third cat shortly after we found out the first two were affected. Cat 3 was vaccinated and kept apart for long enough for the antibodies to build up. Cat 3 lived for 17 years and never showed any sign of the disease.
So all I can say is: In my experience, yes, the vaccine does work, and even if infected they can live a normal life. I can understand why you're worried, but for us, after a few months we forgot about it most of the time, and we just enjoyed sharing our cats' lives while we had them.
posted by sesquipedalian at 2:52 AM on September 11, 2010