Possible Feline Leukemia?

Hello everyone! It has been a while, but now I am back. Unfortunately not with th best of news.

Over the past week, our cat Spring started to rapidly lose weight, and a week or so past her flea treatment, the fleas were quick to hop on her and start drinking her blood. She vommited her food up hursday, and we planned to bring her in last Friday, but she went missing. We found her later in the middle of the night on the window sill.

The next morning she looked horrible, and without a car, we syringe fed and watered her. Yesterday morning we brought her into Emergency Vet and they took blood-work and said all her organs were behaving perfectly. Everything was strong, other than not digesting her food. She diarreaed her wet cat food, and it looked exactly like it did when we put it in. They did say she was 8-10% dehydrated and very mildly flea anemic. They did not offer euthanizing as an option and said she would look way more better the next day after the B vitamins, and special wet cat food that we needed to syringe feed her. They gave her fluids and she seemed to perk up. Well, last night she started to breathe through just her mouth, and died shortly after with a spasm. It was horrible.

I realized that rapidly losing weight, vomitting once or twice, and looking very dehydrated and out of it could be Leukemia Virus symptoms? She did get out a month or so ago, but did not get bit or anything. She has suffered with food allergies, flea allergies, flea medication allergies, and everything in between. Taking care of her has been an expensive procedure.

BUT my worry is now focused on my own cat, Cleo. Spring was not positively tested for Leukemia, but it seems likely to me. Spring and Cleo do not interact with each other at all, and only thing they share is the litter box. Once, Cleo walked over Spring'd vomit right before I picked it up. Is it extremely likely she may have it? I heard it's really transmitted by saliva, and no saliva contact has happened...I am extremely worried, and after bringing Spring to the Emergency Vet I cannot bring Cleo in to be tested until Thursday. She seems totally normal, pooping, eating, everything. The only difference is that she made a weird sound once 4 days ago, and to me she seems slightly clingy. Sitting in front of the computer where I am, which rarely happens. Other than that....

The only contact there has been have been perhaps walking around in the same room, laying on the same windowsill, ect.

If you are worried that Spring may have had FeLV, the best thing to do is call your vet and ask for an appointment to get Cleo FeLV tested.  It is an easy procedure that a tech can do, just need three drops of blood for most of the kits.  Since they were in the same house together for some time, Cleo easily could have caught it if Spring had it.  They do not need terribly close contact; FeLV is quite contagious.

I hope it is something else, though.  Your description of the bloodwork that the E-Vet ran doesn't scream FeLV to me, but I'm a tech, not a vet.  It could be FeLV and it could be something else entirely.  I'm a little surprised that the E-Vet didn't include a SNAP for FeLV and FIV in their workup, but diff'rent folks, strokes, etc.

Spring's history of allergy issues also doesn't coincide totally with a diagnosis of FeLV.  Allergies are from an overactive immune system and FeLV cats usually have a suppressed immune system.  I'd be more likely to suspect FeLV if you'd said she had a history of getting frequent URIs or other infections.

This all being said, there isn't much you can do until Cleo is tested.  Then you'll know for sure and you can go from there.  I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of Spring.  If you do get another cat, I strongly recommend adopting a cat that has been tested already for FeLV.  We test all our fosters before adoption because it is too contagious and too deadly for us to mess with.

And another thing, Cleo may be acting weird because she is in mourning.  Even if she wasn't close to Spring, she has noticed that Spring is no longer around and she is responding also to your sadness and stress.  So some abnormal behavior, from clinginess to moping, is pretty par for the course for a cat who's just lost a family member.

I agree that Cleo is likely clingy now due to the loss of Spring, regardless of whether or not they were close buddies or not.

I also agree that it does not sound at all like FELV with Spring, weight loss doesn't happen suddenly within a week's time.

I highly suspect something else was going on and it was not identified.

In the rare case it was felv, it's not that easy to catch as once suspected either.

Yes through saliva, but with mutual grooming type contact daily over a period of time, and even then, the majority of cats are able to fight it off and be rid of it.

Besides, it takes a long time for signs to start showing if an adult contracts felv as an adult.

I actually do not think Spring has ever had a URI...or any infections...I realize it could have been anything, but the rapid weight loss really scared me. She always had digestive issues, though...but it stopped after switching to even better food. She was always Neurotic, though. For years, and I believe FeLV would had already overtaken her way back then. The only thing the Emergency Vets did, though, was do a blood test, and I guess everything came back as acting normally. She lost nearly 3 pounds, and the palpitations felt doughy(?). I really hope it isn't FeLV, as I realize my relationship with Cleo is a little beyond...normal.

But yeah...Spring always seemed 'sickly', with allergies and just everything in between. Even Neurotic for years. As soon as we adopted her from the shelter. We definitely know, ourselves, that she only pooped once, and it was just wet cat food. So something digestive was not working.

Hmmn...interesting. Weight loss might have happened within 2 weeks, but that's about it.
Perhaps what she was experiencing was not allergies?
She couldn't hold down inexpensive food because she was allergic to it, and one flea bite would give her a few hives..she constantly groomed and chewed at herself(with flea treatments).
What is definitely associated with FeLV, then? Hmmn..
And Cleo and Spring never groomed each other, there was no interaction whatsoever physically between them at all. But the litter box was shared, and windowsills a little.

Any one else have any thoughts about this?

Bringing her in Thursday, but I'm interested in other opinions.