Feline Leukemia testing

[I_love_cats]

Hello

Joey, he is 2yrs 7mos old was exposed to Feline Leukemia cat. This was my grandmas cat and she him down quite often and he was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia and in the last while they shared litterbox and shared food dishes and at times he would clean him but he got agreesive with him because I guess he had that problem. The vet told my mom to bring him 6 months but she never made an appointment but this Sunday he is going for his booster and rabies shot and my mom going ask about the testing. I would to know how simple are test and what kind of thest do they do. Would I get the result the same day. Will he have to spend time at the vet. I am bit worry about getting this test down. Thanks!! Please reply.

[C.C.'s Mom]

My Eddy has Feline Leukemia ever since we got her.

What they do, is they take a drop of blood from a paw. It's very simple and doesn't really hurt your kitty.
This drop goes on a Fel-V tester unit. It looks like a pregnancy test, with 2 screens. The results show in a few minutes.
There's also a test where they send a bloodsample to a bloodlab, but this is actually not really needed in my opinion and is also very expensive.

There are kitties that get over it and are tested negative the second time. My Eddy didn't.

I should actually seperate Eddy and Rudie, but I don't. Rudie only survives because of Eddy. They don't share eating/drinking bowls though.

What the vet told us at the diagnose, was that it was important for Eddy to live a stress-free life and sleep a lot. And so it be. She sleeps most of the day, only goes into our garden if she wants to go out and is checked every 6 months for signs of the leukemia. I hope this will never happen, since many kitties live a normal life and grow very old.

Rudie gets an extra boost, although there is actually no real vaccination. But he's free and strong as a horse (knock on wood).

If you have other cats, they should be tested too.

Good luck, and let us know the results.

PS. The test is quite expensive. Last time I payed about 70 dollar for both kitties.

[moosmom]

I_Love_Cats,

The "snap" test is the one that CC's mom is referring to. It's quick and fairly inexpensive.

C.C.'s Mom is very wise in her advice and also how she is treating her cats. Her cat Rudie has already been exposed to Feline Leukemia, so why start treating them any differently?? And so far, Rudie has tested negative so that's a definite plus.

I think that having the test done will give you peace of mind one way or the other. I would want to know. And if you don't trust or like the results, GET A SECOND OPINION. I did, and it was the best move I ever made.

I bottle fed this precious 2 week old kitten who I named Marina Mar. She was born to a feral mother on a boat in a marina, hence the name. Mar is Spanish for ocean. I adopted her at 9 weeks. She had a real rough start in life, almost dying because she stopped eating. She was a real fighter and overcame many obsticles.

I already had 2 other older cats at home and didn't want take the chance of bringing anything into the house to infect them. So I had her tested. They did the "snap" test and it was positive. 7 words out of my vet's mouth "When do you want to euthanize her??" horrified me enough to get another opinion. Often times, kittens if tested too soon can come up a false positive. Well, Marina Mar's blood was sent to a lab for the 3 day test. It was negative!! I thank my lucky stars every day that I got a second opinion. And although she was only in my life for 2 1/2 years, it was the best 2 1/2 years of my life and hers.

As long as you have Eddy tested every 6 months and it's negative, I really don't believe there is much to worry about unless either one of them gets sick.

I will say a prayer for all of you. I know how ya feel!

Donna

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I had Leonardo tested for Feline Leukemia because of his allergy. His vet thought maybe he had Feline Lukemia which were causing the sneezing and watery eyes. She did the draw blood and sent it to a lab type test. Thankfully, he is ok. He just is allergic to something unknown. I would agree that if the test does come back positive, get a second opinion and test. Good luck.

[khoyman]

I feel that this test is very helpful in ruling out feline leukemia when a cat is sick. The test is not expensive. It only costs about $20 and is worth not having to worry. My cat just had this test done yesterday, because he had been throwing up a lot and was not eating. It came out negative, but the $20 was worth knowing what exactly was making him sick. It turns out that he has pesticide poisoning from a flea treatment and may not survive. I have a thread telling Squirt's story and some info. on the product I used that poisoned him. You should check it out under "cat health".

Hope I could help in your decision!
Kristy

[I_love_cats]

I heard they will only do a blood test to see if my cat has feline Leukemia because he an indoor cat. I wanted a feline leukemia needle for my Joey but wouldn't do it because he is an indoor cat. I guess I would have to get a blood test to see if he has the disease. Would you recommend getting a blood test for my cat since he was around a cat that had Feline Leukemia. Please let me know. Thanks!!

[C.C.'s Mom]

Definately! Get your cat tested!

[mdsiamese]

Definately, if a cat has been exposed in close contact
to one that has feline leukemia, have the test. However,
there are false positives. The test that vets can do
in their office is called the Elisa test and is can have
false positives, so any positive must be followed up
with an IFA test done in a lab. When anyone says a
cat has tested positive for Felv, make sure they mean
the IFA test.

For more info, try this link:
http://www2.dgsys.com/~ermiller/FeLV.html

[neko1]

What we do at our office is take a blood sample and send it out to the lab for testing. The results come in the very next day.

[Songlover]

Yes, you should get the test for feline leukemia by all means.
You will know the situation and what precautions you have to take around other cats, as well as what medication your cat will need, if any etc. It is always good to know what we are facing as pet owner, I feel.
In regard to the price, there will be a variation depending upon where you live. I noticed that you live in Toronto (where I lived until 6 months ago!). Since moving to Montreal, I have adopted my first "Montreal Kitty" and I had him tested for feline AIDS, feline leukemia and FIP. The total cost of this testing including tax was about $89.00. However, it was worth it to know that he was healthy and negative before bringing him home to my two disease-free adult cats. All of my cats are indoor only, but one never knows to what viruses and diseases they were exposed before birth or as babies.
I hope all will be well...let us know on PET TALK what the results were, please....regards from Deborah in Montreal.

[ownerof3dogs]

At vet Hospital I work at we do a saliva test. It is much simpler. All we do is put this plastic stick in the cats mouth for 5-10 sec then we put the stick w/saliva on it in a chemical. If the cats has the desease the chemical will change to a blue color in 10 min. If it doesn't the chemical stays clear. It is less stressful for the cat and us becasue we don't have to take blood.

[Songlover]

Dear owner of 3 dogs:
thanks for the interesting reply re: saliva test to detect feline leukemia.
I wish that were available in Canada! It may be, but I have not heard of it here in Montreal, or in Toronto,where I lived until 6 months ago. It is certalinly much easier to get saliva from a cat, as opposed to taking a blook sample, as you know from your work at the clinic.
I will watch for that test up here...regards from Deborah

[ownerof3dogs]

Originally posted by Songlover
Dear owner of 3 dogs:
thanks for the interesting reply re: saliva test to detect feline leukemia.
I wish that were available in Canada! It may be, but I have not heard of it here in Montreal, or in Toronto,where I lived until 6 months ago. It is certalinly much easier to get saliva from a cat, as opposed to taking a blook sample, as you know from your work at the clinic.
I will watch for that test up here...regards from Deborah

Ya it really is much easier. I hope Vets get it in Canada real soon if they don't already have it.

Talk to ya later
Diana