How long does FelV persist in organic matter?

[adrianne259]

Hi guys! I have a silly, paranoid question. I'm taking care of a cat that is positive to feline leukemia. She had some stomach issues and I started giving her some cbd oil (did wonders for her), which I "borrowed" from my own cat. Anyway, while giving the sick kitty the oil, I touched her gums with the dropper and put it back in the bottle. Now I'm wondering if I can transfer FelV to my cat if I use the same dropper and oil (mine gets her oil in food, so there will be no direct contact). It has been about a week since this happened, I know leukemia doesn't live long on surfaces outside the cat, bit I still want to make sure, since this is an organic matter, and I know leukemia is transferred if cats share food bowls.
If there's anyone who can help, I'm eternally grateful

 

[di and bob]

I have a cat that was diagnosed with FeLV 18 months ago and was told to assume my other cats had it too. There have been no signs of extreme illness like this cat had experienced. (who was said to have been very close to death "Anytime now") Doing research, there sure is a lot of conflicting advice. It said it can be transmitted during fights (deep bites) and mutual grooming, but RARELY through eating/drinking and using the same litterbox. The virus does not survive outside the body for more than a few hours, so even in your bottle, it would die. If your resident cat is older, the chances are if even if he contracted it he will be able to fight it off, the mortality rate is VERY high in under a year old. If you can keep them going, even when sick, they build new white and red blood cells every 30 days if the bone marrow hasn't been affected. I think that is what happened with my cat. I give all my liquid meds in a shared pack of Hartz Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. (they don't like the bisque). It also is the ONLY thing my cat would take a few licks of when he lost half his body weight and was so near death. So I keep it well-stocked here. It is available online at Walmart and Target, and in-store at those and Dollar General. I also give them DMG and Amazon's LifeGold (for cancers) every morning in it.
I think the chances are VERY small you have transferred the disease this way, but the advise is so conflicting it is impossible to know for sure, I really think as long as there haven't been any deep bites you will be fine. But even vets disagree on this!

 

[adrianne259]

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm totally confused by this kitty, and especially by the info I find. She's doing really well, actually, the vet is guessing that she was probably born with it, as she is very young. Her bloowork is good, and she even survived panleukopenia about a month ago (that's another long story) . She is not in the same home as my cat, I keep them completely separate to make sure my kitty is safe, as she has health issues of her own.
I'm very sorry to hear about your cat. Is he/she still alive? I know the virus is horrible, but we haven't seen the worst of it yet. Here she is btw, as cuddly as they come
.

 

[di and bob]

My cats survived distemper too, when they were strays and still kittens. Many of the others died. They all have long lasting ill effects, mostly lung damage. But still hanging in there! They were diagnosed 18 months ago now, when the one, Yammy, was only given days to live. We dug his grave he was so bad! I really credit the DMG and the Life Gold. They are 8, 7.5,and 7 now, all fat and sassy! I pray your little one can fight it off too,don't give up!