I'm confused by feline leukemia testing

[jennielynn1970]

The thing with FIV is that if they are aggressive, I would not mix them with my other cats. Honeybun is old and crotchety, and grumpy, but not aggressive. He has hardly any teeth, so am I worried about him biting someone else and passing it? No. Zach may be a bully, but he's also NOT a biter. Every situation is different, and every cat's personality has to be considered.

I did have one cat that i fostered for about a week or so that was FIV+ before I had Honeybun. He was super aggressive, and I eventually gave him back to his regular foster home. He would corner my own guys, and would snarl and hiss and just be really nasty. That I would not tolerate. I won't jeopardize my healthy cats just to take in a FIV+ one.

If they are not aggressive, and mine are not aggressive, then we're good to go.

[CathyBogart]

To add a little to my reply, FeLV is spread through long-term contact. It is not highly contagious.

If you had a kitten who tested positive for FeLV, I would say DO NOT LET THEM EUTHANIZE!! It SHOULD NOT BE AN AUTOMATIC DEATH SENTENCE!! Wait three months and re-test.

Honestly, when I first read that they euthanized Gary automatically because of an FeLV test, I was pretty horrified. It's such a poorly understood disease, and cats beat it frequently enough that it should in no way mean automatic death. I've worked for three different clinics, one of them cat-only, and the wait-retest strategy was universal between the three of them.