FeLV

I have some questions regarding FeLV. My vet recommends testing plushy for it again. Plushy tested negative while he was at the shelter. About 6 months later, we adopted him. He was healthy for about a year and a half. Is it possible that he has it even though he tested negative and has been healthy until recently? He is strictly an indoor cat. His only symptom is weight loss. He had extensive blood tests done a few weeks ago and i posted those results on my other thread 'plushy still losing weight' wouldn't the FeLV show up indirectly on a cbc? Ie red blood cells low?

Patches was retested when he was 18 months old and sick. It is possible for a young kitten to test negative and have the virus. Go ahead and get him retested and then you will know for sure. Since Patches is strictly indoor and his retest was negative, it has never been brought up again.

FeLV is a slow acting virus. It is possible that his blood panel had within normal ranges but he's actually sick with the virus. Once infected, it can take 2 - 6 weeks for there to be enough viral load to test positive, so even though he tested negative as a kitten, he may have been tested before the viral load was large enough to be detected. If your vet is recommending the test, it's best to do it, just to be sure.

Thanks for your responses!! I guess that is probably the next course of action. Hopefully it simply rules that out as a diagnosis. Well, the vet is convinced that Plushy is about 10 years old. The shelter we got him from had him at 3.5 years old when we adopted him, which would make him about 5. I'm not sure who to believe, but I have no idea truly how old he is. Either way, he wasn't a kitten when he was tested negative. I don't know if that matters. I'm sure in the 6 months he was in the shelter after he was tested but b4 we adopted him he could have been exposed to other cats with it. Is it really possible that it takes year and a half to show any symptoms? I don't know. I am just really hoping it comes back negative! I'm sort of at this point where we've tested for EVERYTHING and I feel like we are getting nowhere. I'm really not wanting it to be FeLV b/c then my other cat is probably infected too I will keep you all updated. The vet should be calling tomorrow to tell me where we go next and I assume he'll ask for another FeLV, so I'll try to get Plushy in tomorrow for the additional tests... Keep the good vibes coming!!

Actually, he could have been infected just before being rescued - it's highly unlikely he was exposed to it at the shelter. If they tested him right away (as most shelters do), he could already have been infected, but not had a viral load large enough to test positive.

Cats with FeLV don't necessarily exhibit any symptoms for years. Some fight off the infection, in others it can be latent. http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+1316&aid=211

I'd believe my vet re: age over a shelter. It's not particularly ethical, but shelters do have a motivation in determing the age of a cat to be younger than it is, and vets don't. Though it can be difficult to determine the age of an adult cat.

And yes, continued !!!!!!

Thanks for the information and good vibes! Plushy and I both appreciate it

Just a thought... have any x-rays been done? Often the inappetance can be caused by an internal blockage (though this is usually accompanied by vomiting). Is he going to the bathroom normally?

No x-rays yet, although the vet said he may want to do some as part of additional testing. The really confusing thing is, Plushy is eating and drinking normally. He hasn't been vomiting either. He comes when he hears me get his soft food out and I see him eat right away. I also see him grazing throughout the day on his hard food and he drinks water just like before. He is using the litter box a normal amount throughout the day, but his stool has been runny and a slightly yellowish brown color. He is a very shy cat and will literally jump out of the litter box and run away when you go in the basement, so I have never made it a point to catch him in the act until this started happening. I did see him go one day a couple weeks ago and he did not seem to be straining but that was when I noticed the runny stool. The two samples I brought to the vet were runny too. He has had the same exact diet for the entire 1.5 years we have had him, but I suppose he may have become allergic to something??? Oh yeah, and he was tested for worms, giardia, and colitis but that was all neg.

Sorry to make this a long one, but hopefully a thorough history of the problem will help...

This all began when he was under some stress from my sister's dogs being here for a few days. This was at the end of October (22nd to be exact) During those 3 days, he hid and came out very rarely- to eat and use the litter box. After the dogs left, I noticed he was sneezing a lot and was hiding more often than normal. I gave it some time, thinking he just had a cold (I thought he was 5yo at the time, so I didn't assume he had any major health problems). About a week later when he started coming out more, I began noticing the weight loss and he was still sneezing, but much less often. I assumed he was starting to get better and had just lost weight from being sick. I gave it a little time, figuring he'd put the weight back on. After a couple more weeks, I didn't see any improvement and I felt his back bones sticking out. I took him to the vet and he had lost 1.75 pounds since his checkup in August. That's when the vet told me he seemed much older (about 10) and he assumed it was a thyroid issue. Blood tests came back normal (I posted the numbers under "Plushy still losing weight" thread). Since he had been exhibiting symptoms of URI previously, we put him on antibiotics for 7 days. He started to come out even more and was acting more normal, but no weight gain. His sneezing has stopped. Waited another couple of weeks to see if any progress, but none. I called the vet last week and they just tested him for the parasites, giardia, etc. and that's all neg. When I last spoke w/ the vet, he said the FeLV and xrays may be next steps. He is supposed to call me tomorrow and tell me what he thinks given the new test information but I believe his plan of action will stay the same.

Does any of that information help?

Attitude and Nuts had totally normal blood work(pre spay/neuter blood work) and they were both FeLV+. I did the blood work for 2 reasons #1= they were leukemia positive and I wanted to make sure they could withstand surgery and #2= I needed a baseline so they knew what was normal for them.

Get the test done and it will be one more thing checked off. It is very hard fir an adult cat to become infected with FeLV as they age they develop natural resistance to becoming infected with the virus so the likelihood of him being infected is small, but still there.

Taryn