When to retest FeLV+ exposed kittens?

[Freedom]

I know with FIV, you wait until the kitten is age 6 months to get a true reading on the test. I haven't had to cope with FeLV, so I don't have info on that.

What does your vet recommend?

[smokey the elder]

When we've had potential accidental exposure in our shelter, the vet recommends 3 months.

[Jessika]

Retest at or after 6 months of age. I actually called the manufacturer of these at my previous clinic for this same scenario and that's what they told me. Ideally you'd test around 6-8 weeks (better for closer to 10-16) and retest again around 6-8 months.

A kitten that young can falsely test positive for it because of their mother's antibodies, or if they've been recently vaccinated for FeLV.

If the test is negative, I STRONGLY recommend you vaccinate them for FeLV and separate them from their mama as soon as possible.

When in doubt, however, always ask your vet. Each clinic may have different protocol when it comes to these types of cases.

[Xiao_tuzi]

Retest at or after 6 months of age. I actually called the manufacturer of these at my previous clinic for this same scenario and that's what they told me. Ideally you'd test around 6-8 weeks (better for closer to 10-16) and retest again around 6-8 months.

A kitten that young can falsely test positive for it because of their mother's antibodies, or if they've been recently vaccinated for FeLV.

If the test is negative, I STRONGLY recommend you vaccinate them for FeLV and separate them from their mama as soon as possible.

When in doubt, however, always ask your vet. Each clinic may have different protocol when it comes to these types of cases.

I already tested them at 6 weeks, and they were negative. I immediately separated them from their mom. All the studies say not to vaccinate if already exposed since it won't have an effect and could cause sarcoma. I guess the question is when can I retest and know a negative is accurate? I know if positive to keep testing until 6 months. But how long after exposure can I be sure they are actually negative?

The one reply above says 3 months. That seems like it's probably right. Poor babies

[Jessika]

As I said, I called the manufacturer of the SNAP tests and they recommended retesting again at or after 6 months of age.

Vaccinating is up to you and your vet. I personally have never seen a vaccine site sarcoma in any pet in all my years of being a tech. Felines are still at a higher risk, no argument; however, vaccines nowadays are being formulated to be much much safer and with a much much MUCH lower rate of sarcomas. For example, it is no longer recommended to use the 3y rabies vaccine in felines but the 1y nonadjuvanted one manufactured by Merial.