Brad Stone wrote:

I heard that *some* cats recover from Leukemia and will eventually
test negative for it.

Some cats do fight off the infection. But at this point, since it sounds as
though your vet did the in-office Elisa test, he should follow up with a second
test (IFA) to confirm the first. This test is normally sent away to a lab. If
this test confirms the FeLV status, the cat probably is FeLV positive. If it's
negative, then there's a good chance either the first test was a false positive
or the cat will clear the infection.

Should I consider moving Socks into my guest
bedroom where she can not have any contact with my cats? Or is that too
risky for my other cats? I hear that the Leukemia virus *might* be
transmitted via my shoes, hands, etc.

We went through this with a stray we took in a few months ago, although in our
case she was FeLV negative and we were just waiting to re-test to make sure she
hadn't been exposed right before we took her in. FeLV is spread mainly through
the repeated exchange of saliva. It doesn't live very long outside a wet
environment. In our case, we decided that washing our hands with disinfectant
after leaving the room in which we were keeping her was sufficient. I think the
chances of your cats getting FeLV from virus on your shoes is very slim,
especially since they've been vaccinated. Of course, the vaccine is only about
70-80 percent effective, but that still reduces the risk considerably should
your cats be exposed.

Yikes. I'm sure life in my guest
bedroom would be very dull for her, but maybe after 8 weeks or so I
could get her tested again.

I don't know. We had a hard time keeping our cat confined for more than four
weeks. Eight weeks is a mighty long time for a cat. I think you may not know if
it's workable unless you try it, but after a while she will probably be trying
to get out at every chance.


If she tests negative then I can either
keep her as a 3rd cat or find a good home for her. Of course, my *huge*
fear is that I will fall in love with her in the mean time and then she
will still test positive again.

Yes, you should be aware of the risk.


If she tests positive after that length
of time in my house, it would break my heart. I guess, in that case, I
could keep her permanently in my guest bedroom for the rest of her life
(assuming that's safe for my other two cats) - but I'm not sure that's
being realistic for me or Socks. Plus, I'm not sure that living like
that is really fair to Socks.

Any suggestions on what I should do in the near term and/or long term
for this sweet little girl would be greatly appreciated!

Well, one thing you could consider is trying to find her a home in which she'd
be the only cat, or live with another FeLV positive cat. Also, do you know
anyone who doesn't have a cat who would be willing to keep her for the eight
weeks or so until you can re-test?

I'm sorry, we went through a similar situation and fortunately the cat we took
in was FeLV negative on her re-test as well, but before that we looked at a lot
of options. There aren't any easy answers, I'm afraid. Good luck. I hope she
re-tests negative.