FeLV Vaccine for a (mostly) indoors cat

JulietteTruong

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Hi all,

My fur baby is 7 years old, and just got her rabies and FVRCP vaccines updated. She’s in good health. She’s an indoors cat.

However, we recently moved to a new place with an enclosed small backyard. During nice weathers, we keep our back door open and she gets to access the yard. It’s fenced in in a way that prevents her from leaving.

In the year and a half of living here, I’ve seen only two cats come by, and a couple of opossums. Other than that it’s pretty tame.

Should I take her to get the FelV vaccine, just to be sure? She’s never had it, because prior to moving here she only stayed inside our apartments.
 

Willowy

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Can the other cats get into the yard, if she can't get out?

FeLV is difficult to transmit; it requires a deep bite or prolonged close contact with body fluids. So if she isn't going to be in close contact with the other cats it isn't necessary.
 
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JulietteTruong

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Can the other cats get into the yard, if she can't get out?

FeLV is difficult to transmit; it requires a deep bite or prolonged close contact with body fluids. So if she isn't going to be in close contact with the other cats it isn't necessary.
Yes, for whatever reasons she’s never been able to jump high enough to reach the top of the fence, and she’s never been a climber. She’s normal weight too, so I’m not sure why. The vet says she’s in good health.

But the cats that I saw were able to come in our yard. One time I heard a screech, and ran out and saw my cat and another cat in a standoff, with like 6 or 7 feet apart from each other. They didn’t get any closer, It was just that sort of loud hissing and yelling that cats do when encountering a strange cat. The other cat quickly ran off. But other than that, I have never seen her interact with anything else.
 

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If I were you I would go ahead and get it. From what I just read it is the 2nd largest killer of cats after trauma and while rare it can also be transmitted thru urine and feces. We usually
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don't run into other actual cats on our rambles but since she checks the smell mail I don't take a chance. Gypsy got hers last week, it is a 3 year shot.
 
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JulietteTruong

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If I were you I would go ahead and get it. From what I just read it is the 2nd largest killer of cats after trauma and while rare it can also be transmitted thru urine and feces. We usuallyView attachment 378020View attachment 378023View attachment 378024 don't run into other actual cats on our rambles but since she checks the smell mail I don't take a chance. Gypsy got hers last week, it is a 3 year shot.
Cute kitties! That’s so cool that they’re harnessed trained.

I think I’ll get the vaccine just to be sure. It’ll be her first time, so do you think they’ll allow the 3 year shot?
 

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You'll have to do a first shot, then a booster shot 4 weeks later.
Depending on the manufacturer, but it seems that most FeLV vaccines are to be repeated yearly, unlike the RCP vaccines that have been extended to 3+ years (up to 9 years according to some recent researches).
 
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JulietteTruong

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You'll have to do a first shot, then a booster shot 4 weeks later.
Depending on the manufacturer, but it seems that most FeLV vaccines are to be repeated yearly, unlike the RCP vaccines that have been extended to 3+ years (up to 9 years according to some recent researches).
So I made an appointment for the Felv Vaccine at my local low cost clinic. They require a Felv test first. $55 for the test, which doesn’t seem very low cost to me but okay... The website doesn’t say if the first dose will be the same day as the test, which is a bit confusing. We will see
 

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Yes, all vets want to see if the cat is negative to the FIV and FeLV test before giving the cat the vaccine. If the cat tests positive, then they won't give it the vaccine.
The test is fast, ten minutes to have the result, so yes, I think that the vaccine will be done right after the test.
Actually, $55 is a bit expensive in my opinion. Do you know if it includes the vaccine, or how much the vaccine costs?
 
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JulietteTruong

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Yes, all vets want to see if the cat is negative to the FIV and FeLV test before giving the cat the vaccine. If the cat tests positive, then they won't give it the vaccine.
The test is fast, ten minutes to have the result, so yes, I think that the vaccine will be done right after the test.
Actually, $55 is a bit expensive in my opinion. Do you know if it includes the vaccine, or how much the vaccine costs?
It’s a low-cost clinic, so FeLV vaccines are $16. The drop down menu was weird, it only lists the FeLV test for $55, and the other vaccines offered, but not the FeLV. I’m thinking it’s just a website typo, because they specify that the FeLV vaccine is offered. Maybe it is included in the price. I’ve emailed them to clarify.
 

