FeLV and Stress?

Hello everyone,

I'm new here... I found this forum while I was trying to do research on feline leukemia. I looked through the other threads here that talked about feline leukemia, but I wanted to ask some questions myself and maybe get a little encouragement...

Just last week I discovered that my precious 3 year old male orange tabby "Box" tested FeLV+. The vet tested him because he had been getting sick a lot lately, which initially the vet thought was just due to stress. He used to live with another cat who was very bossy and territorial, so I rehomed her thinking that she was causing him to stress so much that he was getting sick.

Well, Box recovered and seemed to be back to his old ways so I thought I would find him a new friend to play with so he wouldn't have to be alone. After bringing the new kitty home, "Nigel", Box became sick again and that's when we took him to the vet last week, only to find out that he tested positive for feline leukemia.

I have been so stressed lately because now I have introduced a new cat into the home (whom tested negative before adoption) and am risking his health. Initially the cats were not separated and shared food bowls, water bowls, and litter boxes. Once I found out Box was FeLV+, I contained him in the bedroom with only occasional trips outside the room so he won't be so lonely. 

I did start Nigel on his first FeLV vaccination yesterday, so he will be getting his booster in one month. Now Box and Nigel have their own separate food/water bowls and litter boxes and I wash my hands regularly after touching Box. In two months the vet wants to retest Nigel, but I also think Box should be retested.

My main concern is... I hear stress is bad for FeLV+ cats, can someone elaborate on that? Will keeping him separated all the time stress him out or should I risk exposure to Nigel by letting Box out occasionally? How does stress affect a FeLV+ cat?

Thank you for your time!!

~ Bluiejoe

Hi bluiejoe, here's an article on FeLV :- [article="29711"]​[/article]

bluiejoe said:

 
~ Bluiejoe

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While FeLV is worse in kittens it is still very serious in adult cats and while they can live for significant periods of time the median survival time according to the Cornell Vet school article is 2.5 years.  It is highly contagious and can by spread via mutual grooming.  If you did an in house Elisa test the next thing to do is have a sample sent out for a more precise IFA test as that can tell you how much virus is actually in the body.  The FeLV vaccine isn't very good and personally would never mix a neg and a pos cat in the same environment.  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/brochure_felv.cfm

Thank you both!

I have looked at several different websites and there seems to be varying opinions on the contagiousness of FeLV. A coworker of mine suggested that I find a new home for Nigel, since he was originally FeLV-. However, I have no way of knowing now if he has already contracted it or not after being around Box for a week. This is why this situation bothers me so much. :/ I was totally unprepared for this. Again, I will have Nigel tested in about 2 months as advised by the vet. I am going to ask about the IFA test for Box.

Since I can't know for sure, I am assuming Box contracted the virus from his mom and had it his whole life. He always had some eye drainage and sneezed every now and then. He's always been a inside cat since I adopted him. (he was found as a one month old stray and brought to the shelter) It wasn't until recently though that he got very sick. Currently he's on antibiotics, and we will see how he does after that's over. 

Thank you again for the additional info. Honestly, it just helps me to be able to talk with other people about this so I can relieve some of this stress. Box has been one of the best cats I've ever had. I hate seeing him like this.

Just keep watch and see what's the outcome after the vet's visit. Feel free to ask more questions as many ppl here with good knowledge and experience here like StephenQ will be able to help

bluiejoe said:

 
Thank you both!

I have looked at several different websites and there seems to be varying opinions on the contagiousness of FeLV. A coworker of mine suggested that I find a new home for Nigel, since he was originally FeLV-. However, I have no way of knowing now if he has already contracted it or not after being around Box for a week. This is why this situation bothers me so much. :/ I was totally unprepared for this. Again, I will have Nigel tested in about 2 months as advised by the vet. I am going to ask about the IFA test for Box.

Since I can't know for sure, I am assuming Box contracted the virus from his mom and had it his whole life. He always had some eye drainage and sneezed every now and then. He's always been a inside cat since I adopted him. (he was found as a one month old stray and brought to the shelter) It wasn't until recently though that he got very sick. Currently he's on antibiotics, and we will see how he does after that's over. 

Thank you again for the additional info. Honestly, it just helps me to be able to talk with other people about this so I can relieve some of this stress. Box has been one of the best cats I've ever had. I hate seeing him like this.

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Hey

I'm not sure what sites you've been to but the consensus among the vet community is the FeLV is very contagious.  FIV and FeLV are sometimes called the unfriendly vs the friendly diseases, in that it takes (besides neo-natal) two  unfriendly cats to transmit FIV (deep bites) but FeLV is the friendly disease because all it takes is grooming.  On the other hand there is no reason to suspect your one cat has gotten it so soon from Box, so total separation is highly recommended.  In time your other cat can be tested and if he re-tests neg you can revisit the idea of finding him another home.  Keeping Box stress free, well fed and with supportive therapies can all help.

