[lonehowl]

We adopted our sweet kitten Tom from our local humane society on Oct. 28 of this year. He was tested for Feline Leukemia twice while at the shelter and then I had him tested again at my vet. All three tests were negative. About two weeks after I got him, he started running a fever. He has been on Orbax for the last three weeks, with his fever going up and down. I had the very strong urge to have him tested for Feline leukemia once again just to be sure. Well today the test came back positve. I am devasted. For one, he is so young, I can't put him sleep. He is still happy and active. But I have six other cats to worry about. I am having them all vaccinated against it just to be safe, and keeping him separate from them. Has anyone else had to go through this with a cat? If so, I would really like to hear someone else's experiences with this disease. What to expect and all.
Thanks, Melissa

 

[Newt]

Thats very sad. We didn't go through FL with ours, but we did go through FIP. I don't know that much about FL, is it possible to recover?

FIP is fatal, so we kept him at home and made him comfortable until we noticed neurological damage and had him put to sleep. It was very sad, but we felt it was humane since he was suffering. Do some research and see what you can find.

We found a site where a woman was able to keep her cat alive, healthy and active with FIP for over 2 years. Not sure if it was true, but we tried all the remedies hoping for a miracle. Sometimes you never know what the cat's immune system is capable of.

 

[lonehowl]

Thank you for the reply. I have heard of cats living for quite some time with Feline Leukemia. I was just so upset because we have six other cats to keep him away from. I think I have devised a plan that will work. Luckily we have a basement, so my plan is to keep the healthy cats in the basement during the day(they usually sleep all day anyway) and let Tom have run of the upstairs during the day. I will confine Tom in a spare bedroom at night and let the other cats upstairs at night. They won't have contact with each other's litterboxes or food dishes so I am thinking it will work. If anyone else has any other advice or suggestions I would love to hear. Melissa

 

[shlanon]

It sounds like a good plan. The only tough thing may be that he will have no contact with the other cats. But I guess it is necessary for the health of the others. Is he more of a cat cat or a people cat?

 

[Jeanie]

lonehowl, We had a stray who was breaking in the house eating our cats' food. My son told me there was a cat in the kitchen when he got up in the middle of the night for a drink. I said, "Duh," because we had four, but he insisted it wasn't one of ours. I finally caught "the Bandit." Bandit was a real sweetheart. I dscovered that he was "bumming" from all of the neighbors. Well, he disappeared for two weeks, and finally came back to our back door, limping, thin, and dirty. I decided to donate a neutering. At that time it was only $60, and I thought I could do that much.

Well, he had abscesses from being in fights, which needed surgery, so 15 years ago, we paid over $250 to take care of this stray, only to find out that he had feline leukemia. We kept him in the basement for months and my children went down to feed and play with him. We felt so bad about the isolation, but we loved our cats too much to take any chances. And to allow him outside would have put every outside cat at risk.

Finally, a young couple who had no children "adopted" him, put him on a leash and made him their baby. He really was loved. He lived several years with no symptoms, then began to get lumps all over. He had to be euthanized, but what a wonderful life he had! They called him Fred, but he was always "Bandit" to me.

 

[lonehowl]

Thank you so much for sharing that. I took all of my other cats in today and had them rechecked for Feline Leukemia. They are all negative thank goodness. Luckily I work for my vet, so I get everything at a discount. I can't imagine how much all of this would be costing me if I didn't. My vet is going to make a call tomorrow and see if there is any chance that it could have been a false positive since he had three negatives already. He did say however it is more likely that the negatives were false, but hey, it's worth looking into. I really would like to find him a home with another family that either has no cats or another feline leukemia positive one. He is already missing his buddies and they have only been separated for a day. I have also been contemplately taking in another positve one myself and that way he would have a friend to play with, and I would also most likely be saving a life. Again thanks for the replies, it was encouraging to hear of a positve cat that lived happily for quite some time. Melissa

 

[shlanon]

Yeah, my next thought was for you to maybe adopt another feline leukemia positive kitty. I know a woman who has one FL kitty and many who are not and may be getting another FL cat as company for the one with FL. It sounds like a great idea if you can do it because it so hard to find those cats a home.

 

[kitkat]

That would be great if you could adopt another kitty with FL. Wish you the best of luck with your kitty, take care and keep us updated! :wink:

 

[Jeanie]

That is a lovely thought. However, I found that when Bandit was isolated from the others, none of the cats got the petting and attention they normally got. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but maybe a home with no other cats would be even better.

 

[lonehowl]

After thinking more about it, I agree, it would be best to place him in a home without any other cats. I am at a loss though as to how to find a good home for him. I foster cats for out local humane society every once in awhile, so I have talked to them. They didn't know of anyone. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should go about finding him a good home. I want to find someone that is willing to spoil him rotten and commit to keeping him until the end, however long that may be.
Melissa

 

[Jeanie]

First, I would post this story in Cats in Need, one of our other forums. I would look for someone who thinks he's too old (or she) to get another pet. Many people who are getting up in age won't get a new pet, for fear it has no home when they're gone. I would also ask the vet to consider this poiint-not immediately when a cat is put to sleep, of course, but if that person made the remark that they would not be able to get another pet, he might suggest it a week or two later, when the terrible shock is easing. This cat could be a real blessing to an older person. Good luck; you have a good heart.