I have a 13 year old cat (Miles) still living strong with feline leukemia. I rescued a kitten (Molly) from the street in august, I kept her in a separate room until it was time for her first shots. Everytime I planned on entering the room, i'd wash my hands, in hopes of her not contracting the virus. So, leetle Molly is 6 months old now, all of her shots are completed, she still stays in the separate room, and i still wash my hands everytime i enter the room, even though shes vaccinated against leukemia. But i guess she feels cramped in the room, so pretty much everyday, often multiple times, she'll bolt out and try to play with my other cat and run wild throughout the house. So after a long boring read, my question finally emerges: Is this okay?! She's not out for long, i think the longest i've ever let her stay out is 30 minutes. I'm ontop of her the entire time, and i dont let her near Miles' litter or bowls. Family members have compared me to the mother in "flowers in the attic"; saying im being cruel and such, since she's vaccinated and i still keep her locked up in the room. But I'm always so worried, i don't want her to get sick. I can't deal with another life threatening illness, it breaks my heart. So, the ONLY way to catch leukemia is through wet salivia, urine, feces, and blood..correct? Is allowing her to run around the house taking a big risk?
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FELV+cat & -kitten...dumb question!
- Thread starter xxjustmusicxx
- Start Date
If she is vaccinated against it, why can she not join him? I know that lots of people advise against vaccination because it can can be confused with the real thing in tests, but I would have said this was one case where it is a good idea so both your cats can live a normal life. What is your vet's advice?
Don't let her join him until she's a year old. That's sort of the magic number as far as immunity goes. Kittens are at the biggest risk for contracting FeLV from another cat.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
my vet says its okay, but eh, i hear so many stories, i dont know what to believe. My big guys really not mean to her, he doesnt hiss or growl. And he's so lazy when he wants to hit her, he does it in slow motion. I don't think he'll bite her, especially since he only has fangs on one side of his mouth ha. But i guess ill just continue to be watchful. I just want her to get used to other people already, if she doesnt have access to the bedroom she hides under the couch, she seeks too much security in it, i dont want her to be skiddish.
The vaccine is about 80% effective. If you let her out, just make sure you are watching her very closely. I would not let these two interact without your supervision. I too have heard many horror stories
Here is an excerpt from an article written by a vet for a feral charity - if anyone would like the full article, please pm me - there is another one on FIV
Of kittens over four months or adult cats, only a small percentage become permanently infected. The vast majority will produce antibodies to the virus and recover from the infection. These cats will have a life-long immunity to FeLV, which can be assessed by the Virus Neutralising Antibody (or VN) test. (This test is only carried out at the Feline Virus Unit at the University of Glasgow, and vets can send a blood sample to them.). However, many vets do not appear to have heard of this test, so you may need to ask for it specifically
It will be obvious from this, that the most susceptible age-group to infection with FeLV is the six weeks to four month-old kitten. Of those which become permanently infected, 80-85% will die within 2-5 years. Kittens infected before birth will also die within this time-scale.
It might be worth seeing if your vet has heard of this VN test - this is an English article. If so, I would do it, as if she has an immunity to it, she should be fine.
Of kittens over four months or adult cats, only a small percentage become permanently infected. The vast majority will produce antibodies to the virus and recover from the infection. These cats will have a life-long immunity to FeLV, which can be assessed by the Virus Neutralising Antibody (or VN) test. (This test is only carried out at the Feline Virus Unit at the University of Glasgow, and vets can send a blood sample to them.). However, many vets do not appear to have heard of this test, so you may need to ask for it specifically
It will be obvious from this, that the most susceptible age-group to infection with FeLV is the six weeks to four month-old kitten. Of those which become permanently infected, 80-85% will die within 2-5 years. Kittens infected before birth will also die within this time-scale.
It might be worth seeing if your vet has heard of this VN test - this is an English article. If so, I would do it, as if she has an immunity to it, she should be fine.
There is always a risk from letting a negative cat interact closely with a positive cat, even if that cat is vaccinated. That said, everyone I know who has let vaccinated cats interact with positive cats has had no problems at all.
The virus is only spread from body fluid to body fluid (e.g. saliva to saliva, blood to saliva, semen to blood, urine to saliva, etc), so you don't need to worry about disinfecting yourself before handling her. It's not all that easy to transmit.
The virus is only spread from body fluid to body fluid (e.g. saliva to saliva, blood to saliva, semen to blood, urine to saliva, etc), so you don't need to worry about disinfecting yourself before handling her. It's not all that easy to transmit.
