Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted a 5mo old kitten from a shelter not too long ago. The shelter told us he tested negative for Leukemia. The day I brought him home he was sick with diarreah so I immediately called the vet.

We thought it was an intestinal issue and he went on meds but the meds did not work. $800 later, my vet discovered he tested positive for feline leukemia.

I brought the kitten into a home with a 1 year old 5mo cat who has been perfectly healthy. The two have bonded and are best buddies... I can't keep them apart.

My vet said I should get the kitten retested in a month. I have heard that some cats will clear the disease themselves.... is this likely to happen in a kitten?

I'm heart broken and I do not want to give him up but I do not want to give my other cat a death sentence. I am thinking about having someone take my cat for a month until I can get the kitten tested again.

Has anyone been in this situation before and considered legal action against the shelter?

Thank you

Hi There,

Unfortunately, no test is 100% accurate so it is very possible that your kitten really did have 2 different test results. If a cat or kitten tests negative for FeLV, all it means is that there is no active infection in the bloodstream at the time when blood is drawn. The cat could have been exposed to the virus and it could have been incubating at the time of testing....or there is the possibility of lab error. The test is very easy to run, but you never know for sure when a mistake might have been made.

Most cats exposed to the FeLV virus do not come down with the disease, so hopefully your older kitty will be fine. It might be a good idea to have them both retested, but since they are together and sharing bowls and litterboxes, I wouldn't separate them now.

When a cat or kitten is exposed to the FeLV virus, one of 3 things happen. They either come down with the disease and become ill, clear the disease from their systems, or become "healthy carriers". This means that they aren't ill. but carry the virus and can pass it on to other cats. There is no way to know in advance what will happen with any cat exposed to the virus.

Hope this has been helpful.......if I can help in any other way, or you have questions, please feel free to ask.

Regards,
PHKitkat