No Good Deed Goes Un ....

Oh sweetie, I don't know what to say. Yes, FeLV is more contagious than FIV. I don't know, but I suspect it isn't passed that casually, so kitties with a healthy immune system probably will be OK with the limited contact.

It's so very, very hard to learn lessons the hard way, and I hope it doesn't turn out that way, but the lesson here is with any rescuing in the future, the first thing that needs to happen is kitty needs to be separated and to a vet as soon as possible.

Because we live in the RV, after our first mistake (that only cost us another round worm bout), we always took any rescue STRAIGHT to the vet - and often they stayed there for 10 days (enough time for anything they were carrying to "bloom" ) - and got them tested and vaccinated and spayed/neutered and such before they ever came home (unless they were little kitties - then speutering came later).

all will be OK.

Adult cats are pretty resistant to getting Felv, and that usually gets spread between unaltered cats fighting and breeding (which your cats definitely are not) - you know their immune systems are already stressed without a virus being involved.
It would be bringing kittens into the home that you'd have to worry about.

It's also possible that this cat has Felv and will be one of the healthy cats with it - it really depends on the type of Felv. A, B, and C do different things and are worse if the cat has both A and B together, for example.

Hummm.... not necessarily. FeLV can be transmitted through mutual grooming, shared bowls and plates, shared litter boxes, mouth or nose contact, sneezes... fighting and breeding are only two of the many ways it can get transmitted.
I would make sure all the other kitties are vaccinated too.

It takes a lot of contact, not casual contact between two cats. Much less two adult cats that aren't as closely bonded to each other and less likely to be that close. (verses cats that grow up with each other or a kitten and adult cat bond)

Oh my God, isn't he the sweetest thing ever?? Awwwww poor baby.... That's so sad that he is such a sick little boy
You are an angel for taking care of him

I would probably give him Transfer Factor Plus, instead - not the feline, but the human... Here is some vet feedback on it. I have used it with great success on Bugsy, not for Leukemia, but it does works wonders.

I am sorry to hear that, I can imagine how stressed out you must be! I hope your other kitties are ok...
I had a friend whose cats tested positive for Feleuk and I was freaking out because some of my cats had come into contact with hers when mine were kittens. I had mine tested and luckily they were fine... It turned out her cats may have gotten it from a feral/stray kitten she took in and rehomed and I guess did not get tested, which happened way after my kittens were around her cats so mine were probably not exposed thankfully.

What about vaccinating the others?

I know what you mean about vaccinations... On one hand I am very leery of over-vaccinating but on the other I want to take all precautions possible! I show some of my cats and I want to be careful with their health but finding a balance between too many vaccinations and not enough can be hard.
I have also heard that about the vaccines not being completely effective.

I think the 30 days thing is probably just to be completely sure and cautious, like how people do 'quarantines' when bringing home a new pet or after any illness even if contagion is unlikely.

As we say in Brasil, The necessity makes the occasion!

Adults are pretty resistant to FeLV, Like I said Attitude and Nuts lived with Maude and she was never infected and they shared everything. They all had their own bowls, litter boxes, etc but they shared them all. I know Nuts and Maude touched noses a few times and that Maude would let Attitude lay against her. It is correct that most adults get it from breeding and fighting, they are pretty resistant to catching it any other way.

It can be passed on via casual contact but most adults have immunities to it.

The carrier is still usable, if it worries you either wash it or let it get some sunshine and it'll be fine. Maude used the same carriers as Attitude and Nuts even before she was vaccinated and they were moved inside.

The virus is not always doom and gloom, keep in mind I have 7-8 FeLV + cats and except for Attitude and her eye(which could be totally unrelated to the FeLV) everyone is healthy.

I don't know why your vet won't vaccinate until 2 negative tests 6 months apart, ours tested Maude and then vaccinated her. He said she didn't have to be retested unless she came in sick.

Talk to your vet about Interferon, as soon as mine is compounded I'm giving it to Attitude and Nuts, other supplements really won't do anything except cost you money, but if it makes you feel better they won't hurt.

I also don't think saying he is a really sick little boy applies, he's healthy. The virus makes him no more sick than any other cat, when they are healthy they're healthy when they are sick they are sick. I don't treat mine any differently than I would a normal cat.

The virus also is not long lived. The vet has no problems with me bringing Attitude in on just a leash. If it was long lived I'd be told to use a carrier.

I am careful, but I don't go overboard. There were some really cute kittens in a cage at the vet's office. I wanted to go greet them so I told Attitude to stay in her seat and I went over trying to hold a retractable leash and sanitize my hands so I could go over and pet them through the bars of their cage. I obviously do not let her near other cats.

It really isn't as scary as it seems, even though I would want any negative vaccinated against it ASAP.

