Help, Advice Needed Please on a FELV Cat

[Anikaca77]

Hi All,

As many of you know I volunteer with a non-profit rescue that's ran by 1 women. I just received this e-mail this afternoon and I wanted to know if anyone had any advice as to what I might be able to offer this women. I'd love to take it but as you all know I have 8 cats right now and I can't.

I'm going to mention some more sites to this women and most likely Shirley will allow her to put the cat on her petfinder site as a courtesy so any other information would be great.

Thanks,
Melissa


Here is the e-mail I got from Jessica.


Hello,

I was refered to you from Shirley Fonda, hoping that you can help me out, or give me some advice. We have a 1-year-old kitty that we are trying to find a good home for and are not having much luck. His name is Whitey, and he has Feline Leukemia. We have gotten a few e-mails, but as soon as we mention Feline Leukemia, this is where we are having trouble. People don't understand that just because he has FeLv, doesn't mean that he won't make a great pet. They automatically think that he is sick. We had him to the vet for all of his vaccines, which he is up to date on. He was neutered on 12/31/2007. He is so loveable and loves attention. He loves to have his belly rubbed, and he loves to be brushed.

We originally had a family lined up to adopt him ahead of time, but at the very last minute, they called to say that they could no longer adopt him because their landlord wants to sell their home and they have to be out by the end of the next month. They wanted him really bad, but they didn't want to have to try to find a new home for him if they couldn't find another "pet friendly" place to live by the end of the next month. So, I am kind of glad that they didn't take him. But now, we are stuck and having a difficult time finding him a new home.

She told me to ask you about Chat Lines for Cats. I don't really know much about it, but she said it might help us out in finding the little guy a new (GOOD) home. I have tried listing him on Craigslist, searching for people who are looking to adopt a cat. I also tried PetFinder.Org, but apparently I cannot make a listing of him being up for adoption, unless an Organization does it for me.

Any advice, opinions, or help that you could give me, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,

Jessica

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm sure she has already thought of this but if she states in her postings that she is looking for a home with no other cats or a family that already has FELV cats it will save alot of time rather than telling them after the fact and having everybody back out.
It would be ideal if she could find a family that has an FELV cat that is lonely and needs a companion. This way they could have each other and not worry about passing the disease onto each other.
Prayers that this family is out there.

[Anikaca77]

I just e-mailed Jessic this so I'll post her answers when I get her e-mail or phone call.


Hi Jessica,

Where did you find Whitey at? If you don't mind me asking so why can't you keep him? He sounds like such a wonderful guy that I couldn't see giving him up either.

FeLv is spread by the saliva in the cats mouth right? So another cat would get from eating out the same dishes right or playing with the same toys? Sorry I'm not familiar with FeLv and FIV.

I think it's great that you have taken it upon yourself to get him fixed and get him his vaccines. Have you tried contacting Centre County Paws? http://centrecountypaws.org/

From you phone number I take it you are not in the Centre County area but you might want to tell them that you are just so that way he will be able to get into Paws and be put on a waiting list so that way they could help find him a home.

If you don't want to do that I completely understand as well. I've posted your e-mail without your e-mail address and phone number on a pet talk board that I belong too in hopes that I will get other suggestions for you and see if someone else might have some different advice.

Are you from State College or do you live near State College. The reason why I'm asking this is because Shirley shows kittens & cats at Petco every Saturday and I was thinking that if you live in State College or near a Petco that you might want to check with them to see if they will let you step u a table or something and bring him in to the store on a Saturday to try to get him adopted out. I'd say the best way to get him out there is to hang up flyers at food stores, pet shops, pet stores, etc. http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehom...flyermaker.cfm

I use this website above when I need to create flyers for cats. I attached an example of what I've done in Word and how I attach my phone numbers to them.

Do you have any pictures I could post on the pet board? I'm not sure what Shirley meant by Chat Lines for Cats unless she just means the pet board I belong too and well I know of a few other yahoo groups that I can cross post your story too and hope that Whitey will get a great home.

I've also attached an adoption application that I use for anyone adopting any cat that I've rescued and sometimes I ask for a fee but most times I just ask that they fill out the application and keep me informed.

I would still try to continue to list him on Craigslist because I've had many hits on there. The other thing is if you are not from State College then I'd still post an ad for Whitney on State College and just tell people the story or even some of the other places around PA. I know with Craigslist though they usually don't like you to repost the same story so you might have to change it up some. When you do list him up on Craigslist I would put that he is FeLv and that he needs a home with other FeLv cats or a home by himself so that way you eliminate anyone who might not be interested or waste your time. I would also suggest maybe looking up some FeLv cat rescues around PA and calling them to see if they have any ideas on how to find an FeLv cat a home or if they know of someone who might be able to take in another cat or wants another cat.

