Leukemia question

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Carol and Teddy

Member Since 2009
Hi, It's been a long long time since I have visited the board. I know this is the place to come to when you have difficult questions whether about diabetes or any other health issues. We had a little stray come around and I have been feeding him outside. We took him today to get him neutered and they did the necessary testing and he came back positive for leukemia. I have to make the call and I am afraid I am not qualified because I don't know if there is any hope at all for him or not. I have found a wonderful home for him and I don't want to cut short a life that could be a happy one because he might get sick at some point. He is so sweet and loveable, it is breaking my heart. I hope someone with some experience could give me some advice. Thanks in advance
Carol
 
If the cat is otherwise healthy and the adopter is aware of his status then I think he deserves a chance. It's not uncommon to get a false positive with the combo SNAP test that is negative on the IFA test. Too many healthy cats have been killed based on a single SNAP test.

IFA Test
Serologic (blood) tests are commonly used to test both asymptomatic and symptomatic cats for FeLV antigen. The ELISA test can be performed in veterinarians’ offices. If the ELISA test is positive, a confirmatory test should be done.
One confirmatory test is the immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test, which uses blood smeared on a slide and is performed in special diagnostic laboratories. Fluorescently-tagged antibody made in the laboratory reacts with the FeLV antigen in the blood and fluoresces when viewed through a special microscope.

In addition, it is important to note that:

  • No test is 100% accurate. In populations of cats with low FeLV infection rates, many positive tests may be false positive.

  • Any positive ELISA test should be repeated.

  • In most cases, the ELISA test should be used as the screening test, and IFA as the confirmatory test.

  • ELISA tests using tears or saliva are not recommended.

  • If the ELISA is positive but the IFA test is negative, the cat should be retested in 60 days and then annually until test results agree.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
I agree. Let the adopters know about the test and if they still want him they can have their vets retest him.
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Be aware that another cat eating from the same bowl or drinking from the same water bowl can catch this virus. I just had the same thing happen to me with a feral cat, he was very thin, but when he would eat, he would eat a little bit then yell out in pain. I had been trying to catch him since last winter so that I could find a home for him. I found a person who rescues cats that was going to take him, I finally caught him 2 weeks ago today and took him to the vet. I had planned on trying to get his dental work done and then having him neutered, the vet opened his mouth and said he has terrible stomatitis (spelling) but there is something else going on, his gums are almost white. He had feline leukemia and it was advanced, I thought the problem was his mouth but I think the problem was all caused by the leukemia. I did what I did not want to do and had him euthanized, I think about him all the time. Make sure if someone takes this cat that they know about the leukemia, it is spread very easy.
 
Thank you for excellent advice. The adopter has another cat that she doesn't want to take a chance with. I can't bring him in my house either because I have 5. We are going to have him retested at another vet. I don't have 100% faith in our current one. I asked when we took him in if there was any chance the test could come back false positive and they said no. If worse comes to worse, my husband has a big garage and we can keep him in there. Keeping my fingers crossed though.
 
Don't give up on him. Being positive for feline leukemia does not mean death is imminent, he could have many good years ahead, still. You just need to find an adopter who is willing to take on a cat who has tested positive, either as an only cat, or someone who already has a leukemia positive cat and will take on another. He's not completely unadoptable, just a little more difficult.
 
I don't want to sound cavalier because it is a very serious disease, but think it depends on the individual's immune system. Years ago a friend rescued an orphan kitten about 5 weeks old. Not wanting him to be alone she rescued another orphan about the same age. They slept together, shared dishes, played and wrestled as kittens do. After a couple of months it was apparent that kitten #2 wasn't doing well, failing to thrive. She tested (+) for FeLV and, because she was already symptomatic, was euthanized. Kitten #1, named Adam, was immediately tested and was retested several times, always negative. He lived to be 18.

I certainly think one should take precautions with an FeLV kitty - keep indoors, regular health exams, not be over-vaccinated and either be an only cat or live with another positive. Anyway, I'm happy that he's going to be retested, hopefully with the IFA.

There was a discussion 9-10 years ago on a cat rescue board about the validity of SNAP tests and I thought it was important enough to keep. Here are some excerpts:

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We just had several like that recently, four separate cats from the same house. All positive on a SNAP, all negative on an IFA. The paperwork from the lab stated they were negative. This happened with a kitten the same week, same results. Negative IFA.

We also had a situation a couple of years ago, where we got a negative on a combo and a positive on a FeLV only. The original shelter got a positive on the combo and a negative on the FeLV only. We did an IFA and she was negative. The owner did a FeLV only a year later and she was negative. Idexx had no explanation for that one.

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Four or five kittens of various ages (but none younger than four months) went to the vet the same week to get the deluxe package (S/N, combo test, final booster, rabies) - all rescued from different situations, from different fosters. Three tested FeLV positive. One of the very experienced people on this group kindly explained the proper process for double checking results. The long and short of this story is that two of the three, after retesting, turned out to be confirmed negative. This was a real eye opener for us (and our vet).

Based on our experience, I cannot emphasize the importance of confirming a positive result enough. As I now know, there are several possible reasons for a false positive which can include - the cat may have just been exposed and could become immune but testing needs to be redone at intervals to make sure the result is accurate. The SNAP test itself may be defective for some reason. There may be human error on the part of the person performing the test.
 
Check if your Humane Society has a Community page that allows people to post pets up for adoption. If they do have one, this will help you reach potential adopters.
 
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