You could also have titers drawn to see if your adults are immune to FeLV when might mean you don't even have to vaccinate them and they can live together with no risk.

As I said Maude and Attitude and Nuts were all fine, Maude was vaccinated and never came down with FeLV so it can be done, you just have to start with healthy adults, I would not bring a kitten into the picture, they are a lot lot lot more likely to catch it, pretty much after a year they have enough immunities to not come down with it.

If the ELISA is positive them I would go with that. Of course I've also had 3 kittens from Attitude and Nuts' litter(counting them) test positive so I know there is no question about their leukemia status. If you want to have the ISA done then depending on what your vet recommends I'd do it.

If you want any further info PM me. Sadly, I know what it's like, but it isn't all gloom and doom. The other vet told me he had had FeLV cats lived to be 10 or 11(and the other vet has an uncle who's FeLV+ cat lived to be 17) so there is no reason mine shouldn't live a long healthy life.

Taryn

Like many human viruses, there are different strains of FeLV and so the difference in times as well as just differing views between vets.

As far as the vaccine, my vet doesn't recommend it, its not 100% effective (ok no vaccine is, but its less effective than many) and she feels it gives owners a false sense of security when they should still be taking precautions not to spread the disease.

I didn't read the background, but has the cat been tested previously? With so many false positives, my vet does not diagnose them as FeLV positive until 2 tests have been done a few weeks apart as they can be exposed to the virus having it show now but fight it off and not become infected (as your own cats could show now)

I am so sorry to hear of Buddy's diagnosis. I know what you must be going through right now, as I had a similar experience a few years ago.

My wife and I have adopted many cats over the past ten years, including a gentle 1.5 year old grey tabby male I named Neko. Like all shelter cats, he had tested negative for FeLV and other diseases before being put up for adoption, and seemed entirely healthy and happy to be with us.

Before we scheduled a follow-up appointment with our own vet, he spent one day feverish and lethagic but recovered right away. I mentioned this to our vet during his appointment. As a precaution, she tested him for common diseases and discovered that he was positive for FeLV.

I was in a panic over the next two weeks, as I hauled all of our other cats in for testing, starting with our youngest and most vulnerable. Fortunately, none of our others tested positive and we had them all vaccinated as a precaution. To this day, our other cats remain healthy and symptom-free.

Neko himself had one good year with us, before succumbing to a chest tumor in December 2008.

In short, it is difficult to predict how other cats may react to exposure to FeLV, but it is not necessarily a given that otherwise healthy and well-cared-for cats will contract a permanent infection from casual exposure. I hope that your other cats will remain free of infection as mine did, and that Buddy will have a good life for whatever time he may have. What living thing can ask for more?

Most viruses have different strains (I think its their excuse for I don't know lol) and sometimes your immune system just works differently to an illness than others

With a low positive on his first test I would be hopeful for a second test

As far as spreading it, as you mentioned, the vets don't change their clothes after handling FeLV cats and we were never urged to at the shelter (I always change when I get home anyway but many don't) so I wouldn't worry too much about occasional contact through you.

I will have to try and find it, but I have read that while kittens and unvaccinated/uncared for adults (and obviously sick adults with lower immune systems) have a high chance of catching it, it drops to around 30% in vaccinated healthy adults when in close contact with a FeLV cat

I mentioned it back on the 8th in my first post in your thread. The problem is when A morphs into B and/or C along with type A infection - you then end up with a much sicker cat than if they had just the type A.
And for information you should try reading veterinary manuals - you have to wade through some medical terms and mentions of test studies, but you'll get more information that way.

With viruses, new strains come about by morphing (evolving) from one strain into another. This is how all viruses work. They have to keep ahead of the immune systems of the animals they infect, after all.

You can view some veterinary (and human medical) manuals/text online. Here's Merck's. You could probably find more by seeing what text google has copied.

And yes, I imagine there's still quite a bit that isn't completely known. There has to be money and incentive for people to study anything. Plus, sadly, to understand more about the actual effects of FeLv in cats they have to use cats.

That at the worst your kitty only has strain A if he has FeLv and that it stays that way.

And yes, I wouldn't worry about super sanitizing your home. Or even some slight direct contact between him and the rest of your cats. It's spread easier than FIV but still takes some considerable contact.
For example, if I learned that Siri's FeLv/FIV test was wrong and that she did have FeLv the only different thing I would do is add more water dishes and change them out 5-6 times a day. Her "keep a 4ft minimum space away from me" attitude to other cats prevents close contact. I see the same in all the adult cats I've introduced to each other. The boys get along but only Tomas and Sho (and Tomas came in as a kitten) will actually groom each other.

and prayers for you and for Buddy's health.