HELP- FeLV questions!

Recently a stray cat came to my sister's property and had kittens. At about 11 weeks of age we brought one home to live in our house, this was about mid February. At the end of Feb (12 weeks old) we had him tested for FELV and FIP and test came up negative. Today my sister took two of the kittens for vet check ups (she had hard time catching them before now) They tested one and it came up positive for FELV. The told her to kill all kittens and mom but never tested the other kitten. I am very worried about my kitty. How often does it come up negative when it is really positive? or visa versa? What is the likelihood that they got the disease in the month and half that we have had Lightning. Please give me any info you can!!!!! I am very worried.

I strongly suggest you take both your cats to the vet. Get them tested for FIV & FeLV. If they are FeLV+.....it is not a death sentence! It is possible for them to live a long time. Please do not simply euthanize them.

I just wanted to add, we do have a vet appt on Monday anyway for Lightning's 2nd shots and WILL get another test then. I just wanted some advice and ideas about how often you get a negative test then a positive, and the other way around. What do you think my chances are? He did test negative the first time. It makes me mad that the vet didn't even test the second kitten, just to be sure especially when my sister mentioned that Lightning's test was negative. Trying not to jump to conclusions but I think we will be changing vets!

First of all take a deep breath and try to relax. I've gone thru FeLV in my feral colony and household before and will try to offer the facts as I know them.

If a female cat with FeLV gives birth, the odds that all of the kittens in the litter will be positive is about 95%. On the flip side, if one is negative, the chances that all are negative are very high. Without having tested the mom, you have no idea if the positive kitten contracted the disease after it was born or from the mom. Kittens that haven't gone thru a full round of vaccinations are more susceptible for catching the disease so the positive one could have gotten it later. Some very young kittens will test negative to start and some vets will say that they need to be about 4 months old to do an effective test. I've read very mixed information on this topic.

Testing positive thru an Elisa test is not a conclusive test. The Elisa test is the one that nearly all vets start with and is more of a way to screen out exposure to the disease. However, many vets are not educated on the topic and many will make the statement that your sister's vet made: if one kitten has it, kill them all and the mom.

When a cat is exposed to the disease, their bodies try to fight it off but in the mean time, they will test positive on Elisa. It takes 30-60 days for the disease to turn into full blown FeLV if they can't fight it off. At that time, it goes fully into their blood stream and the only way to test conclusively is thru an IFA test. Unless a vet has a lab available to them at their office, they have to pull a vial of blood and send it out to a lab.

If they are able to fight it off, a subsequent Elisa test will most likely come out negative. That is why you usually run a subsequent Elisa test before you ask for an IFA test. The Elisa test is an inexpensive way to screen, and the IFA test requires a vial of blood and is much more expensive.

As far as infecting other cats: Vaccinations are not 100% effective and there is some speculation on how good they are. Statistics show that about 10% of vaccinated cats can contract the disease but only after either a violent encounter (fight or mating), or long exposure (such as sharing a house and grooming).

I do have a cat whose mom and all siblings were FeLV positive and was strong enough as a kitten to fight off the disease. Since you don't know about the mom, you really don't know the odds of your baby having it.

Take your baby back to the vet and have the test run again. If he is negative, don't worry about it. If he is positive, wait another month and have the IFA test run.

I'll send positive vibes that his test turns up negative.

Thank you Momofmany for the info. I really appreciate it. I have been researching all day and will not rest until Monday when we have the second test. We will see what happens and if it is positive will test our 3 yo cat too. I will do everything I can to treat and save our babies. We keep all vet receipts and unfortunately looking back found out that the vet did NOT vaccinate our adult cat for the disease...it wasn't even an option given to us. It wasn't anything we thought about at the time and thought that the vet would just vaccinate for "the regular stuff". I am the type of person who likes to know all the facts.

My sister lives on a farm 1/2 mile from our house and cats from neighboring farms often visit. Her cats are all outside, so I pray that maybe the kittens got it just recently or it came up a false positive. I just don't understand why the vet didn't test the other kitten she took there today...just to be sure. The vet told her to leave them both there to be euthanized and she did. She feels very guilty after we told her about the research we did. But you think the vets are right. Thank you for any education anyone can give me.

Originally Posted by Rolling Thunder

Thank you Momofmany for the info. I really appreciate it. I have been researching all day and will not rest until Monday when we have the second test. We will see what happens and if it is positive will test our 3 yo cat too. I will do everything I can to treat and save our babies. We keep all vet receipts and unfortunately looking back found out that the vet did NOT vaccinate our adult cat for the disease...it wasn't even an option given to us. It wasn't anything we thought about at the time and thought that the vet would just vaccinate for "the regular stuff". I am the type of person who likes to know all the facts.

My sister lives on a farm 1/2 mile from our house and cats from neighboring farms often visit. Her cats are all outside, so I pray that maybe the kittens got it just recently or it came up a false positive. I just don't understand why the vet didn't test the other kitten she took there today...just to be sure. The vet told her to leave them both there to be euthanized and she did. She feels very guilty after we told her about the research we did. But you think the vets are right. Thank you for any education anyone can give me.

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If your cat is indoor vet likely felt there is no need to vaccinate for Felv.
The cat is not likely to catch it indoor, if he is not exposed to Felv positive cats. Of course with the kitten maybe he was. Hopefully the kitten stays negative.

Originally Posted by Rolling Thunder

My sister lives on a farm 1/2 mile from our house and cats from neighboring farms often visit.

But you think the vets are right.

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When I had my FeLV experience, I was also working with a country vet. He had heard of the IFA test but had never actually run one. Country vets are very pragmatic about their advice, and yes, the odds are that if a kitten has it, then all the litter mates will have it. But country vets often treat more than dogs and cats and don't have the time to keep up on current research. So you simply need to do some digging on their own and educate them. My vet used to get annoyed with me when I challenged him, and after many years of working with me, finally acknowledged that on some topics, I was more versed than he was. I like them, but I also understand their limitations.

Originally Posted by Rolling Thunder

Recently a stray cat came to my sister's property and had kittens. At about 11 weeks of age we brought one home to live in our house, this was about mid February. At the end of Feb (12 weeks old) we had him tested for FELV and FIP and test came up negative. Today my sister took two of the kittens for vet check ups (she had hard time catching them before now) They tested one and it came up positive for FELV. The told her to kill all kittens and mom but never tested the other kitten. I am very worried about my kitty. How often does it come up negative when it is really positive? or visa versa? What is the likelihood that they got the disease in the month and half that we have had Lightning. Please give me any info you can!!!!! I am very worried.

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Hi,

I've been through the same thing, and I sent you a personal message with my story--I'd love to help.

Regards,

MargeCat

I cannot help you but pray that the kitties are healthy ....

On the other hand, if you have any questions member katiemae1277 cares for all FeLV cats and she knows a lot about them....

But just remember that just because one has FeLV doesn't mean they have to be euthanized....