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Pre-Surgical Information
Spaying or neutering your pet is a big step! There is a lot to consider
when we are planning your pet’s surgery. Here is some information to help
you make wise decisions.
Click here . . .
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Special LibraryOur Special Library
is a collection of informative articles on a variety of health topics.
Click here . . .
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Discharge InstructionsClick here for
information on how to care for your pet at home.
Click here . . .
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Feline
Leukemia
I apologize in advance for how confusing
this discussion is. It's not my fault they
gave the virus and the disease the wrong name!
Feline Leukemia is an infectious, contagious disease caused by a
certain virus called the Feline Leukemia Virus.
The disease name "Feline Leukemia" was poorly-chosen, because
when we say a cat has Feline Leukemia we generally do not mean
that it actually has leukemia. "Leukemia" is a type of
cancer, not an infectious disease. While leukemia the
cancer can and does occur in cats that have Feline Leukemia the
disease, it is not all that common. Just remember, Feline
Leukemia is an infectious, contagious disease and not a cancer.
To further complicate things, the disease Feline Leukemia is
often abbreviated "FeLV," which is the same abbreviation used
for the Feline Leukemia Virus.
Some viruses are merely annoying, like the influenza virus that
gives us the flu, or the papilloma virus that gives us warts.
Other viruses are much more sinister. Take HIV, the human
immunodeficiency virus, for instance. It gives us the
disease called AIDS. AIDS is incurable and deadly.
Now, I didn't choose the HIV example entirely at random, by the way.
You see, HIV is a member of a family of viruses called
retroviruses. Far from being a thing of the past,
retroviruses are very much a thing of the present, and cause
serious disease in both humans and cats. That's right, Feline
Leukemia is a retrovirus too, just like HIV. Not
coincidentally, FeLV causes a whole spectrum of AIDS-like
symptoms, all relating somehow to immune system failure, just
like it's cousin HIV. In fact, we'd call FeLV "Feline
AIDS" (and some veterinarians do indeed call it that) except for
the fact that there is another cat virus, feline
immunodeficiency virus, or FIV, that is even more closely
related to HIV that has taken that nick-name. The two
viruses cause similar symptoms in cats, so similar that the only
way to tell them apart is through lab testing. For this
reason we often talk about FeLV and FIV together.
Cats that become infected with Feline Leukemia Virus or FIV do
not immediately start showing symptoms. As with AIDS,
there is a
latent period of varying length, months to years, in which the
infected cat will remain perfectly healthy. However, these
cats are able to spread the virus even though they do not show
any symptoms. Cats with Feline Leukemia or FIV can show a number
of symptoms. One of them actually is leukemia the cancer.
But much more commonly cats with these viruses will show signs
of immune system failure. They will become highly
susceptible to other diseases. They may be anemic.
Without a fully-functioning immune system, the body becomes
susceptible to every little bug that comes around. In
cats, we see a mind-boggleingly vast array of symptoms in cats
with FeLV. Anything is possible. We start to suspect
FeLV whenever we see cats with chronic infections, long-term
illnesses, or bad periodontal disease.
FeLV and FIV are similar to AIDS in that they are not spread by
casual contact. FeLV and FIV are fragile viruses that do
not survive in the environment more than a few minutes. There
is no danger that cats can be exposed to FeLV or FIV in
veterinary clinic waiting rooms or exam rooms, or in cages, or
at cat shows unless direct contact is made with a positive cat
who is shedding virus. Transmission of FeLV requires intimate
moist contact. The most common route is contact with infected
saliva through grooming, licking, fighting, biting, and the
long-term sharing of food dishes and litter pans. FeLV can also
be transmitted through a blood transfusion, so all cats who are
blood donors are screened for FeLV. Kittens can be infected by
their mother before birth or during nursing after birth.
If you pick a healthy cat at random, about 3 in 100 will have FeLV. Another 3 will have FIV for a total of 6% that are
infected with one or the other. However, if you pick
from a group of cats with outdoor access, about 1 in 12 will be
infected. And if you choose from a group of sick cats,
more like 1 in 8 will be infected with FeLV or FIV.
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has
published recommendations for FeLV testing. The AAFP is a
professional association of veterinarians that focuses on the
health needs of cats. The guidelines state that the FeLV
status of all cats should be known because FeLV is responsible
for the illness and death of more cats
 than
any other disease condition. Testing and identifying positive
cats is the mainstay of FeLV control and is not replaced by
vaccination.
In particular, testing is recommended for cats who:
1. Have had a recent exposure to a known FeLV positive cat.
This includes all cats being treated for an abscess, since most
abscesses are caused by bite wounds, often from a stray cat
(remember the one-in-twelve chance that an outdoor cat will have
FeLV or FIV?)
2. Are ill, including dental disease. About 1 in eight
sick cats will have FeLV or FIV.
3. Are new. Any new kitten or cat should
be tested before being added to a household with resident cats.
Even if the household does not already have resident cats, new
pets should be tested because the emotional bond that forms
between owners and pets justifies knowing any future threats to
the pet's health.
What do we do with cats that test positive for FeLV or FIV?
If your cat is here in the Clinic because he or she is sick,
knowing whether there is FeLV or FIV involved can be very
important in planning treatment. But what about the
healthy cats that test positive? While FeLV and FIV are
not curable, many cats live for years without any symptoms.
For starters, it is important to re-test healthy cats if they
test positive. No test is perfect, and a positive result
should always be corroborated. Also, some cats will become
infected with FeLV, but will successfully defeat the disease and
become negative months later.
For healthy cats with confirmed FeLV or FIV infections, there
are two goals. One is to keep the infected cat as healthy
as possible. The other goal is to keep them from spreading
the disease. Keeping the infected cat healthy involves
good nutrition, regular veterinary examinations (every 6 to 12
months), and appropriate vaccinations (but not FeLV).
Keeping them from spreading their disease is harder. It is
vital that they not be allowed outdoors where they could fight
with non-infected cats. A good resource for converting
your outdoor cat to an indoor cat is found
here.
For cats who share a house with an infected cat, it is important
to minimize the sharing of food and water dishes, litterboxes,
etc. FeLV can be spread by grooming as well, so it can be
very difficult to control the spread of FeLV within a household
unless the two cats are physically separated.
The best way to protect your cat from FeLV is to vaccinate
against it. The vaccine against FeLV is a pretty good
vaccine. Some vaccines are excellent, and protect nearly
100% of the individuals who get vaccinated. Other vaccines
are only fair, like the Lymes disease vaccine for dogs, and
protect 50% or 60% of the individuals that get vaccinated.
The FeLV vaccine rates pretty good, and protects about 80% of
the cats who get vaccinated. While it is not 100%, it is
much better than nothing, and is a good thing to do in my
opinion. It is important to use a non-adjuvanted FeLV
vaccine to avoid the risk of tumors. Unfortunately, there
is no vaccine for FIV.
The second-best way to protect your cat from FeLV and FIV is to
spay or neuter. Tomcats especially lead a "high-risk
lifestyle," complete with roaming and fighting. Neutering
will dramatically decrease these high-risk behaviors. A
third way to protect your cat, the pro's and con's of which are
debatable, is to confine you cat strictly to the indoors.
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