Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Well I am usually on the kitten board but thought I'd see if anyone here knew about different types of feline lukemia. I work with a local rescue group and am currently caring for two cats with feluk. One was diagnosed as a kitten and is now about a year old, she is healthy and fat- chubby actually from being in a cage at the shelter. They hate to cage her but had nowhere to place her until now since she is feluk positive.
The other is a 4 month old kitten who is closer to the size of a 3 month old because of the illnesses she suffered earlier in her little life. She nearly died twice and now she has come through a parasite invasion and two upper respiratory infections. She has no signs of illness and is eating, playing, etc. She just has permanently wobbly legs which the vet thinks are the result of brain damage from being sick.
I have heard there are different types of FELUK, types that are more severe and types that are more benign. Anyone know about that?
I would love to adopt these two out as special needs kitties but want to be able to tell their new owners what type they have and what their possible life expectancy could be. If I knew more about the different types and how they are diagnosed it would be helpful.
Thanks for reading.
-Laura

>>One was diagnosed as a kitten and is now about a year old, she is healthy and fat- chubby actually from being in a cage at the shelter. They hate to cage her but had nowhere to place her until now since she is feluk positive

Has she been retested recently? Most kittens who test positive really just have their mother's antibodies and clear them in the first year of their life and in fact, don't really have the disease itself.

That might explain the discrepancy between the two cases.
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Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
Meet the Felines!

hi, laura--

as much as i hate to disagree with my pal, deerhounds, i'm about to do just that....

it is FIV, not FeLV, where kittens will test positive based on their mom's immunities while being negative themselves. sadly, that is NOT the case with FeLV... unlike FIV, FeLV can be transmitted easily from mom to kitten. kittens both with FeLV have the worst prognosis as they do not have mature immune systems to fight the virus.

there are different strains of the virus, but i think what you're seeing has more to do with the individual constitution of the kittens. the one who made it to one year--which is NOT that uncommon if they make it past 6 months (for reasons no one has addequately explained to me yet!)--may come from heartier stock, or just had enough immune function to keep the virus at bay. with FeLV, the virus can lie dormant for years with no symptoms until it is activated. the younger one--small, less healthy in general--is showing a common young-kitten response to the virus--just not thriving.

like HIV in humans, FeLV is a virus that in itself doesn't do anything per se. it attacks the immune system and makes the cat unable to fight off infections of any kind. certain cancers, aneurysms, anemias are things that often take hold in a FeLV cat once the virus is activated. from what i know, there isn't enough research yet to know if any one of the various strains makes a cat more susceptible to, say, lymphoma, than another strain.

FeLV cats are just like normal(!) cats until the virus is activated--which is why even the sicklier one is enjoying life so much. unfortunately, they do not know yet exactly what activated the virus. considering the little one's medical history--and her successful response to treatment for so many things, she surely seems to be winning her battle.

the IFA test is sometimes considered more reliable than the snap test done in the vet's office; however, they now know that a cat can test positive on the IFA and still just be processing the virus out of their bodies--80% of healthy, adult cats DO throw off the virus. so even a positive IFA doesn't really mean anything unless it's repeated at a minimum of 120 days. there are cases of positive IFAs clearing after as long as seven months!
because both these kittens have been in custody for more than 120 days, tho, an IFA would be an excellent tool to use.

there is no real way to determine life-expectancy in a FeLV--first of all, you need to know they really are positive (which the IFA will help determine). from there, the variables are just not predictable: genetic history, personal immune-system strength, whether or not the virus is activated.

the very best source of experienced, knowledgable folks--those who actually live WITH FeLVs on a day-to-day basis--can be found at the link below. join their mailing list, and you will get answers to questions you haven't even thought about! in addition, there is a place there to post positive kitties for adoption.

Feline Leukemia info

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PHCatByte

Well,
What PHCatByte said! Unless you have access and the funds to do a DNA breakdown of the virus found in the kitty, you really can't know which strain of FeLV it is. While there is no way to really predict life-span of positives, a healthy diet, and a low stress environment are excellent supports. There are a number of immune supplements available in the States and with your vet's help, feline interferon can be imported. If you have specific questions, go to the link CB provided and search the archives. I've been a member there since '98 when my Ninja was diagnosed. I don't know her history before she came to me at about 4-5 years of age, but I believe she was positive at that time as I never let her outside and she never had any contact with other cats. She was with me for about 4 years and taught me a lot about being a cat mom and I wouldn't change a moment of it. You DO want to vaccinate for all the other kitty problems like distempter and calici etc because while those buggies can be serious for FeLV- cats, for FeLV cats they are even more so because of the suppressed immune system.
One of the frustrating things is that you never know if your kitty is simply a carrier or just waiting for something to trigger the virus or something to sneak in under the radar.

Go check out the archives at www.felineleukemia.org!!!

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement and very informative response by catbyte.
I'm now going to encourage the rescue group to have Bobbi (the older cat) retested. She is just doing so well! But again, like you said- it could just be dormant for the time being. They also wanted to get her tested for what kind of feluk she has anyway because there is a local group that will find homes for feluk positive cats- but only those with a specific strain.
We are getting Rose (the kitten) retested tomorrow or Friday because she has improved so much. She no longer shows any signs of illness and even as I went in to feed her tonight she was full of nighttime kitten crazies- which is unusual for her to say the least. I had to pull her off my poor feet several times. Hehe. Here is a pic of her:

Ain't she cute? She really has pulled through alot...from severe diarrhea and being kept alive by sub-q injections, to getting a nasty upper respiratory infection twice. Now she is permanently disabled (her back legs seem to have suffered some sort of paralysis) but she does her best. It's kind of funny and sad to see her play because she flops over alot.
Well I could babble about her and Bobbie more but I'll just say thanks for all of the info it was really helpful. I've placed an ad for Bobbi up on the website and am waiting to see what we will do with Rose. I'm pretty attached to her as you can see- but we have 6 kitties of our own and she would be better off to live the rest of her days in a home where she does not have to be kept isolated.
Thank you!!

i would be REALLY interested in finding out more info from the group you mentioned re: their rehoming certain strains of the virus--because FeLV has too often been treated by euthanasia, the body of knowledge is limited, but changes constantly and it's difficult to keep up with everything....

she's GORGEOUS! i found, in living/working at an FIV/FeLV sanctuary for almost two years, that their is something very special about the FeLVs--almost as if a full lifespan's worth of cuteness and love and light are compressed into whatever time they have....
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PHCatByte

I'll try to find out about that group for you. I don't know much about what they do except that they take in and try to find homes for cats with a certain type of Felv. Thanks for all of your advice and info. Taking Rose to get retested today! We'll see what happens. I'm hopeful because we had another kitten who tested positive early on but tested negative later. If she does still have it though, we are going to put her up for adoption as a special needs kitten.
Thanks again...I'll let you know if I find out anything.