[Felvtalk] FELV contagious

dlgegg at windstream.net dlgegg at windstream.net
Wed Aug 13 16:53:35 CDT 2014


THAT IS THE ONLY VACCINE I GET NOW AND I MAY STOP IT SINCE MY PRIDE DOES NOT GET INTO BITING FIGHTS, JUST SNARLING AND HISSING AND SWATTING.
---- "Katherine K." <kathstix at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Hi Maya,
> 
> I have 2 cats who have lived together for a long time. I found out one was
> positive. The other tested negative, so I had her vaccinated against FeLV.
> But, they had already been in very close contact for a long time. If you do
> decide to bring in a negative cat, definitely make sure he/she is
> vaccinated against FeLV. It is not a fool proof vaccine but it helps.
> 
> However, perhaps you could find another FeLV+ friend for Merlot. You could
> alert volunteers and staff at your local shelters and rescues to contact
> you before euthanizing if one of their strays tests positive for FeLV or if
> they hear of any positive cats. Or keep an eye on local rescue websites. We
> have one in the U.S. called Craigslist where people are always dumping or
> rehoming their pets.
> 
> I personally wouldn't want to introduce a healthy cat to my positive cat.
> But that's an interesting perspective about saving one from death row, and
> certainly something to consider. And I know others on the list have done
> it, without many issues. Hopefully you can find a positive friend for
> Merlot. I do hate to think of him being lonely! <3
> 
> Katherine
> 
> 
> On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Maya D'Alessio <mdelow at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > So, my one cat Merlot is clearly lonely.  He is used to being second in
> > command to our cat Yang who passed away.
> >
> > I work with a cat rescue, and the cats there all live communally until
> > they are adopted (with a quarantine area for cats on meds/who are really
> > sick).  She thinks that there isn't much of a problem with bringing another
> > cat in to the house, as long as the other cat is not immune compromised,
> > etc.  This contrasts with what my vet says - no other cat contact.
> >
> > I'm not sure who to believe here.  Obviously FELV is contagious, and it is
> > passed from cat to cat.  The chance of that increases with increased
> > contact, but the lady made it seem that for the 20 years she's been running
> > the place she has only had a handful of FELV+ cats, none of them died from
> > it, and she had a 19 year old cat who had lived with all of them test
> > negative for FELV recently.  I can't imagine being responsible for exposing
> > another cat to the virus and getting them sick, but I also feel bad for
> > Merlot who is lonely.  I was thining maybe I would consider (in six months
> > or so), trying to take in a cat who was not going to find another home.
> >  ie. an older cat, or a cat from a society that they were about to put down.
> >
> > What do you guys think / what has your vet said to you about this?
> >
> > --
> > Maya D'Alessio
> > PhD student
> > B1 377B, x32320
> > Graduate Student Endowment Fund Coordinator
> > Biology GSA Vice Chair
> > GSA Director At-Large
> > University of Waterloo
> >
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> >
> >




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