Feline Leukemia Virus

[Shandycat]

I have an 18 month old cat that has tested negative four times for leukemia. He recently became ill and now tests positive. He's had no exposure to FeLV+ cats and has even been vaccinated. Is it possible this positive is false?

[fkagarise]

It is possible that this test is a false positive. I am wondering why your vet has tested your cat four times? What is your vet saying now? Is your cat still sick and if so, what things are happening?

I have had a cat who was feline leukemia positive, who has passed away but not from that.

Rose

[Shandycat]

I found the cat at a rescue shelter and they had already tested and vaccinated for FeLV. When I took him to my vet the first time, she tested again, "just to be sure." Then he started having problems with stomatitis about six months after I got him so she tested him again--still negative. Now he's showing neurological signs (stiff rear legs), fever, wasting, etc., all the textbook signs of FeLV, so she tested him yet again and this time it was positive. A part of me is hoping that it's not really FeLV because of all those negatives, but maybe I'm just not ready to accept I'm going to lose him. We're going to try Interferon, but based on his advanced symptoms I'm not expecting him to last very long.

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty--how did you manage the FeLV? How long did she/he live?

[fkagarise]

I have a couple of thoughts. Please go back to the peer to peer for this topic. Under "how long to cats normally live" read my post from Sunday Jan 18th. This will tell you all about my Moochie.

I am still finding it strange that your cat was negative six months ago and is now positive, with no exposure. I was very frustrated when trying to find info with Moochie. My vet, who I have had for 18 years and is great, didn't know much because, like the majority of vets, she recommends putting positive cats to sleep right away. I do NOT agree with this.

I had a cat many years ago, before we moved to this city, so it was a different vet. This cat stopped eating and seemed on the verge of dying. My vet ran every test and found nothing. She thought maybe it was cancer. In my process of trying to force feed him, I noticed that his mouth looked a little swollen so I had the vet check his mouth. She did find a tooth that was broken but didn't think that was the problem. I had her remove the tooth anyway. Turned out the tooth was broken off at the gum and it was the problem.

Also, go to www.peteducation.com - under cat articles, type in stomatitis and read the results.

Rose