Feline Leukemia Question

Hi everyone,

I do fostering for rescued cats and just took in a mom and 3 kittens. They are kept separated from my own cats because I have a 19 year old diabetic cat plus 4 others! A good thing too because the mom tested positive for feline leukemia on a ELISA snap test. I immediately requested an IFA test. However I was told by someone that it is best to wait between tests for 60 days. Is this true? I have done some research on the internet and did not find any mention of a waiting period between the tests. I know that having the ElISA test come back positive means that there is a chance that the mom can still fight off the virus but if the IFA test comes back positive then the virus is in her bone marrow and she will probably not fight it off. A waiting time between the tests doesn't make sense to me because I obviously don't have any idea of when she was infected. Do any of you have any experience with these tests and know of a wait time?

Lydia

 

This site has some good information. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1 1316&aid=211

Patricia (GAs Fluffy, Mr QT, Murphy, Jonathan, Flannel, Speedy, Angel, Rusty, Bobby & Ash) Cory, Zak, Suzy, Corky, Oreo, Moseley, Rufus & Kobe

 

First, good thing for you for separating your fosters.

It is best to wait 60 days between SNAP tests, but in your case, I wouldn't wait for the IFA test. As you said, the IFA test will confirm her status, and this is also important to the kittens. How old are the kittens? If at all possible, they shouldn't nurse from Mom since she has FeLv. (Bottle feeding possible?)

 

Hello,

Thank you both for your advice. It was really important for me to know if there should be a wait time between tests so I'm glad to have my question answered. The kittens are about 12-16 weeks old so they are quite large. They are able to eat on their own. My vet told me that there is no need to separate them because they've already been exposed to the virus at this point. However, I keep mom caged as much as possible to minimize contact and sharing of litter and food. I am getting the kittens tested this week. Please keep paws and fingers crossed that they are negative. I know I will have to get a couple of tests done to confirm this.