Trap, neuter, release roundup

"22brix" wrote in message
...




I had a horrible experience several years ago with a cat who had initially
tested negative for FeLV as a young kitten and three years later developed
leukemia related lymphoma and had to be euthanized. The vet tested him
for
FeLV and sure enough he was positive. One of my friends adopted two other
kittens from the same litter and they also initially tested negative (at
another vets office) and later were found to have FeLV and had to be
euthanized. All three kittens were indoor cats with vaccinations from the
time it was appropriate. The mother tested negative but it turns out
there
were a couple other queens that were mutually nursing a hoard of kittens
so
we don't know if another female was carrying the virus.

I work in a lab so I know that with HIV testing (in humans) the
recommendation is to test a second time several months later if the
initial
test is negative since it can take a little while for antibodies to show
up.
I've been assuming that's what happened with my cat but have you seen this
before with FeLV?

Yes. If the mother had a latent infection- she would test negative and her
kittens could test negative when they're very young and seroconvert as they
got older. There's no way of knowing when the kittens serocoverted- could
have been several weeks or several months after their first test. Most
seroconverted cats don't become symptomatic for months to years after
infection or reactivation of a latent infection.

Cats with latent FeLV infections will test negative on both the ELISA Snap
and the IFA. Both test for the FeLV antigen, P27 (not antibodies). During
latency antigen isn't produced so both tests will come up negative. If a
cat has a latent infection it can be reactivated at any time- especially by
stress (stress-induced reactivation), unrelated illness, injury or after
being treated with steroids especially DepoMedrol. About 8 years ago, a cat
I was treating with Depo for EGC developed unexplained symptoms. Upon
retesting we found he was positive. This cat was previously tested twice-
once by AC and later by us- both tests were negative.


Also, he was quite young (about 6 weeks--too young but I
know better now!)--are they producing their own antibodies by then or are
you measuring maternal antibodies still?


No. The FeLV tests test for antigen not antibodies that's why kittens/cats
can be tested at any age. Maternally-derived antibodies have no affect on
the tests. Vaccinations- including the FeLV vaccine also doesn't affect the
tests either. The FIV test, on tthe other hand, tests for antibodies- just
like the human HIV test. One of the biggest problems with the FIV vaccine
is FIV-vaccinated cats will test FIV positive on both the ELISA and the
immunoblot (Western Blot). As of now, there's no way to tell the difference
between an FIV-vaccinated cat and an FIV-infected cat. This can be a death
sentence if the cat ever gets out and gets picked up AC and is tested.


I'm sorry you lost your cat- especially one so young.

Phil.

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:MHg_g.7231$A27.6960@trnddc08...

"22brix" wrote in message
...

Yes. If the mother had a latent infection- she would test negative and her
kittens could test negative when they're very young and seroconvert as
they
got older. There's no way of knowing when the kittens serocoverted- could
have been several weeks or several months after their first test. Most
seroconverted cats don't become symptomatic for months to years after
infection or reactivation of a latent infection.

Cats with latent FeLV infections will test negative on both the ELISA Snap
and the IFA. Both test for the FeLV antigen, P27 (not antibodies). During
latency antigen isn't produced so both tests will come up negative. If a
cat has a latent infection it can be reactivated at any time- especially
by
stress (stress-induced reactivation), unrelated illness, injury or after
being treated with steroids especially DepoMedrol. About 8 years ago, a
cat
I was treating with Depo for EGC developed unexplained symptoms. Upon
retesting we found he was positive. This cat was previously tested twice-
once by AC and later by us- both tests were negative.


Also, he was quite young (about 6 weeks--too young but I
know better now!)--are they producing their own antibodies by then or are
you measuring maternal antibodies still?


No. The FeLV tests test for antigen not antibodies that's why kittens/cats
can be tested at any age. Maternally-derived antibodies have no affect on
the tests. Vaccinations- including the FeLV vaccine also doesn't affect
the
tests either. The FIV test, on tthe other hand, tests for antibodies-
just
like the human HIV test. One of the biggest problems with the FIV vaccine
is FIV-vaccinated cats will test FIV positive on both the ELISA and the
immunoblot (Western Blot). As of now, there's no way to tell the
difference
between an FIV-vaccinated cat and an FIV-infected cat. This can be a
death
sentence if the cat ever gets out and gets picked up AC and is tested.


I'm sorry you lost your cat- especially one so young.

Phil.


I didn't realize it was an antigen test--that makes a lot of sense.

He was a beautiful mutt Siamese--very soft and smokey colored with a "got
milk?" mustache and it was a tremendous shock to lose him. He was only
three. He was so sweet--he loved to lick our hair, especially my dear hubby
who was not amused for the most part! When we went to pick out our kittens,
when I picked him up he immediately started head-butting my hand and
purring--I was lost! Looking back on it, I should have been more suspicious
that the kittens were not being kept in the best of circumstances. They
were outdoors most of the time and the people I got him from had lost the
father to illness just before they were born. This was one time (probably
not the only time!) I let the cuteness factor choose a kitten for me. I
still miss him.

Thanks for the information!
Bonnie

"RobZip" no wrote in message
. ..

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:z3fZg.3708$Dg5.2274@trndny09...
I have two other permanant fosters, brother and sister
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franky+Fanny_cage2.jpg They were kept in
a
basement by themselves for their first year of life and in a cage for
the
next 6 months.

The one on the right is the exact double of the most recent arrival here,
Jaws!

That's Frankie- Solid muscle-Classic Tabby.

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie0025.jpg

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie_tree.jpg

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie_0086.jpg

He has the almost the same "bullseye" markings on his sides as one of my
other cats, Jade-0-mine

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Jade-o-mine-climb.jpg


Jaws is being very persistent about adopting us. I figure that over
time my wife will simply run out of air on the subject and accept him
being
here. I put him outside in the early morning hours just so she can share
the
joy when he squeezes past her feet to get back inside as she leaves for
work.

My wife never stopped whining about cat hair on her clothes- I finally got
fed up with her complaining and told her if she doesn't want cat hair on her
clothes stay the hell off their furniture-- Its their furniture- they were
here first. lol

Phil
--
"Cats are a great warm-up to a successful marriage;
they teach you your place in the household".
--Paul Gallico
Feline Healthca http://maxshouse.com

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:BD%_g.11255$A27.8994@trnddc08...

The one on the right is the exact double of the most recent arrival
here,
Jaws!

That's Frankie- Solid muscle-Classic Tabby.

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie0025.jpg

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie_tree.jpg

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Frankie_0086.jpg


Oops- I forgot a real good view of his markings:


http://maxshouse.com/Ours/frankie-floor.jpg




He has the almost the same "bullseye" markings on his sides as one of my
other cats, Jade-0-mine

http://maxshouse.com/Ours/Jade-o-mine-climb.jpg

Phil P. wrote:

"Cats are a great warm-up to a successful marriage;
they teach you your place in the household".
--Paul Gallico
Feline Healthca http://maxshouse.com

I got a divorce, I told my wife, you can go, just leave the pussy! and
lemme get 5 dollars