Sorry about having to e-mail you back but I don't have long-distance or a cell phone that I can use for chatting.

I will let you know if I hear any other good suggestions or anything that I think might help you find Whitey a great home!

Thanks,
Melissa

[Anikaca77]

Here is an e-mail I just got back from Jessica.

I've attached the pictures of this cutie pie!


Hi Melissa,

Thank you for getting back to me so fast, I really appreciate it.

First of all, we got Whitey last year in May. A lady who was going through a divorce was losing her farm, and she had a whole bunch of kittens and cats running around. I feel horrible for even having to find this little guy a new home, but I have no choice. There are several reasons to why we have to (and believe me we tried what we could.) We actually just moved in with my mom for a while. I am pregnant and have been experiencing worse allergy symptoms (Whitey has long hair.) My husband tried and tried to keep him bathed and even brushes him everyday and it still does not work. Also, my mom has worse allergies than myself, she watched Whitey for us for a couple days and broke out in hives and it got really bad. I am expecting a baby next month, so who knows if he'll have allergies, too.

Feline Leukemia is contagious among cats. They can transfer it through saliva, blood, or feces. Basically, he cannot live with another cat, unless it is positive, too. It's a shame, because he loves attention, and I think he would love a playmate. He can also be with dogs, or any other animals. I think he would do well with dogs, if they were okay with him. The Vet said that he isn't showing any signs of it, and it isn't in his lymph nodes, which is a good sign.

He is just so loveable, it makes my heartbreak to have to find him a new home. As long as we know that he goes to a good home, I'll feel a little better. I was hoping we could find a nice family, with children, because he loves kids! Whoever would decide to adopt him, I would love if they would keep in contact with us every now and then and let us know how he is doing.

We also had him declawed (in the front,) they did this when they neutered him. I know it's horrible what they do to declaw them, but I guess you have to look at the good and bad sides of something, if he does go to a home with children, he won't scratch them. I have tried contacting Centre County Paws, but had no luck. I called them a couple days ago. I talked to a lady there, and she said since we don't live in Centre County, they really couldn't help me, or didn't really have any suggestions.

We actually live about 25 miles from State College, but go there a lot. We live in Lewistown, I'm sure you are familar with that. Shirley did tell me that she is taking some kittens and cats to Petco this Saturday from 3:00 to 8:30pm. I didn't think of asking to take him there, and try to adopt him out, but I'm not sure if I'd be allowed. Do you think I should call Shirley again tomorrow, and ask her about that? Or would I have to call Petco?

I have also created a flyer-type of thing for Whitey, and I printed some copies out. I plan on taking it to his Vet, and giving them to friends and family to check around. It's just so difficult when people don't understand what Feline Leukemia is. People automatically think he is sick, and don't want to adopt a what they think is 'sick' cat. I have attached a copy of the flyer I made, for you to see. I tried to explain his condition and include as much of information about him as possible. I have also attached some pictures of Whitey for you...I really appreciate you posting him on the pet board for me.

Thank you so much for giving me the link of where you can create flyers, that'll help a lot.

As for Craigslist, I haven't had any luck there, either. I am going to post under State College and see if anyone is interested. I got e-mails from people on Craigslist saying that if he didn't have Feline Leukemia, they would love to give him a home because he's so cute and seems like a great cat. Some of these people have other cats already, and this one girl I talked to (who was actually thinking of adopting him)...well she called me back and said her husband would rather not, in case they decide to get another cat down the road. Sigh, it seems like once someone might be interested and seem like they would give him a good home, they back down.

Well, hopefully there will be someone out there who will want to give this little guy a home. He is full of so much Love, and in-need of a lot of attention (what he deserves.)

I appreciate the time you took to help me out and for all of the suggestions you gave me. You really helped me out a lot, and Whitey, too.

oh, and by the way- I tried to call you, but got no answer, so I decided to e-mail you instead.

Again, thank you so much,

Jessica

[krazyaboutkatz]

He's such a handsome cat. I sure hope that he'll be able to find a new loving forever home.

