Is FIV & FeLV testing necessary?

[susank521]

I would like to know others' opinion regarding the FIV & FeLV tests. Lately, no matter the issue, it seems that every time I take a cat to the vet (I use two different ones frequently) their first suggestion is to do a combo test.

None of my cats live by themselves, they live in groups (for lack of a better word). The members of the individual groups share food and water bowls, litter boxes, and living areas. Some are strictly outside, some are strictly inside. I do pass from group to group so I could, of course, unwittingly spread  disease from one group to another, but I do try to be very careful. All of them are neutered and very, very rarely are there altercations that bring about bloodshed (one bloody ear this year that may or may not have been the result of a skirmish).

I used to succumb to the vet's suggestion of the test, but no longer do so without first asking them if the findings, whether positive or negative, will in anyway influence or determine their course of treatment. So far, I have not gotten a positive answer to that question, so decline and feel that I've saved myself the cost of an unnecessary test. My reasoning is that if the particular cat being seen were to test positive, I can't see how that knowledge could benefit us as the other cats in his group would have already been exposed. If I choose to introduce a new cat to a group I do have the new cat tested first.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[ldg]

That's how we manage it. I have 8 indoor-only cats that were all feral rescues. We TNR, and there are currently 11 cats actively in the outside colony.

FIV is typically passed only by deep tissue bite wounds - so fighting cats. The highest risk are unsteriized males, though if you have an unsterilized male come around, he may fight with your sterilized kitties. Of course you'd most likely see a bite wound.

We do not test the TNR cats for FIV/FeLV when we trap them to be neutered and released. We do get the rabies vac, but only because we live in the NE, and raccoons and skunks do carry rabies here. Out west, many TNR groups do not even provide the rabies vaccination.

If we have a stray - that seemed feral, but turns out to be friendly - we do have them tested for FIV/FeLV, so we know if they can enter the foster program to be adopted out.

We're lucky - we have never in 11 years of TNR had a cat test positive for FeLV. We do have two FIV+ cats in the colony: one is friendly now, one is extremely feral. Five (including the FIV kitty) of the 11 in the colony are now "pettable," and it's easy for me to keep track of any wounds.

If you've had the cats tested for FIV / FeLV - especially more than once - and they've always tested negative, if there are not strays or ferals passing through for any length of time, then FeLV is not a big risk. And if you're able to keep track - look for bite wounds - in the outside cats, then I see no reason to have them tested. If you need to take one of the outdoor cats in to have an abscess treated, then in the future you can have the cat tested if you want to KNOW if kitty contracted the disease. But wait at least six weeks for the test, because it can take a while to develop in the system.

One of our indoor pets is FIV+. FIV+ and FIV- cats, if not fighting, can live together just fine. FIV is not passed casually the way FeLV can be. Even with FeLV, most adult cats have a strong enough immune system to fight off the disease if exposed.

If your vet feels otherwise about FIV+ cats, they're not very current on the disease.

 

[susank521]

Thank you for your reply, LDG. It just seems a waste to spend $45 on a test that really won't change anything. It's not like the vet doesn't end up with the money, anyway!

If the diseases were treatable, or if there were some way I could pro-actively halt the spread or progression, after the fact, it would be different. As things are right now, if they were to test positive, we will still just be treating the symptoms anyway, correct? If I'm missing something, someone please tell me.

Years ago I did have one TNR kitty (didn't know that acronym back then, they were "wild cats" and I had no other solution for them except to return them from whence I got them!) tested, only because we was so "poorly" and had gotten that way relatively quickly. He did test positive for both FIV and FeLV, along with having a suspicious tumor and raging abscess. I had him put down, but mainly for his comfort. He was a dominant  male so surely the majority of the colony had already been exposed. I felt what damage there was going to be had already been done. Unfortunately, that feral colony did dwindle out within 2 years, but they had so many factors stacked against them, as they all do.  

Of the six strays that have made it to our property on their own, five were male (not surprising given the male/female feline nature). All of our resident females are spayed, so those poor guys are initially just looking for food and safety. Additionally, our outdoor cats go into kennels for the night, which all but eliminates the usual turf war schedule. Three of those strays are now indoor cats (2 in one group and 1 in another group) and I had all of them tested (negative) prior to their introduction.

My Tater

 was an indoor/outdoor house cat who died in 1980 at 3 years old, she had FeLV. We had just brought another kitten, Thimble

, into the house shortly before Tater's diagnosis. After Tater's death, we had the other two cats tested. Thimble, barely a year old at the time, tested positive. She died in 2004 at the ripe old age of 24. Our other cat, Doodle 

, was negative at the time. We never had her tested again, so don't know if she ever contracted the disease.

 

[stephanietx]

All of my cats have come through rescue groups and have already been tested and found to be negative.  If I found a stray on the street that I was going to bring into my home, I'd have it tested ONCE just to know, but after that, no more.  I don't see the need to continue testing unless you have a good reason to suspect an infection. 

 

[catpack]

The benefits of knowing their FIV/FeLV status would be that a stronger or different med may be used first to treat an illness or injury. They may also be put on interferon at the same time. It would just give you a little more info to get them on proper medication if they ever needed it.

 

[ritz]

I agree with the above posters: I never had the 35+ cats I TNRd tested for FIV/FeLK. Honestly, I didn't know what I'd do if one of them tested positive. Of the 35+ cats, a friend and I removed five or six cats into her home to be re-socialized. Those cats were tested before being brought into her home (she had several other indoor/outdoor cats). None tested postive, including "Buckley" who had been in some type of fight prior to being TNRd.
I am aware of a situation in which a cat who was caught in the ceiling of a HUGE government agency, which abuts military housing tested positive for FELK. There was some hot debate among the various individuals and agencies on what to do with "CC": should he be put back into that area and risk him exposing the other stray/feral animals? Some argued that CC had already exposed what ever cats he hung around with so what ever harm had already been done; others argued the opposite.
In the end, "CC" went home to the man who was instrumental in getting CC out of the ceiling, checked by a vet and neutered. CC is now living outdoors near the man; CC is a true feral (never exposed to humans), would not stay in the shelter the man built, but he still sees "CC" occasionally.