Feline Leukemia Virus

[MariaHarakidas]

Hi Everyone, new to the group.

My cat, Provolone, is just under a year old and is FeLV negative. We are having new roommates move in at the end of the month who have a FeLV+ cat. My initial reaction is that I can't bring myself to put my precious Provolone at risk, but I feel bad about telling my new roommates that they can't bring their cat to our condo. Their cat is just a little over a year old and has been FeLV+ for most, if not all, of its life.

I'm trying to do as much research on the virus as possible and I even contacted my vet to ask about the vaccine & the booster shot. She told me that it's not worth it to get the shot because my cat could still contract the virus (all was told over the phone, she did not examine my cat) and that these two cats should not co-exist together. She specifically said, "if you have one cat with leukemia, you have ALL cats with leukemia." On the other hand, my roommate's sister is a vet herself. She said that the shots should do the trick and to keep the cats separate until we see how they interact with each other.

I have two conflicting opinions and I just don't know what to do. Call me crazy, but my little Provolone is my world (I adopted her from the humane society at 4 weeks old) and I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I put her at risk and she became deathly ill.

Does anyone out there have any advice for me? What do I tell my new roommates to do with their infected cat? Does anyone have two cats, one positive and one negative, that co-exist together?

Thank you for your help!

[sms1062]

Hi,

I have just had one of my one year old ragdolls test positive but her sister is negative. From what I have read it is contagious through saliva, urine, faeces etc so can be spread through litter trays and food bowls. I am struggling to manage this and it is only been one day. I wouldn't risk it.

I have also been told that there are issues with the vaccine that can cause problems for the cat later.

What did you end up doing?

sms