Leukemia + Test In A 6 Week Old Kitten

[mousycat]

Hello, I recently took in a litter of 5 kitties that were found under a neighbor's porch and the cat momma disappeared. Long story short, all but one white female, Mousy, appeared healthy. Mousy was found very sick, her symptoms included: third eyelid, puss coming from eyes, not eating/anemic, severely thin, completely congested and lethargic. So the next day I took her to the vet and she tested positive for FELV. The vet gave her an antiobiotic shot, eye ointment and a supplement full of vitamins and calories to bring her weight to correct level. 3 days later - the kitten is completely healthy, she's a ferocious eater and is the happiest kitten I've ever seen.

My question is - is it possible that the FELV test could be a false positive. The vet says it's highly unlikely because of her condition when I brought her in, meaning he feels the disease has already damaged her immune system. He also said he's 95% sure the other kittens have it (even though they appear perfectly healthy). Could he be wrong? I can't afford getting them all tested now ($50/each).

Has anyone had a FELV+ kitten at about 6 weeks, followed by e negative test result?

Lastly, I have two other cats in the home, if these kittens are indeed sick, I'll need to surrender them to a shelter. Will they be adoptable? My biggest fear is that they we be killed .

 

[mousycat]

BTW - that is Mousy as my Avatar.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Mousy is adorable! Yes, any of these tests they run can come out false positive, but unless you get another one of the ones who are healthy tested, you won't have much of a clue. It is likely that they are all FeLV positive. They can be healthy with FeLV, it's just that Mousy was weaker and her immune system wasn't strong enough to fight off the secondary infections that come with having FeLV.

I would have another one of the litter tested just to see. If they are not positive, then Mousy may actually have another issue going on.

In any event, since Mousy has recovered, her chances are much better. She should be checked often for secondary issues - that is generally what causes the real problem, not the FeLV itself.

If you had your cats vaccinated for FeLV there is no worry.

 

[Kflowers]

• This is what Alley cats says about Felv test, there is more at their web site
  
• 
  
• Test results can be unreliable and result in false positives. Cats testing positive should be retested at least 28 days after their last possible exposure to the virus.

Here is the addy for their site Protocols: Don’t Test for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)

This may help. They are firm on the concept that a positive on the tests should not be a death sentence.

 

[Kflowers]

Just read that FeebysOwner 's last line again. Alley cats information includes this=

FIV tests do not differentiate between FIV infection and FIV vaccination. A positive test is likely to result in “euthanizing” vaccinated cats who are not infected.

I've heard the same about the FELV vaccination too, but they don't mention that, so I may be wrong.

 

[FeebysOwner]

FeLV tests do not differentiate between the actual infection vs. vaccination - for the same reason as FIV, the vaccination causes the same antibody build up in the blood stream as the actual virus. But, a kitten who has never been vaccinated may have the virus when tested positive - or in some cases could possibly test a false positive.

However, again - if your two resident cats were vaccinated before, they would certainly test positive, but it means that the vaccination did what it was supposed to do and they built the antibodies to ward off the virus - so for them no worries.

 

[kittyluv387]

Most cats have had contact with FELV but they overcome it and will be immune to this virus. Unfortunately in the case of kittens things aren't so simple. You'll have to hang on to them, separately from your resident cats and have the suspect kitten retested in a couple of months. But I do like what FeebysOwner suggested in the meantime. You can test another kitten. I would also vaccinate your resident kitties since they're in a higher risk since they're living with kittens that could possibly be FELV+. If any cat tests positive in a couple months you'll have to follow up with a more accurate test. PCR test is pretty definitive and can even detect a cat with a dormant form of the virus.

 

[StefanZ]

I agree with your thoughts. I think you had got good advices so far, not least kittyluv387 summarizes it nicely.

Im not an expert on this field, but my reaction is, if Mouse recovered so nicely in just 3 days, her immune system must be essentially sound. No felv.
Become attacked and overhelmed down by some other reason than felv.

Still, you dont know for sure, and must play it safe if you have any possibilites to play it safe... Doing it all yourself.

Surrending to the shelter is almost surely an euphemism for putting them down. Because the shelter, unless they do have suitable foster / adoption homes lined up, will of course put them down. They cant fool around with a potentially felv source... They have more than enough with other difficulties... And surely lotsa of sweet kittens and mommas and founds to take care off. They need less, not more.

What you can possibly do with the shelter is try to lend from dem some extra cages, so you can separate more efficiently if need be.

Ps. If you truly believe it is felv, you must of course be careful with hygiene etc.
Felv isnt as contagious as distemper, but more contagious than FIV... So keep the litters apart, food cups, toys, climbing trees. Sterilize in between. Better safe than sorry. Make up a good routine and follow it, so you wont need to think about it the whole time, as long as you have a good routine.

 

[Kflowers]

We had a cat with FELV. We didn't realize it until after the first meeting with our other cats. However, our dominate cat didn't fight with him, or growl or spit, made us think something was up and we took him to the vet. They tested him. He was an adult. We kept him separate from the others after that, separate room, separate food bowls and litter box. No one caught it.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens have their mom’s antibodies at birth so tests are not reliable at this age. Test again at six months. The kitten can have a normal life regardless!

 

[mousycat]

Kittens have their mom’s antibodies at birth so tests are not reliable at this age. Test again at six months. The kitten can have a normal life regardless!

You are correct! Kitten and her siblings were rested and all are FELV/FIV negative, all perfectly healthy. I am thrilled.