Feline Leukemia Virus Support >

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Recently diagnosed, looking for support

   
Sylvia

Silly Grey Girl		 
 
Purred: Sat Oct 3, '09 12:22pm PST 
Hi all,
Sylvia is a year-old mixed breed, indoor-only kitty (and one of my best friends) who tested negative for FLV as a kitten, was given the all-clear to live with other cats by my original vet back home right before we moved, and then suddenly came up a strong positive this past week.

Of course, Sylvia didn't turn up positive until after I had adopted a kitten and they'd been together in the apartment for a month. cry My vet tells me that they've already lived together long enough for Bea to have been exposed, but we can vaccinate her and do our best to keep them both healthy. She told me there's no need to worry yet and that it might be more stressful for both cats to separate them, and she has other clients who have a positive and a negative cat living together with no problems. My parents (experienced cat owners who currently don't have any) have agreed to take Sylvia if her immune system ever becomes too compromised to live with another cat.

Nonetheless, I am devastated. The internet sources I've found have me terrified about what is going to happen to my girls. I've been crying off and on since hearing about the diagnosis and feeling terribly guilty, even though there's no way I could have known. These cats are pretty much my kids; I just moved and don't have a ton of friends in my new town, so they've been my stability and I work very hard to take good care of them.

Any support or advice you can give me on how to keep these two as healthy as possible for as long as possible would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
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Batman 93-06- In loving- memory

Self-proclaimed- King of Derry		 
 
Purred: Wed Nov 25, '09 9:19am PST 
I know of a barn cat that lived a full life with feline leukemia. A vet told me that first off, many adult cats do not get the disease. It's when they are little and they get it from their mother or other kittens. I had one of my kittens tested, and it was a strong positive. My adult cat Beau was around them. So I also feel very badly that Beau might now have it. I have housed the kittens upstairs and the adult cats downstairs. I took the orphaned kittens in when they were 8 oz. old, and now they are 4 months. I planned on getting them good homes, but now with the diagnosis, do people adopt FL+ kittens? I don't know.

I guess what I'm saying is, you just don't know your cats lifespan. I am also coming to grips with it. I have to believe that each precious life is important...even if it is cut short. I am going to get all of my cats their shots (except FL of course) and also find out about immune support. I got the number of a vet who specializes in FL+ cases, and I'll call her and share her advice with all of you.

By the way, my furbabies are Billie Idol, Lily of the Valley and Samantha. They are three gray colored girls, and I call them the Mimi's!

Take heart, enjoy your kittens, let go and let God. xo
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