Hi. This is my first post here, I was referred from Pet Finder because I am trying to get as much info as possible before making a really tough decision.
I have a BIG dilemma. My new kitty, Tessa, went to the vet today for what looked like a cold. She was spayed, vaccinated, and tested negative for FeLV on 4/19 and I adopted her on 4/23.
Today, 4/29, she was tested again because the shelter skipped FIV (and my vet uses a combo FIV/FeLV test) - but now she's gone from leukemia negative to leukemia positive.
She has been playing with my older kitty all week. So Midnight might already be positive. We're taking her to the vet on Monday for testing and vaccination, regardless of what we decide about Tessa.
Should we keep her, and run the risk of infecting Midnight?
If Midnight is already infected, the point is moot. We'll just keep them both, vet bills, shortened life, and other baggage along with it.
If she isn't infected, according to the papers the vet gave us, we run a 85% risk of her getting infected, even with the vaccine. If she's in that 15%, she has a 40% chance of devoping an immunity and never being affected, a 30% chance of being a carrier for any number of years before she become affected, and a 30% chance of dying within the next 3 years. (Which are Tessa's odds right now.) So basically, if we leave Tessa in the house, and Midnight is currently negative, Midnight runs a 9 in 100 chance of dying young due to contracting leukemia post-vaccine, according to the vet info. But I've seen MUCH worse odds on several internet sites BY other vets, claiming that cats will die within weeks or months and should be IMMEDIATELY removed from houses with negative cats.
So if Midnight is currently negative, we could get rid of Tessa to insure that Midnight stays negative, thereby condeming Tessa to those same odds, only alone and in a cage.
Or, absolute worst case, Midnight is negative on Monday, but then shows positive three months down the line, and we've already gotten rid of Tess - thereby losing Tess and still not helping Midnight.
Meanwhile, we're worried about the quality of life of either cat with this disease.
What should we do? We're so upset and confused. This is all compounded by the fact that the last time I was in the vet office, a month ago, I was told that Dot, my first and most beloved cat, was dying and had to put her to sleep. Tessa has already worked her way into my heart, because I adopted her to fill that empty space Dot left at my feet - and she's doing such a great job. She's so darn sweet and lovable and purred on my pillow all night last night.
HELP! Does anyone have experience with FeLV positive cats?
I have a BIG dilemma. My new kitty, Tessa, went to the vet today for what looked like a cold. She was spayed, vaccinated, and tested negative for FeLV on 4/19 and I adopted her on 4/23.
Today, 4/29, she was tested again because the shelter skipped FIV (and my vet uses a combo FIV/FeLV test) - but now she's gone from leukemia negative to leukemia positive.
She has been playing with my older kitty all week. So Midnight might already be positive. We're taking her to the vet on Monday for testing and vaccination, regardless of what we decide about Tessa.
Should we keep her, and run the risk of infecting Midnight?
If Midnight is already infected, the point is moot. We'll just keep them both, vet bills, shortened life, and other baggage along with it.
If she isn't infected, according to the papers the vet gave us, we run a 85% risk of her getting infected, even with the vaccine. If she's in that 15%, she has a 40% chance of devoping an immunity and never being affected, a 30% chance of being a carrier for any number of years before she become affected, and a 30% chance of dying within the next 3 years. (Which are Tessa's odds right now.) So basically, if we leave Tessa in the house, and Midnight is currently negative, Midnight runs a 9 in 100 chance of dying young due to contracting leukemia post-vaccine, according to the vet info. But I've seen MUCH worse odds on several internet sites BY other vets, claiming that cats will die within weeks or months and should be IMMEDIATELY removed from houses with negative cats.
So if Midnight is currently negative, we could get rid of Tessa to insure that Midnight stays negative, thereby condeming Tessa to those same odds, only alone and in a cage.
Or, absolute worst case, Midnight is negative on Monday, but then shows positive three months down the line, and we've already gotten rid of Tess - thereby losing Tess and still not helping Midnight.
Meanwhile, we're worried about the quality of life of either cat with this disease.
What should we do? We're so upset and confused. This is all compounded by the fact that the last time I was in the vet office, a month ago, I was told that Dot, my first and most beloved cat, was dying and had to put her to sleep. Tessa has already worked her way into my heart, because I adopted her to fill that empty space Dot left at my feet - and she's doing such a great job. She's so darn sweet and lovable and purred on my pillow all night last night.
HELP! Does anyone have experience with FeLV positive cats?