[Felvtalk] Cats with FelV

[Ardy Robertson]

Wow - I am blown away by all of this......so really no test is reliable. My
vet told me you test once and it may be unreliable so you test again 30 days
later to be sure! Apparently you cannot ever be "sure". My vet also told me
the vaccination for FeLV and FIP can be ineffective. So, basically any cat
can have FeLV at any stage of their life, and testing is never a sure
thing???

I am 65 and have never at any point in my life not had at least one cat, and
usually two or three. With the exception of a few cats who had accidents
when they were outside, all of my cats have always lived to be 19, 20, 21 -
right in there. FeLV was never an issue that I knew of -  do you all feel
that FeLV is on the rise?

Thanks,
Ardy


-----Original Message-----
From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of
Margo
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 10:51 AM
To: felinerescue at frontier.com; felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Cats with FelV

Lorrie wrote" A positive cat can either convert to negative, or carry the
virus all it's life and show no symptoms, or die, usually in their first
year."

Or it seems that they can test negative, or "convert" to negative and yet
still carry the virus in a dormant state, and while they will test negative
by most means, may still re-convert to positive.

Mako is 15. His mother was FeLV-. He was tested at 8 weeks when neutered,
and again at three months before he went into general population (he was not
adopted). Both times he was negative. He occasionally had bloodwork over the
years, and was negative in 2004 and in 2010 (when he blocked). In May of
2013, I noticed his pupils were unequal, and since anisocoria can be
associated with FeLV, he was tested again. This time he was positive. He's
still (knocking madly on wood) here, but we're on a downhill slide.

Gribble showed up in 2011 at about 8 months old. Negative. Re-test at 3
months. Negative. Blocked, crashed Feb 2013. Diagnosed FeLV+ 3/2/2013.

Both have also tested + by Elisa.

So I don't trust any test. Nor do I believe that they are safe after a
certain age. 

JME,

Margo



-----Original Message-----
>From: Lorrie <felinerescue at frontier.com>
>Sent: May 18, 2016 11:14 AM
>To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
>Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Cats with FelV
>
>Hi Ardy,  As you probably know we rescue and have 13 cats at home plus 
>28 more in our cageless sanctuary. Therefore we've had many cats who 
>have tested positive for FelV.  Most were kittens and they were 
>isolated in our isolation rooms, and they seemed so playful and well I 
>couldn't believe they had the FelV virus, then one by one at about
>8 months old they suddenly started to get very sick. The longest any of 
>these kittens lived was 1 1/2 years.  They died of either anemia, 
>cancer, or tumors, and had to be euthanized.  Kittens seem to have a 
>worse time with FelV than grown cats because the immune system of 
>kittens is not fully developed, and they usually die.  However, this 
>isn't always the case.  We have two grown cats who tested positive as 
>kittens and lived many years. One is about 9 now and seems fine, the 
>other one seemed fine and suddenly just died with no signs of illness 
>at all.  I do not know if these two cats converted back to negative or 
>not, as they are/were sanctuary cats  who were born of a feral mother, 
>and they were very skittish. Only one of them was tested again and she 
>was still positive when spayed at two years old.
>-
>
>FelV is a very complicated virus and we continue learn as much as 
>possible about it. With FelV I understand three things can happen. A 
>positive cat can either convert to negative, or carry the virus all 
>it's life and show no symptoms, or die, usually in their first year.
>-
>
>I don't recall saying "most cats have converted after some time", as 
>sadly "most' don't.  I don't think anyone really knows why some cats 
>can live with the virus, others can convert, and some die. It's an 
>awful virus, and I'm sorry your Tigger was one of the cats who didn't 
>make it.
>
>Lorrie
>-
>
>On 05-17, Ardy Robertson wrote:
>>    Hi Lorrie - if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by "most
cats
>>    you have taken in have converted after some time"? Does that mean they
>>    no longer have FeLV, and if so, what do you attribute that to?
>> 
>> 
>>    Thank you,
>> 
>>    Ardy
>
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