[TenHouseCats]

http://ucat.us/FELVFIVFIP.html

that site isn't completely up-to-date, but as of about a year ago, it had the most accurate information available.

www.catvets.com (the american assn of feliine practioners' new web addy) and the winn feline foundation (www.winnfelinehealth.org) both have new guidelines/information on current research and information on both FIV and FeLV.

the MOST important resource for FeLV, however, is the most recent Merck Vet Manual publication (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...ine%2cleukemia) because it puts into print, from a pretty much unassailable source, the figures that have long been anecdotal in the sanctuary and FeLV-owned households: that healthy, adult cats can be exposed to the virus, they can pick up the virus, but a very high percentage will either not become infected, or will process it out of their systems.

it's long been noticed, also, that there seems to be a natural immunity that develops once a cat passes a year of age, and the new vaccines are roughly 95% effective. so: it is NOT as contagious as we used to think, mutual grooming is currently thought to be the most common mode of transmission (even for kittens--when we used to think that transplacental transmission accounted for positive results in kittens), and while there is no formal research supporting it yet, there is extensive anecdotal evidence to show that vaccinated (and, actually, even unvaccinated) healthy adult cats can live with positives with their being no infection. no one can officially say this, of course, because the first line of treatment has long been, and continues to be, killing all positives based on a single snap test, which seriously limits the population available for research purposes.

has the kitty--who is GORGEOUS, btw--been retested since the original test? if not, you cannot assume that it is positive. something we did NOT know, even as recently as five years ago, is that it can take up to 90-120 days for the virus to process itself out of a cat's system--so a positive test MUST be repeated. actually, all the textbooks have said that for YEARS, but it seems that way too many vets haven't bothered to notice that. additionally, while snap tests are traditionally more accurate for FeLV than for FIV, there is still always the possibility of a false positive: not doing snaps correctly (because they've gotten involved in something else, generally) is one of the top ten mistakes that vets admit to--i've got the citation for that someplace. i have EVERYTHING someplace.) i know of two sanctuaries that have discovered, happily living amongst their FeLVs for years, negative kitties who initially tested positive, because no one knew that retesting was so important.

one of the better known sites for posting adoptables is http://www.adopt.bemikitties.com.

final note: when you are looking up stuff about FeLV, pay close attention to the DATE the article was published. so much more is known now that anything older than 3 or 4 years is probably at least partially out-of-date, and while the basics will be unchanged, you may have to look for more current stuff--as from the winn feline foundation, or aafp--to find the updates.

MC

[Anikaca77]

MC

Thank you so much for your information. I made sure I forwarded this to Jessica and maybe she will want to retest him.

Thank you again,
Melissa

http://ucat.us/FELVFIVFIP.html

that site isn't completely up-to-date, but as of about a year ago, it had the most accurate information available.

www.catvets.com (the american assn of feliine practioners' new web addy) and the winn feline foundation (www.winnfelinehealth.org) both have new guidelines/information on current research and information on both FIV and FeLV.

the MOST important resource for FeLV, however, is the most recent Merck Vet Manual publication (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...ine%2cleukemia) because it puts into print, from a pretty much unassailable source, the figures that have long been anecdotal in the sanctuary and FeLV-owned households: that healthy, adult cats can be exposed to the virus, they can pick up the virus, but a very high percentage will either not become infected, or will process it out of their systems.

it's long been noticed, also, that there seems to be a natural immunity that develops once a cat passes a year of age, and the new vaccines are roughly 95% effective. so: it is NOT as contagious as we used to think, mutual grooming is currently thought to be the most common mode of transmission (even for kittens--when we used to think that transplacental transmission accounted for positive results in kittens), and while there is no formal research supporting it yet, there is extensive anecdotal evidence to show that vaccinated (and, actually, even unvaccinated) healthy adult cats can live with positives with their being no infection. no one can officially say this, of course, because the first line of treatment has long been, and continues to be, killing all positives based on a single snap test, which seriously limits the population available for research purposes.

has the kitty--who is GORGEOUS, btw--been retested since the original test? if not, you cannot assume that it is positive. something we did NOT know, even as recently as five years ago, is that it can take up to 90-120 days for the virus to process itself out of a cat's system--so a positive test MUST be repeated. actually, all the textbooks have said that for YEARS, but it seems that way too many vets haven't bothered to notice that. additionally, while snap tests are traditionally more accurate for FeLV than for FIV, there is still always the possibility of a false positive: not doing snaps correctly (because they've gotten involved in something else, generally) is one of the top ten mistakes that vets admit to--i've got the citation for that someplace. i have EVERYTHING someplace.) i know of two sanctuaries that have discovered, happily living amongst their FeLVs for years, negative kitties who initially tested positive, because no one knew that retesting was so important.

one of the better known sites for posting adoptables is http://www.adopt.bemikitties.com.

final note: when you are looking up stuff about FeLV, pay close attention to the DATE the article was published. so much more is known now that anything older than 3 or 4 years is probably at least partially out-of-date, and while the basics will be unchanged, you may have to look for more current stuff--as from the winn feline foundation, or aafp--to find the updates.

