I am so sorry to hear of Buddy's diagnosis. I know what you must be going through right now, as I had a similar experience a few years ago.
My wife and I have adopted many cats over the past ten years, including a gentle 1.5 year old grey tabby male I named Neko. Like all shelter cats, he had tested negative for FeLV and other diseases before being put up for adoption, and seemed entirely healthy and happy to be with us.
Before we scheduled a follow-up appointment with our own vet, he spent one day feverish and lethagic but recovered right away. I mentioned this to our vet during his appointment. As a precaution, she tested him for common diseases and discovered that he was positive for FeLV.
I was in a panic over the next two weeks, as I hauled all of our other cats in for testing, starting with our youngest and most vulnerable. Fortunately, none of our others tested positive and we had them all vaccinated as a precaution. To this day, our other cats remain healthy and symptom-free.
Neko himself had one good year with us, before succumbing to a chest tumor in December 2008.
In short, it is difficult to predict how other cats may react to exposure to FeLV, but it is not necessarily a given that otherwise healthy and well-cared-for cats will contract a permanent infection from casual exposure. I hope that your other cats will remain free of infection as mine did, and that Buddy will have a good life for whatever time he may have. What living thing can ask for more?
My wife and I have adopted many cats over the past ten years, including a gentle 1.5 year old grey tabby male I named Neko. Like all shelter cats, he had tested negative for FeLV and other diseases before being put up for adoption, and seemed entirely healthy and happy to be with us.
Before we scheduled a follow-up appointment with our own vet, he spent one day feverish and lethagic but recovered right away. I mentioned this to our vet during his appointment. As a precaution, she tested him for common diseases and discovered that he was positive for FeLV.
I was in a panic over the next two weeks, as I hauled all of our other cats in for testing, starting with our youngest and most vulnerable. Fortunately, none of our others tested positive and we had them all vaccinated as a precaution. To this day, our other cats remain healthy and symptom-free.
Neko himself had one good year with us, before succumbing to a chest tumor in December 2008.
In short, it is difficult to predict how other cats may react to exposure to FeLV, but it is not necessarily a given that otherwise healthy and well-cared-for cats will contract a permanent infection from casual exposure. I hope that your other cats will remain free of infection as mine did, and that Buddy will have a good life for whatever time he may have. What living thing can ask for more?