2nd FIV test!

My 2 yo girl Bella tested pos to her in house fiv test 1 year ago but neg to the lab test. Vets said she could be early pos or have antibodies from her mum.
so took her for her bloods tues night to be sent to the lab. Im so nervous! Should know by monday!

:cross: good luck with the results!

Thankyou!

Bella is NEGATIVE. just has the antibodies from her mummy. Just thought id let you friendly people know

What wonderful news for you and Bella!

Yes! Vets said 90%sure its neg and the 1st pos was just antibodies. So im very glad. Vets were not very informative about the antibodies, if they can turn or she is immune. But im happy
She had her fiv booster and all was fine

FIV booster or FeLV booster?

F3 and fiv booster

Why did she get an FIV booster?? It will cause her to test POSITIVE for FIV forever.

Well fiv is very common in my area and my 4 all had the snap test for fiv before the booster. 3 were neg and Bella was pos so she had a lab test that showed neg. So she got the shot last year and they said they would retest this year. They did and it must have shown more neg than pos (taking into acc the jab) so they deemed her neg with antibodies. So she was due for her fiv booster along with the others. She has had 1 so of course ill keep them up.
They cant be 100%sure because the inhouse said pos but the lab said neg so 1st off they said either early stages of fiv or antibodies because the lab test didnt pick anything up. So they gave her her shots amd redone rhe test taking that into account.

They way they explain it made sense..lol

My understanding is that there is no test to differentiate between antibodies from the vaccine and actually having FIV. This is why this particular vaccine is not given in the states.

Eventually it is a judgement test for the vet, also knowing the history of the cat. A small number of antibodies can indicate early fiv or a carrier situation, or be the result of vaccine. Over a certain level it is more likely to be the disease itself.

It still confuses me. I got her at a young age, she was a stray found in a tire yard and a lady i know took her for a few weeks before handing her to me. No jabs for sure. So she was a little over 1 year when i got her tested so they said unlikely early stage as she was 1 so probably antibodies. Ive heard a few different opinions so im still confused.
They said 90% think just antibodies but not sure if it will turn.

At 1 yr of age, she would not still have antibodies from the momma cat, if that is what your vet is saying. If you had her tested, say at 8-9 wks old, then, yes, that could still be from the momma cat.

Now, if your vet thinks your kitty was given the FIV vaccine prior to this other lady rescuing her, then there could be antibodies in her system. However, I am more inclined to think that your kitty is FIV+, especially since you say it is very common where you live. FIV is certainly NOT a death sentence and cats who are positive can live near normal lives, they just need a little extra TLC to help keep them healthy.

Oh really? I just had 3 vets tell me what i wrote.
is it likely she will pass it to my other indoors? They do scrap a bit but all had their jabs!

The state of California does not do FIV vaccines. My vet studied at Tufts and she said ( and others have confirmed)that there is no way to tell a truly FIV + cat from one who simply had the vaccine.That can put a cat who ends up in a shelter on the die list.I have also been told, and read that those vaccines are not proven effective but actually may have health risks. The biggest risk is that if something happened to you and your cat needed another home she is unlikely to find one. I have an FIV cat he lives fine with the others but the rescue group lied to e about his status when I adopted him.I probably would not have adopted him had I known. I am glad I did as I now know much more about FIV. FIV is not FELV and there is no reason they cannot have a long happy life in a home with other friendly cats.

FIV is not easily transmitted like leukemia is. It is transmitted via deep bites and mating. So, as long as all are spayed/neutered and all the kitties get along well, the risk of transmission is low.

I would be more inclined to think your other kitties pose more of a risk to her. Her immune system would not be considered normal, so illnesses/infections could cause her more problems.

The in-house tests are not very accurate; I think they have false positives about 10% of the time. So if the lab test shows negative, I'd be inclined to believe that. I don't know why the vet would blame maternal antibodies though. Maybe he just doesn't want to say that some tests are inaccurate :tongue2:.

Oh ok. Thanks all. What sort of health risks? I wonder if i should get another inhouse test?