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Feline Leukemia
CAN YOU TELL WHICH CAT IS FELINE LEUKEMIA POSITIVE AND WHICH ONE IS FELINE LEUKEMIA NEGATIVE?
Feline Leukemia is one of several viruses that can affect cats. It is one of the more well-known viruses among cat owners, largely due to its potentially devastating consequences. There's little that can surpass the nightmare a multi-cat owner faces when one of the cats is diagnosed with feline leukemia virus. That is because leukemia in cats, unlike human leukemia, is highly contagious from cat to cat. If you find out one of your cats has leukemia, not only are you faced with the likely possibility that it will be fatal, but you also have to worry that your other cats will test positive for the virus also. Large, multi-cat households have been completely wiped out by feline leukemia. The virus is found worldwide to varying degrees. Age, lifestyle, health, and environment can affect the prevalance of the disease. It is estimated that 2 to 3% of all cats in the United States are infected with the feline leukemia virus. Cats pass the virus to other cats through saliva, nasal secretions, urine, feces, prior to birth from an infected mom or after birth from her milk, cat-to-cat bite wounds, during mutual grooming, shared use of litter boxes and feeding dishes. It has long been thought that the virus doesn't survive long outside a cat's body, but the latest report from
Dr. Scott at Cornell's Feline Health Center
tells us that the virus can survive from days to weeks in the environment. That is unfortunate news. Cats at greatest risk of infection are (2) Outdoor Cats (3) Kittens born to infected mothers
There are many different ways the feline leukemia virus can affect a cat. Most commonly, it suppresses the immune system which leaves the cat vulnerable to bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi that do not affect cats without the virus, but can kill a leukemia infected kitty. Also, cancer in cats is caused most often by the leukemia virus. Various blood disorders can result from the virus as well. There are usually no signs of feline leukemia early in the disease. Over time, however, health may deteriorate gradually. There can be periods of good health interspersed with periods of illness. Things to watch for include decreased appetite
Just about any body system can be affected. There may be skin infections, upper respiratory infections, bladder infections, eye problems, diarrhea, neurological problems such as seizures and behavior changes. Pregnant infected females may abort their kittens or have other problems related to pregnancy. The decreased appetite will lead to a slow but steady loss of weight which becomes a severe wasting away state as the disease process becomes worse. 
Diagnosis Diagnosis is made through blood tests. There is a blood test that is usually done first and is often performed right in your vet's office. It may also be that the blood is sent to an outside lab and tested there. If the test is positive, a second different test should be performed by the lab to verify the positive test and to ascertain if the cat is going to stay positive for life.
How can you prevent your cat(s) from becoming infected with the feline leukemia virus? It's actually pretty simple. In a nutshell, test any new cat before you bring him home. Keep your cat indoors always. Test any additional cats before you bring them home. Never mix your cat with your neighbor's cat, your best friend's cat, your daughter's cat......any cat, without a negative leukemia test first. You cannot tell if a cat is positive or not just by looking at it. I hope you said "no" to the question at the beginning of the page. Both cats look perfectly healthy. You could not possibly tell the difference between positive and negative cats early in the disease if they both look that healthy. Leukemia postive cats can look perfectly healthy for awhile. That's why you can never be comfortable letting your cat be around another cat just because it looks healthy, because its owner says the cat is well, or even if the other cat has never been outdoors. The blood test is the only way to be sure. Please don't take risks with your cat's life. Test all cats, keep them indoors, and take new cats straight to your vet's office before taking them to your home. There's a lot more to say about feline leukemia and there will be additional articles about certain aspects of the disease. Meanwhile, if you have questions, please submit your question in any of the ASK THE CAT DOCTOR A QUESTION forms on most of the pages of this website. Dr. Neely Return From Feline Leukemia to Cat Illnesses
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