Thank you again for the advice! Just a update on Box...

The last two days of his antibiotics he started to go down hill. It was strange to me considering he wasn't even off his medicine yet. However, yesterday morning he perked up a bit for awhile but then slept all the rest of the day. Today he slept a bunch too but he was more active and seemed very happy and affectionate. I know he's not well though, because he has a hard time jumping down from counters and other places that aren't very high up. He seems to be very achey and he's pretty thin. The spot where they took his blood for the FeLV test has also not healed yet...and that was done about a week and a half ago.

My family has advised that I go ahead and put him to sleep, but seeing him in such high spirits makes that decision even harder. It's easy when I see him in his down moments, but not when he's acting all sweet and cuddly. On the flip side, that makes life easier for everyone (especially Nigel). I just don't want to give up too soon and cut Box's life short when he could possibly have more left to live. I don't want him to be miserable though...

any advice or kind words would be greatly appreciated. <3

bluiejoe said:

 
Thank you again for the advice! Just a update on Box...

The last two days of his antibiotics he started to go down hill. It was strange to me considering he wasn't even off his medicine yet. However, yesterday morning he perked up a bit for awhile but then slept all the rest of the day. Today he slept a bunch too but he was more active and seemed very happy and affectionate. I know he's not well though, because he has a hard time jumping down from counters and other places that aren't very high up. He seems to be very achey and he's pretty thin. The spot where they took his blood for the FeLV test has also not healed yet...and that was done about a week and a half ago.

My family has advised that I go ahead and put him to sleep, but seeing him in such high spirits makes that decision even harder. It's easy when I see him in his down moments, but not when he's acting all sweet and cuddly. On the flip side, that makes life easier for everyone (especially Nigel). I just don't want to give up too soon and cut Box's life short when he could possibly have more left to live. I don't want him to be miserable though...

any advice or kind words would be greatly appreciated. <3

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Generally we look at attitude and abilities: 

Abilities: Does he get around? Use the litter box and eat?  Is he living with dignity?  Can he clean himself?

Attitude:  Does he seem engaged? Reasonably active?  If he is depressed, hiding or has a far away stare then that's not good.

Try and put yourself in his place.  Would you want to be around in his condition?

It sounds like he isn't ready yet.  But many people wait too long, so be mindful of his condition.  It sounds like his immune system is quite compromised so he may not have long....

All the best

Stephen

One last update on Box... maybe this will help someone else going through the same thing.

After Box's last round of antibiotics he seemed to recover from the infection, and was acting almost completely back to normal. He even played a little bit! However, only after a week, he began to sleep a LOT and would not want to do anything else. He was still eating and drinking for awhile, but it wasn't long before that stopped too. It was everything I could do to get him to want to eat and drink. I would sit there with him with his food dish and try to encourage him to eat. He would only take a few bites before wanting to retreat to the bed where he slept all day. I could tell he wasn't feeling well, I could see it in his eyes. He didn't seem to have a fever though.

Once the eating and drinking had dwindled, I knew I needed to take him back to the vet. The vet ran blood work on him and had discovered that his immune system was "attacking itself". The only option we had was to pump him full of steroids in hopes of shutting down his immune system, and then pairing that with antibiotics so that he wouldn't get sick. Then there was some other third medication that he was going to have to go on, and after all of that the vet could not guarantee that he would get better or not be miserable going through all of that.

It was at that time that I made the painful decision to let him go. I still struggle with that decision from time to time, wondering if I had done the right thing. I believe I did what was right for Box though, considering all that he had been through since November - three separate infections and then now this immune system thing. It was also a very hard emotional process for me to watch him get sick and then well, then sick again, then well again...etc. We take our other cat in about 4 weeks to get tested for FeLV to see if he caught it from Box.

I miss him terribly.

bluiejoe
I am very sorry about your loss. It is very difficult to lose a kitty, especially after you tried so many things.

One thing that has helped me deal with the grief of losing my kitty recently was posting in the "Crossing the Bridge" forum. Everyone there is very understanding and can offer support for you at this difficult time.

Talking about your handsome Box can also help you remember the good times you shared with him. This helps blur the more recent experiences

bluiejoe said:

................It was at that time that I made the painful decision to let him go. I still struggle with that decision from time to time, wondering if I had done the right thing. I believe I did what was right for Box though, considering all that he had been through since November - three separate infections and then now this immune system thing. It was also a very hard emotional process for me to watch him get sick and then well, then sick again, then well again...etc. We take our other cat in about 4 weeks to get tested for FeLV to see if he caught it from Box.

I miss him terribly.

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I'm sorry to hear this you did all your best for Box and I'm sure he knew it. My heart heart goes out to you. Take care.