P a g e | 210 The veterinarian will examine the dog‟s overall condition as well as performing an auscultation prior to ok‟ing the animal for treatment.
FIV Positive Quarantine and Testing protocol for cats under the care of APA! Kittens >/=4wks old: Test with Leukemia/FIV IDEXX Snap combo test (as per intake protocol). If positive for FIV use the following protocol:
Retest for FIV using IDEXX SNAP test 1 month later. If still positive, okay to adopt out, no quarantine needed. Inform potential adopters that the cat may have FIV. The test could also be positive due to previously being vaccinated for it. If the adopter chooses they can have a test done that will tell if it is more likely to be from vaccine or from actual infection, though there is no 100% test for this. FIV is contagious through deep bite wounds and sexual intercourse only. Kitten will be spay/neutered so no risk of intercourse. Playing/regular fights will not spread the disease, however, if this cat is severely aggressive towards other cats in household it may put them at risk.
FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) Who Gets It and How the Disease is Spread The feline leukemia virus is spread from cat to cat through casual contact. It can be transmitted through saliva (sharing food bowls, grooming each other, etc.), urine, blood, and from mother cat to kittens during pregnancy. This disease cannot be transmitted to your family or your dog.
How is FeLV Diagnosed? The screening test for FeLV is generally an ELISA snap test (often in combination with the feline immunodeficiency (FIV) test). All individuals here for adoption were tested for FIV and FeLV via this method. False FELV positives do occur with these tests, so APA will always retest the kitty with serum rather than whole blood. 90% will be negative after that serum test. If still positive, APA will retest 3-4 weeks later at which point some cats will be negative. If still positive, APA will retest 3-4 weeks later again. Cats older than 1 year of age who test negative tend to remain negative, even with exposure, due to natural resistance to infection at that age. * This is not widely known so very important to retest with serum rather than assume it is truly positive.
Vaccinating There is a vaccination available for feline leukemia. This vaccine does not interfere with ELISA testing for the disease, but it is mainly recommended for at risk cats. APA does not routinely vaccinate for FeLV. It is recommended that you vaccinate other cats in your household prior to bringing in a FeLV positive cat.
Symptoms Many cats are exposed to the virus but become immune. This is especially true for older cats. Other cats may be carriers of the disease, potentially infecting other cats while remaining asymptomatic themselves. Often times, symptoms of disease may not occur until the cat becomes stressed. Infections that a normal cat would be able to fight off are difficult to treat and can lead to life threatening disease due to