Felv Testing Age

[maichelle1996]

I would like some clarification regarding FELV testing. Some people said you can test any age BUT if you test under 6 months you could get a false positive. Other people have said You can never get a false negative but you can get false positives again at any age. Some people say you can test kittens any age others say 8 weeks then others say 12 weeks and then there are other people who say you should wait till 6 months.

The reason I’m asking is the kittens I have will be adopted out in two weeks when they are about 10 weeks old. I want to get them tested for FELV before they go.

So what is the Popular opinion on FELV testing? What is the normal for rescues to do. I know if it’s your own cat you may do things different so I’m asking regarding rescues that are being adopted out as kittens. The answer I found even Varies with different vets. I will be doing the SNAP test that is done in the office.

 

[verna davies]

I had my cats from a shelter at the age of 9 weeks and they had all been tested for felv, its the norm in the UK.
A few years ago I had one of my cats tested for calici and was told by the vet that all tests can give a false result, its down to whether they are shedding at the time of the test. Sorry its not a definite answer, hopefully someone will respond with more knowledge.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think you are seeing so many discrepancies about when to test because the policies vary based on area/region/etc. Have you considered calling around to the rescues in your area to see what each one says? How about a local SPCA? You can tally the responses (and, their logic for when to test), and see if there seems to be a particular time frame that the majority support.

If you are located in the US, you might want to review articles which include national standards.

Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel Report | American Association of Feline Practitioners

Cat Health | New Feline Vaccination Guidelines

 

[She's a witch]

I would test them both now, they will probably be negative. In case they are not, I would worry then. I didn’t think that false negative FELV is possible but remember that this is infectious disease so they can get sick later on- it doesn’t mean the negative was false at the time of testing. In case of positive, I would always retest it with PCR method (from blood or probably better, marrow).

On a different note and please excuse me going off topic, are they still with their mom? If yes, it’s actually better for them and their future owner if they stay with her longer than 10weeks, at least 14 weeks would be the recommendation. Otherwise the risk of some behavioral issues is higher, they can bite, attack hands/legs of their new human parents (especially if they are adopted as single kittens, which personally I would highly discourage).
Good luck!

 

[kittyluv387]

Test them now along with FIV since it’s part of standard care when adopting out kittens. Most likely it’ll be negative. Come back if it’s positive.

 

[maichelle1996]

Thanks everyone for answering. To Respond to the questions asked I have asked local vets and still get different answers of why is the best time to test. There was a mom but she was so thin from Awful living conditions she was not nursing the kittens so we had to pull them. They were living with 20 cats not including the 7 kittens and 6 pit bull dogs. The people would just throw dry cat food on the bare floor and the dogs would eat it and the cats were all Starving. There was dog/cat poop/urine throughout the house. I think this maybe one of the reasons the one kitten is pooping/peeing where ever as he never learned to use a litter box