Kitten testing FeLV+ & have another cat

I just rescued a kitten two days ago, Cali. She was bullied by a dog so was looking a little rough. She's 8 weeks old. Broke my heart when I found her in the state she was in and I couldn't leave her. On the drive home she stayed in my arms clinging close. We stopped and got her a can of food and nearly snarfed the thing down in one setting! She's a very happy kitten, little skiddish, but happy.

I took her to the vet yesterday. She has a sore on her tongue and a bit of a runny nose and small fever, and otherwise heart and lungs sound good. But, she tested positive for FeLV with the SNAP test. My heart just dropped. I have an 8 month old kitten also, Joey, who tested negative when we got him, and am worried about his health. He's up-to-date on all of his shots, and the vet is not concerned about it spreading to him too much other than biting.

I've only had Cali for 48 hours and I'm already attached. I want to keep her, but am a bit worried about FeLV and Joey. I know I won't introduce the two until she's over her sniffles. She's in the spare bedroom all set up, and Joey is quite interested thankfully! Was afraid it'd be World War 3.

I know I've read somewhere about a kitten being so young and testing positive, but actually not having it so I'm hoping that's what it is. She goes back in two weeks. I've just been worrying if I'm crazy for wanting to keep a possible FeLV+ kitten while my other baby is not positive. Any advice?

Originally Posted by mione

I just rescued a kitten two days ago, Cali. She was bullied by a dog so was looking a little rough. She's 8 weeks old. Broke my heart when I found her in the state she was in and I couldn't leave her. On the drive home she stayed in my arms clinging close. We stopped and got her a can of food and nearly snarfed the thing down in one setting! She's a very happy kitten, little skiddish, but happy.

I took her to the vet yesterday. She has a sore on her tongue and a bit of a runny nose and small fever, and otherwise heart and lungs sound good. But, she tested positive for FeLV with the SNAP test. My heart just dropped. I have an 8 month old kitten also, Joey, who tested negative when we got him, and am worried about his health. He's up-to-date on all of his shots, and the vet is not concerned about it spreading to him too much other than biting.

I've only had Cali for 48 hours and I'm already attached. I want to keep her, but am a bit worried about FeLV and Joey. I know I won't introduce the two until she's over her sniffles. She's in the spare bedroom all set up, and Joey is quite interested thankfully! Was afraid it'd be World War 3.

I know I've read somewhere about a kitten being so young and testing positive, but actually not having it so I'm hoping that's what it is. She goes back in two weeks. I've just been worrying if I'm crazy for wanting to keep a possible FeLV+ kitten while my other baby is not positive. Any advice?

Click to expand...

First I just wanted to say: You're great for rescuing Cali!

I personally think that it would be too risky for my taste to expose my healthy kitty to a FeLV kitty. FeLV can be spread through things as simple as sharing food and water dishes, grooming, etc. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html

If I were you I would definitely keep the 2 kitties separated until the second FeLV test. The tests can be wrong when the kitten is so young and I hope it is!

If you vet said that it won't spread unless there is biting, is he talking about FIV instead of FeLV? FIV is less serious and not so easily spread.

And that's where I get confused, missamy018. I've read some things online and it scares the death out of me. Then I read of others having a positive and negative cat in the house, and the negative never getting it. And the vet says it won't be a problem, and I hope I can trust that but the internet gets me so twisted.

Cali will go back to the vet in 2 weeks to see if she's doing better. The vet said she'll find out how much the IFA test is and will let me know.

I woke up this morning hearing her play with one of her toys! She's getting leaps and bounds better in this short time we've had her at our house. She has a wonderful appetite, is getting less skiddish with my husband and I, and wants to play. Joey just sits in front of the door, pawing underneath wanting to see her. I don't want to possibly expose my boy to this though so they will stay separate until we know more.

I keep telling myself, she's so young, it might still be the antibodies from her mom. Maybe turn into something like aliensporebomb went through with Nano. I just hate the waiting.

Having had 2(up to 3) positive cats in a house with a negative adult cat I would never do it with a negative kitten in my house, that is way too risky, even with an adult it can be risky. Maude stayed negative but she was also 10 years old and we had her vaccinated against it in the past(years prior) due to her being boarded and had her get a booster when Attitude and Nuts moved in.

She needs to find a new home, I know you want to make this work but I wouldn't want to take the chance, kittens are a lot lot LOT more susceptible to FeLV than adults. The amount of virus necessary to infect 100% of neonate kittens would infect less than 30% of adult cat. Honestly if you had a adult cat I would say you could try to make it work but not with a kitten.

Keep them well separated until you know for sure, but if the kitten has a tongue sore(a major symptom of FeLV), runny nose and fever I can already tell you the kitten is truly positive and it's not just mom's antibodies. Healthy kittens, with mom's antibodies, don't have FeLV symptoms, especially tongue sores. If the kitten is already sick that also isn't a good sign, Attitude was like that, she started out with a simple tongue sore at 6-8 weeks old.

FIV, it can work but FeLV is what human AIDS would be if it was passed on by casual contact. It can be passed on by casual contact especially with a negative kitten. At the very least you need to have Joey vaccinated(FeLV shouldn't be a regular vaccination for an indoor only cat.)

Personally I wouldn't do it if you have a healthy kitten, a healthy adult yes, but not with a healthy kitten, and I have experience with FeLV. I won't go into my experiences on the board since just about everyone here knows them. PM me if you want to know about them, most of mine were infected since birth with the exception of 2 adults who were infected via sexual contact(and another that might be infected through exposure, if he isn't positive then he is immune, my other feral adult has been vaccinated since she was negative), so I know about kittens infected since birth. It just isn't worth the risk to the healthy one.

Taryn

Double check with the vet for clarification that the cat has leukemia and not Fiv. If you didn't mishear and it is leukemia, then the above poster is right, you need to either rehome the kitten or keep it Always separated from your other cat.

Its'hard situation of yours,
And dear pussy is sick...

I wouldn't have a snap test done on any cat due to high risk of a false positive, it is a waste of money and especially on such a young kitten. I would keep them separate till you have a more accurate result before considering rehoming.

Originally Posted by mione

And that's where I get confused, missamy018. I've read some things online and it scares the death out of me. Then I read of others having a positive and negative cat in the house, and the negative never getting it. And the vet says it won't be a problem, and I hope I can trust that but the internet gets me so twisted.

Click to expand...

The confusion is partly in the distinction between FeLV and FIV.

FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) is highly contagious. People with FeLV kitties either keep them separated, or have only FeLV+ kitties.

FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is not highly contagious and essentially requires a deep, penetrating bite wound to pass it on. We have an FIV+ kitty, and he intermingles with our other kitties.

Kittens under 6 months old cannot be reliably tested for either.

We got her the IFA test on Saturday. We still don't have results. She had a bit of a turn for the worse two days ago, the vet changed her antibiotic, and she's doing so much better! She is my little playful kitten. Her eyes have stopped being runny. And she's still hungry as ever. Baby steps.