I recently found and rescued three kittens, 6-7 weeks old. Two of them were going to risk their eyes, but they were rescued just in time to save them.
The vet wanted to run a FIV/FeLV test on all the kittens, the usual IDEXX snap test. Two of them tested positive for FIV, one tested negative for both diseases. I asked the vet why this difference, and whether it makes any sense in testing so young kittens.
She explained something that I haven't fully understood and I think there's a bit of confusion. She said that the two positive kittens got the antibodies from the mother through milk and it reflects the fact that the two positive kittens stayed with their mother longer (as it is the case, they remained with their mother about 10 days longer than the other kitten did), but it's likely they will grow negative in time, while there's no doubt that the negative kitten is healthy.
I remember it was the opposite, but didn't want to argue with the vet.
Can someone explain this thing to me? And what should I expect?
The negative kitten is home with me now.
Thanks!
The vet wanted to run a FIV/FeLV test on all the kittens, the usual IDEXX snap test. Two of them tested positive for FIV, one tested negative for both diseases. I asked the vet why this difference, and whether it makes any sense in testing so young kittens.
She explained something that I haven't fully understood and I think there's a bit of confusion. She said that the two positive kittens got the antibodies from the mother through milk and it reflects the fact that the two positive kittens stayed with their mother longer (as it is the case, they remained with their mother about 10 days longer than the other kitten did), but it's likely they will grow negative in time, while there's no doubt that the negative kitten is healthy.
I remember it was the opposite, but didn't want to argue with the vet.
Can someone explain this thing to me? And what should I expect?
The negative kitten is home with me now.
Thanks!