I had a cat with feline leukemia who lived for almost 7 years and was mostly well for all those years. She was a foster kitten but when I had the litter tested both she and her tiny brother tested positive. I kept them both for the rest of their lives. Sesat was a little more likely to come down with a virus from another cat, usually her big brother who was negative, and she needed some extra time on antiobiotics, but she fought off everything very strongly. She was active and playful, and had a wonderful life. When the end came, it was very fast, and that's what I've heard from a few other people who have had cats with feline leukemia.
I kept her with my other adult cats since she showed no signs of her illness (so, not actively shedding the virus), and at my vet's advice and none of them got the illness from her. They all lived long lives and one of them celebrated her 20th birthday in June.
Besides good food, good vet care, and lots of attention, I think what helped keep Sesat healthy was that she was never separated from me. I never took a vacation and she never had to stay overnight at the vet. I talked to a vet tech who had had a cat with feline leukemia when I first found out about Sesat, and she said that every time she went away on a trip she would come back to find her cat very sick. Also, a woman at work came back from her week's honeymoom to find her FeLV+ cat, who had never been ill before, severely ill and he died a week later.
My best wishes to Michelle that Vixen has years of healthy and enjoyable living ahead of her.
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