MC

[mumpkees]

MC:

Thanks for taking the time to post this excellent information on feline leukemia!

You are so right about doing an internet search - you can still pull up information from the 1960's where when leuk was first discovered vets were told the only way to irradicate the virus was to KILL every cat who tested positive. Sadly, even though we have come a long way both in updated knowledge and treatment options, many vets are 'still' strongly 'suggesting' to caregivers of 'suspected' positive cats that KILLING them is the best thing as otherwise they will all die a horribly painful death.

I am one of the anecdotal figures that MC speaks of. I've been caring for leukemia positive cats (and some dual positives (FIV)) since the early 1970's and doing so in a mixed household. This was long before testing became mainstream - you rescued a cat - you brought them home and quarantined for URI's - typically 14 days. You then introduced them into your household. Think about it - if leukemia was the deadly highly contageous killer it was/is made out to be - I'd have had a house full of dead cats many times over the years. So would thousands of others who did exactly the same thing.

The vaccine for leukemia was a wonderful advancement - giving, as do all vaccines - protection. When it first came out, cats were not even tested. One of the reasons testing is so popular in today's litigation heavy society is an attempt to keep rescuers from being sued for adopting a cat who may have leukemia. The inaccuracy of the test is high and rescuers, because of space limitations, only test once. A cat's life or death is based on this one test - a suspected positive test can still cause a cat to die if a rescue group has a policy of killing all positives. In order for a testing to be deemed remotely accurate, it must be repeated in 90 to 120 days - most cats don't get that chance because of overpopulation and no where for the cat to stay while it waits for retest. I strongly suspect that more cats have died from an inaccurate test result than have ever died from the leukemia virus.

There is a saying about the virus 'when it dries, it dies'. This means that this virus once outside the cat's virus, quickly dies once it has dried. Dried virus is unable to infect other cats. The virus also is killed by common household cleaners. In recent months, however, there have been some studies released showing that the virus is suspected of living somewhat longer and if dried virus gets rewetted, it is viable again. These studies have been done in controlled lab conditions in petri dishes - the chances of cats finding a dried saliva drop and managing to get it rewetted and ingested are very slim indeed.

Another thing that must be remembered - this virus takes PROLONGED CLOSE CONTINUAL CONTACT to be passed on. The kind like mother (or Aunti in the case of suspected positive kittens from a negative mother) would have while she cared for and groomed her kittens. I can tell you dozens of personal stories about positives and healthy adult negatives living together - eating and drinking together, sharing litter boxes and mutally grooming. Negatives - both vax'd and unvax'd never caught leukemia. I can also let you know that while yes, some of my leuk positives have died young, many others in my home who were known positives lived well up into their teens.

Everyone must make a decision that they can safely live with when it comes to positives and negatives residing in the same home, but if more people have the REAL facts, possibly more might have enough space to be able to foster or adopt a positive cat. Even if one errs on the cautious side, it is still possible to care for a positive cat in a negative home, especially temporarily. Cats do not need huge amounts of space. Most cats sleep away 16 hours of their life a day. A large cage or a small bathroom is fine. A spare bedroom is even better. The virus is not airborne and if litter boxes, food and water dishes are not shared kitty could safely exercise in a room that other cats might frequent.

I've been doing it for over 30 years and not one of my negative cats has caught leukemia. I hope someone will be able to feel comfortable enough to offer this beautiful cat a home. /mari

[jennielynn1970]

Gosh, how heartbreaking!! There are 7 FeLV+ cats at the one shelter I volunteer with, and they are enclosed in this tiny room, with plexiglass over the wire windows. I feel bad for them too, cause they have no room to run or play or anything.

I don't know anyone any more who takes in FeLV+ cats. There was one woman, but this was 10+ years ago, and she lived in Bally. I wish I still had her info. She took in a cat that a co-worker of mine had that needed to be rehomed, and Grayzie was FeLV+. She had a huge place in the woods, and had outfitted this barn with AC and everything for the FeLV cats she took in. She was amazing. I'll do some emailing and see if I can find out her name again, but the last time I asked about her, which was a year or so ago, no one with that shelter remembered anyone like her.

I hope she can find a home for the kitty. What about allergy shots for herself and her mom??? I mean, that is an option. I take allergy meds and asthma meds because I'm allergic to cats, but there's no way I'd give them up because of it. The allergy excuse just doesn't cut it with me any more.

He's a gorgeous boy. I hope someone will take him in. Such a shame for him to be out of a home.

[Anikaca77]

Thank you so much for your information! It was very helpful!

