I didn’t post this yesterday, but I took our older cat, Trish, to the vet for shots and a well check. While there, she got a Feline Leukemia test, and it came back positive. They ran it twice, and the vet said it was a mild return, but still positive. This, he thought, in addition to her age (she’s almost 11) would explain the bad gingivitis they also found *sob*. Since cats with Feline Leukemia tend to have a short life expectancy (2-3 years after it’s contracted) I was a little upset, especially following so closely on the heels of Oliver’s death (Brianna still talks about Oliver, wondering if he’ll come home).
But lest you think I’m a complete cold-hearted witch because of the title of my post, I’ll tell you now that the vet called this afternoon to tell me the lab he’d sent her bloodwork to found she was NEGATIVE for Feline Leukemia. The tests in the office were false positives. Wheeee! I’m so relieved. In a moment of deja vu, he delivered the news to me when I was in the fabric department of Walmart. I say deja vu because I was standing in the exact same spot when he called to discuss the bad news of Oliver’s health. I’m just thankful this time the news was good. Yay!
We still have to treat the gingivitis, but the outlook for that is much better now that we know it’s not complicated by Feline Leukemia.
What a relief! Gingivitis is better than feline leukemia any day of the week.
:blue:
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I had two cats with Fe Leuk as my hubby the vet calls it. They lived to be about 11, not bad since they contracted it when they were kittens. But it still is a bad disease and I’m glad your cat doesn’t have it.
Glad things turned out fine. Hope the gingivitis isn’t too bad. Bad teeth can be so hard on pets.
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I have a cat that has this same false + to the standard office test. Because I’m paranoid and most shelters and animal controls test for FeLV and will euthanize cats who have it, she now wears an extra tag on her collar that says “False+ FeLV” and I added it to her notes with the microchip company.
A tiny bit of extra insurance.
I’m very glad to hear it’s not FeLV.
- Maura
I won’t let the vet test my cats for Feline Leukimia. I really don’t want to know. I can’t put them down unless they are suffering and they aren’t. So I don’t want to know. If I don’t know, it doesn’t exist.
Now, if there were a CURE, I’d test and fix and snuggles.
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My heart dropped as I read the beginning of your post — so glad I read thru the end. SOOO happy for ya!
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I’m so glad to hear that. I know that must have been so worrisome. Good luck on the teeth.