need RELIABLE info on feline leukemia

i am trying to find out if i need to have one of my cats re-tested
well he's actually my daughters cat, but he is with me so much i feel like he is mine lol

anyway, he was tested by the shelter and was negative
however, things i have heard about this shelter (actually its a communal foster home, no cages, and the owner has her own 6 to 8 cats who go outdoors but are supposedly seperated from the fosters)

anyway! i have heard things that make me wonder what he might have been exposed to while he was there.

now, he was adopted about a year ago, and lived with my daughter for about 5 mos and has been with me ever since.
so he has only been exposed to her other cat and my two cats, and they all appear quite healthy

he seems fairly healthy too, but he has horrible dental disease for such a young cat (only about two years old, we estimate)
and he has had a yeast infection in his ears (not subsequent to treatment for mites, so no idea why he would have gotten this)
and chin acne

and he has environmental allergies (atopy)


i read about those things and everything i read said that they were uncommon in young cats UNLESS their immune system was compromised.......

so put that together with not being sure how well protected he was from infected cats in the foster home, and i am concerned

but i dont know if i should be

he has been eating and drinking and sharing litterboxes with three other cats, and they are all healthy, so does that mean that he is probably NOT infected?
i read that Felv is easy to transmit

i have an elderly sick cat, so i would think if he was infected, she would be too , wouldn't she?

i am so confused!!

he is going in for a dental next week, and i need to know if he should be retested, but we really can't afford the extra expense unless there is good reason to be worried

i ALWAYS worry- but that does not mean i have good reason to!!

anyone with experience with large numbers of cats and feline leukemia, what do you think his risk is?

thanks

This website, I trust without question

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FeLV.html

I wouldn't consider it "necessary" for him to be tested, simply because if he does in fact have it, the other cats have already been exposed and either have been infected or (more likely, actually) are resistant and will be fine.

Juvenile gingivitis is not terribly common in cats as a whole, but where I live it is actually really common. Genetics is a major cause, with prenatal and neonatal malnutrition as contributing factors. Several of my cats have/had severe juvenile gingivitis and all are FeLV and FIV negative.

The issues your daughter's cat has sound to me more like fairly typical issues for a basically healthy cat who was malnourished early in life. With feline leukemia, it is more common that the cat is very healthy until, quite suddenly, he becomes very ill and dies within a week of this illness.

The only way to know for sure is to re-test, of course, but I think it is very unlikely that he would test positive. If finances are an issue, I think it would be wise to put the $75 in a savings account toward emergency vet care should he need it someday.

hi
i posted earlier looking for info on feline leukemia

thanks to all who replied

since then i spoke the vet who said what he is concerned about is feline aids
and he wants the cat tested (cat in question is only about two years old and has severe dental disease, hence our concern)

ok- now, the cat is from a shelter/foster home, he was found as a stray but was already neutered

they did the test and it was negative.

he has lived with a female cat, who previously lived with a cat who had and died of feline aids
this female cat appears healthy and has not been tested for aids

the female cat has bitten the male cat who needs the dental, but she could not give him the virus that way, even if she had it could she???

i am so confused

i am a bit panicked
i just adore this boy and dont want anything to happen to him.

just how common is this feline aids any way???

thanks

I don't know much about those illnesses, but here is a link to some great info.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ht=feline+aids
At the top of the forum is a search tool that will help you find even more info. Best of luck with your little man.

I merged your posts- as they are still along the same lines. There is a mail list for cat owners dealing with this issue. It was sent to me a long time ago, let me see if I can find it. I do remember when I went there, the people were very nice and informative.


I found it in my folder

FeLV Mailing List

thanks!!

i should try to relax and wait til he is tested, could be worried for nothing

but boy are his teeth bad! (his breath too)