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Anyway, in the worst case scenario, you'll have to pay $71 for the test and vaccine. Which is exactly what I would spend over here in Italy, about €35 for the test, €30 for the vaccine. And we have rather low vet fees compared to many other countries.
 

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My previous vet recommended it for Grommet who was a door dasher when I first got her. But she reacted so badly to the first shot I decided against it. She occasionally goes outside (like maybe three times a year) but never interacts with other outside cats so I felt comfortable not giving her the second dose.
 
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JulietteTruong

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Update: so I took Juli last Friday to get her Felv test. It was quick. They said they will contact me once the results come back, and then I can make the next appointment for her first dose of the shot. Was hoping it would be same day as the test, but oh well...
 

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That is so so strange. I wonder what kind of FeLV test they're running.
All the tests (low cost but highly reliable ones) that I know return the result in minutes. This is what vets in all practices and clinics do, they take a small sample of blood from the cat, they run the test, and if FeLV test is negative they proceed with the vaccine right away (provided the cat is also fine and otherwise healthy). The same test returns the FIV response as well, all in one.
Weird!
 

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That is so so strange. I wonder what kind of FeLV test they're running.
All the tests (low cost but highly reliable ones) that I know return the result in minutes. This is what vets in all practices and clinics do, they take a small sample of blood from the cat, they run the test, and if FeLV test is negative they proceed with the vaccine right away (provided the cat is also fine and otherwise healthy). The same test returns the FIV response as well, all in one.
Weird!
One of the vets I go to does not trust those quick tests for a negative. Especially for FeLV and FIV. She says if the result is positive, it is positive, but sometimes they give false negatives. She sends the blood to the vet which isn't significantly more expensive but takes more time.
 

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The IDEXX Combo snap tests are extremely reliable. Their website says
FIV (sensitivity 99.2% / specificity 100%)
FeLV (sensitivity 100% / specificity 98,6%)
which I consider exceptional.

The UranoVet (a Spanish pharma company that most vets are using lately) snap tests are still rather good
Sensitivity:FeLV 94 % versus viral isolation.
FIV 96 % versus Western Blot.
Specificity:FeLV 99 % versus viral isolation.
FIV 98 % versus Western Blot
which might not be exceptional, but it is still good.
 

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Hi all,

My fur baby is 7 years old, and just got her rabies and FVRCP vaccines updated. She’s in good health. She’s an indoors cat.

However, we recently moved to a new place with an enclosed small backyard. During nice weathers, we keep our back door open and she gets to access the yard. It’s fenced in in a way that prevents her from leaving.

In the year and a half of living here, I’ve seen only two cats come by, and a couple of opossums. Other than that it’s pretty tame.

Should I take her to get the FelV vaccine, just to be sure? She’s never had it, because prior to moving here she only stayed inside our apartments.
Different vets seem to have VERY different opinions on this. Our vet does not think it's necessary for an adult cat if she's not living in the same house with a FeLV positive cat. I've seen quite a few other vets who say the same thing for adult cats.

Check out the FeLV section: Vaccines for Cats: We Need to Stop Overvaccinating
 

MissClouseau

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The IDEXX Combo snap tests are extremely reliable. Their website says
FIV (sensitivity 99.2% / specificity 100%)
FeLV (sensitivity 100% / specificity 98,6%)
which I consider exceptional.

The UranoVet (a Spanish pharma company that most vets are using lately) snap tests are still rather good
Sensitivity:FeLV 94 % versus viral isolation.
FIV 96 % versus Western Blot.
Specificity:FeLV 99 % versus viral isolation.
FIV 98 % versus Western Blot
which might not be exceptional, but it is still good.
The ones I got done for FIV and FeLV were from VetExpert

VetExpert Rapid Test FIV Ab/ FeLV Ag

Not sure which one(s) our vet meant when she said they give false negatives (or if she was talking with evidence.) I got the tests done at another clinic.
 
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