Just got the bad news: Feline Leukemia

"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Please do not make any irreversible decisions based on an in-house Snap
test. Have your cat retested with the IFA (immunofluorescent antibody)
assay. In-house ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) Snap positives
are often false and also can't distinguish transient infections from
persistent infections. Only about 30% of infected cats develop persistent
infections and FeLV-related diseases.

Please do not make any life or death decisions in the event your cat tests
positive by IFA. Many vets are quick to recommend euthanasia based on a
single IFA-positive. Many cats persistently infected with FeLV remain
healthy and asymptomatic for *years* while others die within a year or so.
No one can make an accurate prediction of the outcome without highly
specialized tests - which *still* can't predict the outcome with any
reasonable accuracy. We've had FeLV-cats that lived otherwise normal lives
for as long as 6 years.

Keep the faith!

Phil

My vet told me that once a cat gets Leukemia vaccine, they will always test
positive & he won't give the shots without microchip--not sure how accurate
that is but if it is--could it be he had gotten shots? don't know how to
tell
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

My vet told me that once a cat gets Leukemia vaccine, they will always test
positive & he won't give the shots without microchip--not sure how accurate
that is but if it is--could it be he had gotten shots? don't know how to
tell
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

I am sorry to hear this about the cat. There is a bit of good news though.
With lots of love and treatment a cat with FELV can live a long life. Just
make sure that you do not mix this cat with healthy ones but you can have
the cat amongst others with the illness. You were so good to take this cat
in and give him a loving home. Special needs cats always need a good and
loving home.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

I am sorry to hear this about the cat. There is a bit of good news though.
With lots of love and treatment a cat with FELV can live a long life. Just
make sure that you do not mix this cat with healthy ones but you can have
the cat amongst others with the illness. You were so good to take this cat
in and give him a loving home. Special needs cats always need a good and
loving home.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

"Chris" wrote:

My vet told me that once a cat gets Leukemia vaccine, they will always test
positive & he won't give the shots without microchip--not sure how accurate
that is but if it is--could it be he had gotten shots? don't know how to
tell
No, that's not true. The feline leukemia vaccine will not make a cat test
positive for feline leukemia. Your vet may be thinking of the new FIV vaccine
instead.

"Chris" wrote:

My vet told me that once a cat gets Leukemia vaccine, they will always test
positive & he won't give the shots without microchip--not sure how accurate
that is but if it is--could it be he had gotten shots? don't know how to
tell
No, that's not true. The feline leukemia vaccine will not make a cat test
positive for feline leukemia. Your vet may be thinking of the new FIV vaccine
instead.

Thanks very much for all your kindness and help. Oscar seems to be
doing better today. He is eating a bit more and is more animated. We
will be talking to the vet tomorrow. Hope to have some encouraging
news to post tomorrow.

Thanks very much for all your kindness and help. Oscar seems to be
doing better today. He is eating a bit more and is more animated. We
will be talking to the vet tomorrow. Hope to have some encouraging
news to post tomorrow.

My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza