I'm devastated....

[catnapper]

all 3 of my wonderful kittens have tested positive for feline leukemia.

We're calling back to see if it was a weak positive or strong positive, and depending n that answer, I'll keep them for a few months until they can be retested or they'll be PTS.

Thank goodness I didn't let my guys come into contact with any of them. The closest contact was a sniff and hiss, no touching, no eating, no litter box sharing. I have some major cleaning to do in the isolation room.

[smokey the elder]

Oh, I'm so sorry! That happened to one of the volunteers in my group a few years ago, a litter of pure white kittens.

[catmandu]

Thats The Worst Possible News Although Fip Is Not Always Fatal.
Doesthis Mean Those Kittens Will Have To Be Returned To The Shelter?
Thats A Shame When They Were Going To Have Sucjh A Great Furr Ever Home.
I Know How Sad You Are , And I Think That We Are Just As Sad For You.

[jennielynn1970]

omg... how horrible!!! I hope that they can be retested and be found negative. Ugh. Unless someone would want to adopt all three who doesn't have any other cats in their house. You never know what could happen. They could just be carriers, and not get full blown feline leukemia. The kittens that are at the shelter are positive for feline leukemia and they are some of the healthiest looking kitties around.

Will be keeping fingers crossed for the little sweeties!!! Hope they will test negative.

[moosmom]

Kim,

Like I told you on the phone, have another test done in 3 weeks. Have the test that requires the drawing of blood. The results should be ready within 24 hours. It's the most reliable. Believe me, I know. I almost put down my precious Marina Mar cuz she tested positive at the age of 12 weeks. I had her re-tested with the one I told you about and it was negative. It is very common for kittens to test a false positive in the first 3 months of their lives.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

[Grace]

Even if they remain positive, that doesn't mean they can't live a long, happy life. There are lots of people out there who adopt only FeLv + cats. I'm sure there must be some in Pennsylvania.

Maybe they will retest negative. But just in case, start looking.

[lvpets2002]

OH My GoodNess.. I am so sorry & saddened.. I just hope the retest comes out clear..

[shais_mom]

aawww.
I'm sorry to hear this.
prayers on the way..

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kim, I'm sorry to hear this I hope it was just a false positive and that their next testing results will come out fine. I'll continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

[kimlovescats]

I'm so very sorry, Kim!

[Freedom]

Oh no, I am so sorry. Hugs!

[AbbyMom]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I've been meaning to create a thread on my FeLV+ kittens I trapped last year, but I need to tell you now.

Two of the four had a "soft positive." My vet strongly encouraged me to wait and retest with the IFA test. This is the blood test that Moosmom referred to.

That's because (according to my vet) almost 25% of the positives reported by the elisa test (snap test) done in the office are FALSE POSITIVES!

It is also possible for the kittens to fend off this infection and be negative for the remainder of their lives.

(My kittens tested negative with the IFA test twice, almost five months apart. They went to a happy home. My vet was so disgusted by the false positives that he refunded the snap test cost.)

Like you, I was absolutely devasted at first. But instead I got to see two darling kittens grow up. They grew up in my bedroom/bathroom but ultimately they were OK.

I have a lot of good information on FeLV if you should need it. Let me know.

[Medusa]

Wow, AbbyMom's post is certainly encouraging! I sure hope this turns out to be the case w/your kittens.

[Anikaca77]

Oh..I'm so sorry...please keep us posted.

My prays.

[jenluckenbach]

A rescuer's worst nightmare. I am sorry. Hopefully it can be proven to be a FALSE positive.