I'm going to post some signs around town and hopefully she'll get a call or two about him.

He's so pretty and I'd love to take it myself but it's just not possible.

Please cross post this to as many people as you can so we can try to get him a home.

Thanks,
Melissa

MC:

Thanks for taking the time to post this excellent information on feline leukemia!

You are so right about doing an internet search - you can still pull up information from the 1960's where when leuk was first discovered vets were told the only way to irradicate the virus was to KILL every cat who tested positive. Sadly, even though we have come a long way both in updated knowledge and treatment options, many vets are 'still' strongly 'suggesting' to caregivers of 'suspected' positive cats that KILLING them is the best thing as otherwise they will all die a horribly painful death.

I am one of the anecdotal figures that MC speaks of. I've been caring for leukemia positive cats (and some dual positives (FIV)) since the early 1970's and doing so in a mixed household. This was long before testing became mainstream - you rescued a cat - you brought them home and quarantined for URI's - typically 14 days. You then introduced them into your household. Think about it - if leukemia was the deadly highly contageous killer it was/is made out to be - I'd have had a house full of dead cats many times over the years. So would thousands of others who did exactly the same thing.

The vaccine for leukemia was a wonderful advancement - giving, as do all vaccines - protection. When it first came out, cats were not even tested. One of the reasons testing is so popular in today's litigation heavy society is an attempt to keep rescuers from being sued for adopting a cat who may have leukemia. The inaccuracy of the test is high and rescuers, because of space limitations, only test once. A cat's life or death is based on this one test - a suspected positive test can still cause a cat to die if a rescue group has a policy of killing all positives. In order for a testing to be deemed remotely accurate, it must be repeated in 90 to 120 days - most cats don't get that chance because of overpopulation and no where for the cat to stay while it waits for retest. I strongly suspect that more cats have died from an inaccurate test result than have ever died from the leukemia virus.

There is a saying about the virus 'when it dries, it dies'. This means that this virus once outside the cat's virus, quickly dies once it has dried. Dried virus is unable to infect other cats. The virus also is killed by common household cleaners. In recent months, however, there have been some studies released showing that the virus is suspected of living somewhat longer and if dried virus gets rewetted, it is viable again. These studies have been done in controlled lab conditions in petri dishes - the chances of cats finding a dried saliva drop and managing to get it rewetted and ingested are very slim indeed.

Another thing that must be remembered - this virus takes PROLONGED CLOSE CONTINUAL CONTACT to be passed on. The kind like mother (or Aunti in the case of suspected positive kittens from a negative mother) would have while she cared for and groomed her kittens. I can tell you dozens of personal stories about positives and healthy adult negatives living together - eating and drinking together, sharing litter boxes and mutally grooming. Negatives - both vax'd and unvax'd never caught leukemia. I can also let you know that while yes, some of my leuk positives have died young, many others in my home who were known positives lived well up into their teens.

Everyone must make a decision that they can safely live with when it comes to positives and negatives residing in the same home, but if more people have the REAL facts, possibly more might have enough space to be able to foster or adopt a positive cat. Even if one errs on the cautious side, it is still possible to care for a positive cat in a negative home, especially temporarily. Cats do not need huge amounts of space. Most cats sleep away 16 hours of their life a day. A large cage or a small bathroom is fine. A spare bedroom is even better. The virus is not airborne and if litter boxes, food and water dishes are not shared kitty could safely exercise in a room that other cats might frequent.

I've been doing it for over 30 years and not one of my negative cats has caught leukemia. I hope someone will be able to feel comfortable enough to offer this beautiful cat a home. /mari

[Anikaca77]

I forwarded all this information to Jessica and I did ask her about taking the allergy pills but I doubt she would want to take them while she is pregnant.

I asked her if there was a separate room for her to keep the cat in once the baby arrives in case the baby is allergic to cats.

Jessica is due next month so hopefully we'll find Whitey a home by then.

Melissa

[catmandu]

We sadly have no advice, but prayers for that Poor, Handsome Cat are on the way.

[Anikaca77]

Thank you all so much for the advice!

I haven't heard from her yet since I last e-mailed her so I'm not sure if she had her baby or not yet.

Melissa

[susanswatlin518]

I JUST WANT TO WISH THESE CATS WITH THIS TERRIBLE FELINE LEUKEMIA LOTS OF LOVE AND I PRAY THERE CAN BE A CURE SOMEHOW SO THAT THESE BEAUTIFUL SPIRITS CAN STAY WITH US AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.MY CATS HAVE BEEN LUCKY-BUT ALL OTHERS NEED HOPE! SUSANSWATLIN518