Questions about FeLV/FIV (was Re: Pics of the vicious biting kitten!!!!)

I really hope that there will be a happy ending and a good forever
home for her. I know you probably won't be able to adopt her, but
could you let us know how things go?

I don't know much about FeLV and FIV, but I'm wondering whether cats
that test positive for these can usually get adopted, and who adopts
them? Also, how long do they typically live?

sriddles...

Hi Tak---I can only speak for what our shelter does re: FeVL+ cats.
They are usually euthanized. It's very sad, but here's why it is
sometimes necessary: Households willing to adopt them are few and far
between. It has to be someone who has only FeLV+ cats in the home, and
not very many people are willing to adopt them. You can't adopt them
out to someone you cannot absolutely, positively trust. If you do, and
they decide to let them outdoors, they can infect the other
neighborhood cats. So that would make us responsible for spreading the
disease.
But they can remain symptom-free for a long time. I know a cat who
lived eight years after diagnosis. Especially if the cat is protected
from stress.

Jo Firey...

It really is hard to make decisions about these cats. The first we learned
about this disease was when out Siamese Henry became ill and died. Our
other cat Ginger then tested positive. She was a feral cat we had taken in
and as best we could tell she brought it with her and infected Henry. She
however lived with it with no noticeable ill effect for another six years.
When she finally did get sick, she just became severely anemic. At least
she had an easy death.

sriddles...

Our Luke (Yoda's brother) somehow contracted feleuk even though he was
vaccinated. He was my daughter's cat. He wasn't symptomatic until she
got married and took him with her. I still think it was the stress. We
tried the interferon but it didn't help him. You know, feleuk is
supposed to be very contagious. But Yoda never tested positive. I think
some cats are just susceptible, more so than others.

Takayuki...

Awww, it's so sad that they need to be put to sleep! I can appreciate
that it's for the sake of saving other cats, and I'm sure that that's
the right policy. But after seeing pictures of Bitey Bitty, I hope
that something can be done for her.

sriddles...

I do, too, Tak. I would not trust the feleuk test either. I've seen a
lot of false positives. And a young cat can throw the disease, too. I
hope she is restested and it turns out okay. If not, I hope she can
find an owner. It's very possible for her to have a good life if she
has good care, I truly believe that.

Karen...

FeLV cats do well as only cats usually because they have less stress.
It just all depends on the disease. If it matriculates quickly they
live to around 3 it seems in most cases I've heard of. Then again, with
kittens, I think there is a chance to outgrow it. I remember Mary in
LA's Mimi who fought it off with interferon after a year. It's hard to
find someone who will take that uncertainty on.

Takayuki...

I didn't know that Mimi didn't have FeLV anymore! I knew that her
kittens were lucky and didn't seem to have it, but I assumed that Mimi
still had it, and assumed that was why she had expanded to fostering
non-cat species. I'm glad for her! I think I still have the issue of
Cat Fancy with her profile in it somewhere.

Jane...

One of my friends took in a FeLV+ cat a long time ago, and the vet told
her she'd have to buy some expensive medications to keep him going and
healthy. He was about 7 years old at the time. She was unemployed,
uninsured, and broke, so all she could do was what she called
'benevolent neglect'. She gave him a quiet, serene, warm, happy home
with plenty of food, and he lived nearly 10 years with her before
finally going to the Rainbow Bridge at nearly 18 years old.
So, I think FeLV+ cats can live a good long happy life with the right
care. I'm wondering if this vicious kitten could live like that. If I
had no Rita in my life right now, I'd take her in in a minute.

djmaizels...

Our rescue group will actively try and home FIV cats to indoor-only
homes with no other cats who are willing to take them on, and with good
care an FIV cat can live a long life - 12+ years if lucky. I know of two
personally that have lived full and happy lives and you would never know
they had the virus.

We have homed FeLV cats as well - I once had two adult FeLV cats we
homed to an indoor-only home with no other cats, but there is no
guarantee how long they will live, it can be as little as 6 months, or
can be several years. As others have said it is a peculiar disease in
terms of infectiousness. My friends adopted a 5 month old kitten who
then tested positive for FeLV. He is still alive and in great health 6
years later, and was negative when they retested him a few months later.
I had a rescue semi-feral called Wonky who came from a 'house of horror'
where 50 cats had bred unchecked for years and there was an indoor feral
colony going on. The human occupants never, ever cleaned - or emptied
rubbish, litter trays etc. Think of the worst situation and then triple
it. Anyway the group took all the cats and kittens from the house and
began spaying/neutering them and testing. About one-third of the cats
had FeLV. Wonky was tested and was clear. So it doesn't automatically
spread, but you'd never take a chance and mix them knowingly, even with
the vaccination as it's only 70% effective.