Questions about Feline Leukemia Virus test?
I have a 3 month old kitten and a 3 year old cat that were tested for FeLV because they were living with a FeLV + cat for quite some time.
The vet said they are both negative and 99% sure that they are not carriers of the virus (and they're now vaccinated against it) so does that mean they were not exposed to FeLV in the whole period of time that they were living with the positive cat? Or could they have been exposed and just killed off the virus?
Even though the test was negative and 99% I'm just so paranoid because the kitten is related to the other cat who had FeLV
So basically there is 99% certainty that neither of the cats will ever get FeLV in their lifetime?
I have vaccinated all my other cats against Feline Leukemia and I have thrown out old toys, litter boxes, and food dishes and basically disinfected the entire house
- Robyn S
Yes it's possible they never got it. FeLV isn't airborne, it's transmitted mainly through bites, but can be transmitted through things like sharing bowls, etc.
Just because they don't have it now, doesn't mean they won't get it in the future. I would vaccinate the negative cats for FeLV.
- Ginny Hem
You should go to the vet and test again for every 6 months. Even if they don't have it, the virus could still be in your household.
- Jennifer
It means that they were exposed to the virus and their own immune systems were able to eradicate it. Even in a litter born to a felv+ mother, some of the kittens can sometimes fight off the infection on their own.
- sunshine10
First the test is accurate BUT..there is an incubation period. IF your kittens got the virus 3 weeks before you tested them it would come up negative..but in 2months it would be positive.
How is the cat related to the one that was positve?????
If it was a sibling and it came from the same mother i guarantee that kitten will come positive.
Feline leukemia is transmitted..from mother to kittens...and body fluid to body fluid mostly..in other words..fighting..mating etc..anywhere saliva comes in contact with blood..a bite wound etc.
Years ago...(i had a cat that had it)..the vets were paranoid about it being contagious..told me i couldn't bring another cat into my house for a year after she died...(this was 20 yrs ago)...now my current vets say it is NOT as easily spread as it had been thought to be...if you read up on it they say it take pro longed contact to transmit the virus.
Before you put these kittens with other cats that are negative..(even if the other cats are vaccinated)...i would retest 60 days after the original test to be sure.
3 months old is just way to young unless they were born with it to be sure they are negative.
- J C
There is a 90 day period between exposure and the virus showing up in the blood stream. While an adult can sometimes fight off the virus, the immune system of a kitten generally cannot. Since you're kitten is only 3 months old, then it's not likely that he's had 90 days of time between his exposure and the date he was tested. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your kitten needs to be retested 90 days from the date he was first exposed. In this situation - known exposure to a FeLV+ cat - a negative test does not mean he's not harboring the virus, just that his test was negative at this point.
How is the kitten related to the other cat who had FeLV? If it's a littermate, or the mother/father of your kitten, then it's unfortunately likely that the kitten has FeLV as well.
The vaccination is also not foolproof - it is at best only 80% effective against preventing FeLV. Yes, 80% is better than nothing, but that means that 1 out of 5 cats (20%) who are exposed to the virus will get it anyway. FeLV is a nasty, contagious disease - and the only way to really prevent it is to test every cat who comes into the household, and know the FeLV status of their parents.
Leukemia — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment of this blood-related cancer.
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