[Felvtalk] FelV positive or negative

[Lorrie]

How right you are....... It really is a crap shoot. I test all
newcomers to our sanctuary, but this does not mean the cat will be
Felv negative forever.  There is the re-emergence of the virus, the
test being done wrong, and the window area where a cat has  just
acquired the virus but it does not show up in the blood test yet.
-
Lorrie



> I have many cats. They live in groups, and occasionally one crosses
> from one group to another, or at least they did. All cats in my
> house have been FeLV tested at least twice (a minimum of 45 days
> apart), and all tested negative by Elisa. Two years ago in March,
> after blocking and subsequently going precipitously downhill, my
> Gribble tested positive for FeLV. After a major struggle, we got
> him back, at least for now. I now only test with routine bloodwork,
> or when someone is sick. One other cat has come up positive. He
> previously tested negative 3 times.
> 
> My point in all this is that I no longer believe negative means
> negative. I feel that the virus can become dormant in the bone
> marrow, and re-emerge to cause active infection. So I figure all I
> can do is now keep the groups separate, and vaccinate any incomers.
> Two cats have come in with special needs, and both live with the
> positives, because they also need monitoring. They are vaccinated.
> 
> It's a crap shoot :(
> 
> Margo
>