Fostering kittens can they have ???

[gailuvscats]

I am going to foster three kitties, around 5 weeks, I am guessing, was going to take mommy cat too, but they don't think she will allow them to combo test her, which is what i want before I bring her in b ecause I have three cats.

Then I was thinking, taking the kittens without the mom tested is still a risk, right, because they could be born with feline leukemia, correct?

 

[Willowy]

Yes, if the mother cat had FeLV or FIV, chances are high the kittens will, too, either from the womb or from her milk. And the kittens are too young for test results to be accurate, so testing the mother would be best (they can do it while she's knocked out for her spay).

If you keep them separate from your cats, it shouldn't be an issue, though.

 

[gailuvscats]

Yes, I found out that testing the kittens is not reliable until they are 12 weeks. I intend to keep them in the basement, but I declined taking them because my cats utilize the basement when there are not visitors, and I do not want to risk them coming upon urine or saliva left behind by an infected kitten. will not take the chance.

 

[Willowy]

Well, once the urine or saliva has dried, the virus will have died. It's not a stable virus and doesn't live long outside the cat's body. There's very little risk as long as they don't have physical contact or use each other's litterbox and food/water dishes. But I understand not being willing to take any risk

.

 

[ziggy'smom]

Just so you know FIV and FeLV is a very rare disease. Depending on the area only 2-5% of stray cats are affected. It's also not very contagious as it's spread through blood usually through mating or biting. It is very difficult to catch it if the cats don't have direct contact and the virus doesn't survive in the environment very long. FIV is especially hard to pass on and I know of people that have positive and negative cats living together without the negative cats ever catching the virus. Of course all the cats have to be fixed.
I understand that you are worried about your cats but I really don't think they would be at any risk if all cats are kept separated and you practice good hygiene like washing your hands after handling the fosters which you should always do even if they are verified to be negative.

Would the organization be able to have mom fixed now so that they can test her while she's knocked out? It is okay to spay a nursing mom. It doesn't affect her milk supply or her ability to care for the kittens.
Is the mom feral or semi-feral? If not they should be able to get her tested by an experienced vet. They are used to dealing with scared cats that fight them tooth and nail. I've had some very feisty cats tested. They usually take blood from a vain in the neck which is easier than taking it from the leg or thigh when a cat is not holding completely still.

There is such a huge need for foster homes so I really hope that this organization will look into their options to get this to work.

 

[booktigger]

Unless there is a lot of FeLV in the area, i wouldn't have thought there was much risk and all foster cats should be isolated as there are other things they could be carrying such as cat flu and as others have said, it is a very fragile and with cleaning after your cats should be fine although my cat room is always off limits to my own cats

 

[gailuvscats]

thanks, i didn't take this bunch, have another bunch that I put a post up about. T

the belief that it is difficult for cats to catch the feline leukemia from another is not true. I had two adult male cats, one went out, got in a fight, and came home, shared litter and food with the other, and they both got it and both had to be euthanized. this was many years ago right when the vaccine came out and was questionable.