FeLV odds for young kitten?

Calicoandkitty · Nov 1, 2023

So I’ve posted here before about a kitten we found outside. He was about 2 weeks old when we found him, he’s now almost 5 weeks and thriving and the cutest little thing. He’s hitting all his milestones and he’s a joy to take care of and be around. With him being so young I’ve been told he cannot be tested for FIV/FeLV yet. I have a 5 year old calico and I really want them to fully meet. We have showed them to each other through the kittens playpen mesh and they seem like they’ll be great together. We didn’t let them touch noses or anything though. I’ve grown so attached to him that even thinking that he may have something like that scares me so bad. Mainly FeLV, I really don’t want to have to find him a new home if he tests positive, that would kill me. If I have him tested now will that be reliable? I’ve heard it’s rare for them to actually have it but I can’t stop thinking about the what ifs and I see something that says he probably doesn’t have it and then see something that says the odds are high. Does anyone have experience with this? I’ve loved and had cats my whole life but I’ve never been fortunate enough to have 2 at once before so I’m new to this. Any advice is welcome, I’ve been a mess over this. TIA

P.S we also don’t live in an area with a lot of strays, a lot of the cats around here are peoples house cats they let go outside (mine have always been strictly indoor) but we don’t really have cat communities or anything and I’ve heard it’s more common coming from cats like that. I’m shocked we even found him.

FeebysOwner · Nov 2, 2023

It is my understanding that there is no age limit on when FeLV testing can occur on a kitten. If a kitten's testing comes out negative, but there is reason to believe they were exposed, then a second test is usually done no sooner than one month later. But that is because the typical timeline between exposure and detection of the infection seems to be about one month.

There doesn't appear to be much of a difference when testing for FIV either. It is thought that if a kitten tests negative, regardless of age that they would be considered clear of intection.

Here is an article that discusses both FeLV and FIV and the related testing. Maybe share this with your vet and see if they have reasons not to 'trust' the information.
Testing kittens for FeLV and FIV (Proceedings) (dvm360.com)

Calicoandkitty · Nov 2, 2023

Thank you!!

LeiLatte · Nov 2, 2023

I would wait before introducing because I read that felv/fiv can take 60 days since exposure for it to show positive. But even then with kittens their maternal antibodies can hide it. And felv can lay dormant in the bone marrow and show up years later. So you never know until you know I guess. It’s at your own risk and what you feel comfortable with.

di and bob · Nov 3, 2023

Have your cats been vaccinated against FeLV? If so you should have little to worry about. My cats all have FeLV which flared up years ago and are still alive. But they were a little older when they got it. I had distemper run it;s course through our outside cats years ago, it is VERY contagious and my indoor cats did come into contact with many of the cats that died since we let them go out back then. They came through it fine because they were vaccinated. I really think your kitten would be very sick by now, kittens do not do well with the disease. I would start his vaccinations and go from there.