I can't stand it!

[Odonata]

He's a cuteness who made his presence known to me Tuesday night in the parking lot at work. I was concerned that he wasn't truly orphaned, but after an hour of incessant mewing with no sign of a mama or litter-mates, I decided to take him home. My parents were going to adopt the little guy, but I'm fostering for the moment while they go visit a friend for a few days. He still needs to be bottle fed every 3-4 hours, burped, and genital/anal stimulated to eliminate.

He weighs ~10 oz, so I'm assuming he's around 3 weeks old. I've been keeping him completely separated from my other kitties because I'm paranoid that they might get him sick, or vice-versa. He's certainly hadn't given me any reason to think he's sick -- he's nursing, burping, eliminating, sleeping, and purring like a champ. I haven't even been able to find a flea on him!

I just took him to my vet for an exam, and he tested positive for feline leukemia. :cry: :cry: :cry: I now have to find him a home where he's an only cat or a home that's already feline leukemia positive. I'm looking at the strong possibility that I'm going to have him euthanized.

I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it!!!!!!!!!!

He's SUCH a sweetie too! So purry and affectionate.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Awww. What a cutie.

I hope you can find a good home for him. And talk to the vet, I think they can do some things to help cats with FeLV. Good luck with this little guy.

[tencats]

2. Strongly suggest that you have him retested by a lab (IFA test).

If you haven't already read about false positives here is a good link to start with.

"I think that it would be best to try to confirm the results of this
test by using a different testing technology. The best way to do this would be
to send out an IFA (immunofluorescent assay) test to a reference lab. If
this test was positive then it would be very likely to be a true positive.
The in-office tests for feline leukemia virus are very accurate but still
have a very big chance of being wrong in a situation in which they are being
used as a screening test for cats that appear healthy. In this
scenario, due to the overwhelming chance that the cat will actually be healthy,
false positive tests are actually more common than true positive tests. This
was discussed in this issue of the VetInfo Digest."
Mike Richards, DVM
8/2/2001

http://www.vetinfo.com/cfeleuk.html#Feline%20leukemia%20transmission%20and%20false%20positive

[Lorien]

4. I agree-but wait a while

he's a bit young for accurate testing right now. Don't lose hope.

[regnaD kciN]

3. Where do you live?

If you're anywhere near the Northwest, there's a shelter in Portland, House of Dreams, that (last I heard) had a specific living area entirely for FeLV-positive cats. If they can't find single-cat or FeLV-positive homes, they can continue to live, and be well-cared-for, in that part of the house among like-condition felines. The shelter's number is [phone]. (Not sure about the area code, since the listing I have for them doesn't include it, but I think 503 is right for Portland.)

[superconnected]

5. and post this on the group for your state.

I found a home for a homeless cat on DU by posting in my state.

Someone on this site will probably take him.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

6. My RIP baby tested positive for Feline Leukemia

in '86, the vet said she had a year to live. She lived til 2001, at 18 1/2, I helped her go on.

I do not trust vets 100% of the time. She had seizures and thyroid problems, but had a really good life.

[demnan]

7. Oh how tragic!

I hope it's a false positive. He is such a little darling! I hope you can keep him for your parents

[Odonata]

8. Thank you all so much...

I've since come to understand that my vet really shouldn't have tested him/her (the kitten's now looking a little more like a girl) so young. Most vets won't test for FeLV until a kitten's at least 7 weeks old because of false positives in younger kittens. To think he had me thinking about euthanasia!

A friend of mine has a house with a finished attic where his cats don't go. We're keeping the kitten there until she's old enough to be tested again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Lowell]

9. Lets hope it is a false reading

I lost my cat Boozer to that years ago. We tried everything. Sometimes he would appear to improve then have awful setbacks. It is a horrible disease and a real heartbreaker to watch. I finally had to have him put down. He was only seven. Its been years now and I still miss him.

[superconnected]

10. Lowell I'm sorry to hear about your cat.

Animals do that. They just get ya.

[kestrel91316]

11. FeLV testing is not routinely done until 12 weeks.

I know that we can see lots of false positives on the FIV test if done too early. I do not see many false positive FeLVs but then I never test this early. Suggest you hold kitty separate from the others and retest in a few weeks. Also, the IFA test is more specific but less sensitive so it's a good backup.

[newsguyatl]

12. i'd have him re-tested

before you do anything rash.