Rescues testing for FeLV and FIV?

[Azumia]

I'm really sorry if this is in the wrong place, but this seemed like a logical place to put it. :3

Anyway, I posted a thread the other day asking for advice on whether or not it would be a good idea to get a third cat. I started my search the other night. I found a litter of insanely cute tuxedo kittens from a rescue, but they had been adopted by the time I filled out an application.

However, I'd noticed that on their Pet Finder ad, it didn't state anywhere that the kittens had been tested for FeLV or FIV. The rescue I got Talulah (my youngest kitty) from did test for those things, so I decided to ask the woman who emailed me. Her response was that they don't automatically test every cat for FeLV or FIV due to budget constraints and that they will test them if they're sick and it seems like an underlying cause.

Maybe it's just me, but this worries me a bit. I understand they're on a limited budget, but I have two cats already and it would break my heart to adopt a kitten and not find out that it has something extremely contagious until it's too late; I can't risk my two current babies getting sick.

Is it normal for a rescue to not test for such things?

[Carmel]

Places should do testing before allowing any cat to go to a home and in fact should do testing before they allow those cats in contact with any of their other cats at the rescue, too... but it isn't required, it depends on the rescues, they all do what they can. I would hope they have had their vaccinations and deworming, but you never know. It would be up to you to request the testing when you see your vet, I guess.

How old were the kittens? At a young age FeLV and FIV testing can come back with inaccurate results.

[Azumia]

Thanks for the response. :]

I was thinking the same thing. According to the rescue, the kittens were all dewormed and vaccinated, but I was told the same thing about Nerine (my three year old) and it turned out to not be true. I had her vaccinated and dewormed myself, which wasn't a problem since I bonded with her right away and didn't mind spending the money.

Normally I wouldn't mind requesting the testing from my own vet, but I don't want to risk bringing a sick kitten home and having my cats get sick. I'd also hate to get attached to a little kitten and find out it's really sick. :[

The kittens I was interested in were born in the middle of November, so they're around 10 weeks old now. However, the woman told me that they don't automatically test any of their cats for FeLV or FIV unless they show symptoms. D:

[laurief]

Every rescue sets its own policies in such matters. One can hardly blame a shoestring rescue for not wanting to (or being able to) invest precious funds into an animal who may not even get adopted. As an adopter, it's your responsibility to ask all relevant health questions prior to adoption so that you know exactly which potential health issues have and haven't been addressed by your rescue. I know of rescues that don't offer any health services - no deworming, no altering, no vaccinations, no testing, no health checks, no anything. They just house the animals, feed them, and try to find them homes. It's up to the adopters to provide everything else. Other rescues with better funding may provide all of those things and more. You just don't know until you ask.

Laurie

[beckyhiker]

If you do find a cat at this rescue you can always arrange to bring it to the vet to be tested prior to actually bringing it into your home. There is a rapid test, so you can get the results pretty quickly. If you got bad news you could then bring the cat back and avoid possibley infecting your current cats.

[Ritzpg]

Totally agree with Beckyhiker.
Tell the organization you'll adopt the cat(s), pending a negative result for FIV/FELK.
I TNR regularly, and it costs around $45 extra for the cat to be tested for FIV/FELK. If the result is positive for either, they require you take back the cat; they will not euthanize (you can live a long with with FIV; FELK, not so much). Another organization I sometimes go through will euthanize any cat that tests positive for FELK. Good luck, and thanks for adopting another cat.