I am very new to cats. I have always only had dogs ( and they do not have nearly as many diseases). I found 4 stray kittens who were feral. I have been looking after them for 3 moths. They cam to trust me and came to me when I called them eventually. One of these, Fluffster (the most fiesty male) turned up yesterday with a very badly swollen eye which was threatening to rupture. I realise now that this is a symptom of feline flu. I needed to get him to the vet asap, but had no cash. I asked the cat haven to have their vet look at him and to invoice me the bill. I had to surrender my rights of ownership to the kitten first. The haven vet found that the kitten had "full blown aids" and also feline lukemia as well as cat flu. She argued with me that the cat's mouth ulcers will never heal and taking medication would be painful. I refused to let the cat be put down, however it was anyway because I had surrendered my rights. I fully understand the implications of caring for cat with aids and I realise it needs to be always kept indoors and will develop many problems. I was happy to do this. I am not sure the vet did the right thing. After all the many people care for many years for cats with feline lukemia and aids. Also I was under the impression that a kitten of 4 months was unlikely to be in the later stages of aids as it is a slowly progressing disease. Am I right about this? What is the prognosis for cats with aids, lukemia and cat flu co-infections? Can the secondary infections be kept at bay? Do these cats need to be put down? Why was this cat put down?
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Can a 4 month kitten be in the later stages of feline aids?
- Thread starter sabrina88
- Start Date
I am so sorry this happened to you and to the kitty. I don't have the answers but hang in there. Someone who knows the answers will post a reply to this.
Jenn
Jenn
I am so sorry that you are going thru this! I don't want to break this to you, but you need to know what you are in for.
Nearly all kittens that contract FeLV in the womb will die from the disease before they are 18 months old. Since they were born with it, they have little success at gaining any strong immunity to keep it, or opportunistic infections like cat flu at bay for any period of time. 4 months old may be young to be so ill, but it certainly is not unexpected. A cat can live for a few years, but that is fairly rare.
If this kitten had the disease and the 4 kittens came from the same litter, then it is HIGHLY likely that the rest of them have it also. You should take the rest of them to the vet and have them run an Elisa test to see if they have it. Studies have shown that about 95% of kittens born to a mom with FeLV will be born with it. I had a feral litter of 4 born from a FeLV positive mom and only 1 kitten didn't have the disease (my Lucky Pierre). I was told that I was very lucky.
If you have no other cats and are willing to take this on, I suggest that you keep the rest of the kittens and give them the best life they can. Do not try to adopt them to anyone else that already has a cat until you find out if they have it. Even when cats are vaccinated against the disease, there is a 10% chance that they can contract it.
Mouth ulcers are one of the signs of the disease and if he has it that so young, he is most likely in a lot of pain. They euthanized the kitten because he really didn't have any chance at a pain free life and even if you could get the mouth ulcers under control, he wouldn't live that long anyway. It was a very humane (but sad) thing to do for the little guy.
FeLV is a very cruel disease and the reason why so many feral cat caregivers will get every cat they see neutered. It's main spread is thru mating and fighting that leads up to mating. If you stop that, then there are less unnecessary deaths from diseases like FeLV.
Please let us know how this turns out and *hugs* to you.
Nearly all kittens that contract FeLV in the womb will die from the disease before they are 18 months old. Since they were born with it, they have little success at gaining any strong immunity to keep it, or opportunistic infections like cat flu at bay for any period of time. 4 months old may be young to be so ill, but it certainly is not unexpected. A cat can live for a few years, but that is fairly rare.
If this kitten had the disease and the 4 kittens came from the same litter, then it is HIGHLY likely that the rest of them have it also. You should take the rest of them to the vet and have them run an Elisa test to see if they have it. Studies have shown that about 95% of kittens born to a mom with FeLV will be born with it. I had a feral litter of 4 born from a FeLV positive mom and only 1 kitten didn't have the disease (my Lucky Pierre). I was told that I was very lucky.
If you have no other cats and are willing to take this on, I suggest that you keep the rest of the kittens and give them the best life they can. Do not try to adopt them to anyone else that already has a cat until you find out if they have it. Even when cats are vaccinated against the disease, there is a 10% chance that they can contract it.
Mouth ulcers are one of the signs of the disease and if he has it that so young, he is most likely in a lot of pain. They euthanized the kitten because he really didn't have any chance at a pain free life and even if you could get the mouth ulcers under control, he wouldn't live that long anyway. It was a very humane (but sad) thing to do for the little guy.
FeLV is a very cruel disease and the reason why so many feral cat caregivers will get every cat they see neutered. It's main spread is thru mating and fighting that leads up to mating. If you stop that, then there are less unnecessary deaths from diseases like FeLV.
Please let us know how this turns out and *hugs* to you.
I am so sorry you are going through this. I have lost cats to both diseases, and it is very hard. You have gotten some good advice, so all I can offer is good wishes for you and your little ones.
