Anxiety about new kitten

[Pearjuicedrinker]

Not quite sure how to title this or if I'm posting in the correct section, but it does revolve around the health of my new kitten and older cat so this seemed the best fit.

For context, I adopted a rescue kitten a few days ago and already own another cat. Kitten is about 14 weeks old, older cat is 2,5 years of age. I have kept them in separate rooms from the moment we got home with the kitten and they have not had any contact yet.

Here is where my anxiety surrounding this situation begins: a friend of mine reminded me to have the kitten tested for FIV and FeLV before letting the cats meet. I'd never heard FeLV before this (was aware of FIV) and after a round of googling got terrified.
I know the kitten's mother was tested for both (she is negative) but the kitten himself wasn't. Most places seem to agree testing the mom would be enough if it comes back negative, considering how rare it is in my part of the world (Northern Europe). In fact, I can not find a single owner case in my own language about the condition, just basic information I could read on wikipedia.
I don't have much background info on the kitten or his mother, beyond that she comes from a cat population and he was born outside. Once taken in by the rescue, he had been living in a foster home with just his mom and two littermates.

After a night of anxious googling I called my vet ASAP to book an appointment to have him tested. They didn't seem to be too concerned about the situation, but agreed to do it to give me a peace of mind. The kitten will also get his booster shots at the same time.

This brings me to the second issue I have... which was the realization, that I do not remember my older cat ever having been tested for FIV/FeLV either. She has spent her entire life indoors from birth until now, and when picking her up we got to meet her mother, grandmother and older sister from a previous litter who all were in good health (though I know that's not necessarily an indication of much as cats with the conditions can lead happy and healthy lives when cared well for). She has never been sick a day in her life, is spayed, up to date on her vaccines, has always had a shiny and silky coat etc.

Question is, should I have her tested as well before introducing the kitten to her (assuming he tests negative)? I assume the answer is yes, to be on the safe side, and will be consulting the vet as well when I take the kitten in for his test and vaccines, but I guess I'm looking for some kind of reassurance that I'm doing the right thing and not unnecessary testing just for my own anxiety's sake.

For other general stuff about the situation, the kitten seems healthy, is eating and drinking well, using his litterbox fine and is very playful and active. He seems more shy and gentle than our older cat was as a kitten, so I'm having to adjust a lot and try not to worry too much (I'm an anxious cat mom, I want to do everything right.)

Anyway, thank you for reading this babbling mess I've written... this is my first time writing here, but I've often visited the site as a guest whenever I've had worries and it's always been a wonderful resource

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! While I can't tell you for sure whether or not you have anything to worry about, it does sound as if the odds are in your favor that the cats are both healthy. I only rescue and have many times taken cats from dangerous situations with no prior information about their health. I have never had one test positive for FIV and FeLV. Many of these cats were adults already when I helped them. In a few cases, I have found sick abandoned kittens, and despite their poor physical condition and need for care, no one tested positive. According to Alley Cat Allies, only about 4% of cats ever tested, including strays, have these diseases. You are doing the right thing to refer this to your vets and they will tell you if your older cat should be tested. The fact that they were not very concerned and said they would do the testing for your peace of mind is also a good sign.

 

[Pearjuicedrinker]

Welcome to The Cat Site! While I can't tell you for sure whether or not you have anything to worry about, it does sound as if the odds are in your favor that the cats are both healthy. I only rescue and have many times taken cats from dangerous situations with no prior information about their health. I have never had one test positive for FIV and FeLV. Many of these cats were adults already when I helped them. In a few cases, I have found sick abandoned kittens, and despite their poor physical condition and need for care, no one tested positive. According to Alley Cat Allies, only about 4% of cats ever tested, including strays, have these diseases. You are doing the right thing to refer this to your vets and they will tell you if your older cat should be tested. The fact that they were not very concerned and said they would do the testing for your peace of mind is also a good sign.

Thank you so much for the reply!

Yeah, I've read that it seems to be quite rare, but it also seems like there's a lot of regional differences and other conflicting information online (with some places seemingly even mixing up FIV and FeLV) which has left me confused as I'm the type of person who doesn't like to leave things to chance when it comes to my cats.

I'm glad my friend mentioned the test to me, otherwise I probably wouldn't even have thought of it. She lives in a region with higher prevalency especially for FIV and had to personally deal with a very sad FeLV case once. Where I live the prevalence appears to be so low vets never even mention the FeLV vaccines to owners except in very rare cases of high risk.

I'm glad to hear you've never had a positive result on tests for cats, hearing that definitely helped calm my nerves a bit! And also, thank you so much for the rescue work you do