Strays with aids and leukemia, anyone care for these type of cats?

This is for anyone who cares for stray cats who are aids/leukemia positive. Ok so I care for stray cats outside. Eventually I want to get them all examined and get them a bloodtest, and hopefully find them homes because they are friendly. Trying to get them all fixed as well.

My question is if they come back positive for aids or leukemia, are they able to live a normal life or do they have to be put down? (meaning while i'm caring for them outside) Do they NEED medication or do they live like normal cats, and is any of these contagious?

Originally Posted by keith p

This is for anyone who cares for stray cats who are aids/leukemia positive. Ok so I care for stray cats outside. Eventually I want to get them all examined and get them a bloodtest, and hopefully find them homes because they are friendly. Trying to get them all fixed as well.

My question is if they come back positive for aids or leukemia, are they able to live a normal life or do they have to be put down? (meaning while i'm caring for them outside) Do they NEED medication or do they live like normal cats, and is any of these contagious?

Click to expand...

Keith...if you have limited funds...I would focus on getting these cats spayed/neutered. If someone wants to adopt one of your cats, they can get the test for FIV/FELV done themselves. Alley Cat Allies doesn't even recommend testing feral cats due to the fact that you can have false positives and if there is a chance these cats are going to be returned back outside....it is far more important that they be spayed/neutered.

As for the diseases themselves...I would recommend that you do some research on Google, there are lots of articles on both FIV/FELV.

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/releasing.htm

Sample of FIV articles:

http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/fiv_in_cats.htm

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/89/FIV-in-Cats.html

http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimal...e/cats_fiv.cfm

Sample of FELV articles:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FeLV.html

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html



Katie

hi Keith, its really great that you and prettyboy are doing all you can to help these kitties

I'll sum it up pretty quickly for ya, FIV positive cats can only spread the virus thru deep bite wounds and mating and if they are fixed, the likelihood of either of those actions goes waaaay down, and FIV positive can be re-released into a managed colony, at least that is the opinion that is growing in popularity, these cats can also live with other laid-back negative cats, this is an opinion that is not that popular though. FeLV is a whole nother story. Leukemia can be spread through casual contact, grooming, sharing food or water bowls, etc. These cats should NEVER be re-released into a colony and also should NEVER live with negative cats, even if the negative cats have been vaccinated as the vaccine is only about 85% effective. Leukemia is a bad bad disease and I would never want to expose a cat to it, however unintentionally. Leukemia is usually fatal within 3 years, but FIV cats can live a long time with proper medical care. On the bright side, there really is a low chance that these kitties have the diseases. There are not many people who take in these cats, especially FeLV+ ones, and in a situation like yours, if a cat were to test postiive for FeLV, and there are no shelters in your area that take them in, I believe the most humane option is to euthanize them as much as i hate to say that. I do personally take in leukemia cats and have done so for over 6 years, right now however, my doors are closed to new additions due to lack of funds and a broken heart if you have any questions please feel free to PM me! hmmm, that didn't end up being pretty quick, di it

Another option, that might give the cat a chance if you get lucky, is to call local vet clinics and shelters and ask if they know of anyone who has FeLV or FIV positive cats or has come in with them or if the shelters ever adopted any out. They might be able to contact those people and see if they would be interested in adopting another. It is not likely, but there is always a chance.

My husband I care for ferals and strays (see siggy) We release FIV+ cats that do not show symptoms. The first fiver we released was dx in 2004, almost 3 yrs later he's doing good. And he's pretty laidback too.
Like others here told you the first thing to do is spay and neuter.

No Kieth,there is a 'misconception' in rescue 'circles' and 'vets' that any cat testing positive cannot be re-homed or found a new life. But they can,they just need to find the right homes...as said in previous posts they can live long and happy lives

They just need that chance...and they deserve that chance as much as any cat

Thank you for trying to help these cats

Originally Posted by keith p

This is for anyone who cares for stray cats who are aids/leukemia positive. Ok so I care for stray cats outside. Eventually I want to get them all examined and get them a bloodtest, and hopefully find them homes because they are friendly. Trying to get them all fixed as well.

My question is if they come back positive for aids or leukemia, are they able to live a normal life or do they have to be put down? (meaning while i'm caring for them outside) Do they NEED medication or do they live like normal cats, and is any of these contagious?

Click to expand...

Hi Keith,


I rescued 4 ferals last summer; 3 turned out to be a faint positive. My vet said (when we only had the one positive cat--the other 2 tested negative 1st, then later tested a faint positive) that, after our "real" cats got their FeLV vaccinations (a set of 2, 3 weeks apart), that the cat could live with the rest, out of quarantine. However, this being said, PLEASE ASK YOUR VET'S ADVICE FIRST, PLEASE!!!!! We listened to uninformed advice, and let out the former negatives, thinking that they were truly negative, and let them live with our others, who were not up-to-date on their shots (we did not rush to to this, as prior to this, they would never have had any exposure to any FeLV cats; and they are indoors cats. In fact, one vet told us, this was ok, as long as the positive cats were strictly quarantined--the other cats were not ask risk, even living in the same house. However, keeping them quarantined was a nightmare, and you always run the risk of escapees mingling with your other cats, or eating out their dishes, using the littter boxes, etc., which can spread FeLV).

Are you keeping the "new" cats quarantined from you other pets? Even if there's no FeLV present, other communicable diseases, such as rabies, can be passed not only to cats, but other pets.


If they are living in a single-cat household, or if they all turn out to be positive together, they can live in that situation. Some cats, especially when very young, can kick the virus, to become negative and healthy. Frankly, if they turn out positive, especially a faint +, I'd re-test in no less than 90 days; some vets say 6 months. You never know--they may end up negative. I had a lot of advice to put mine to sleep, even though they are the picture of health right now, and growing (they are under 1 year old). they have very healthy appetites, their fur is glossy and thick, their eyes are bright, and they are full of energy and love. No way am I going to put them to sleep! They can live happy (sometimes very short) lives.

Wishing you all the best of luck! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

MargeCat