Question for rescues who test for FeLV

[Booktigger]

Do you test once, and if it is negative, assume they are, or do you retest? Found this on teh Glasgow site, and was curious

For this reason, when cats are tested for the first time, it is recommended that they be tested twice, 12 weeks apart. A very small percentage of cats which are FeLV positive are in the process of developing immunity after which they will become negative; this is another reason for testing healthy cats twice. Cats which test positive twice at a 12 weeks interval will be permanently infected. In nature, many cats which are exposed to FeLV recover from the infection. Recovered cats have no FeLV p27 in their blood but may have antibodies to the virus. There is a test for these (virus neutralising) antibodies and it is important not to confuse this test with either the p27 or the virus isolation test.

[smudgley]

Edit to change my reply having realised that I totally misread the question. whoops.

Yes - just test once & if negative rehome them.

[Booktigger]

Phew, that worried me. Will you still only test once in light of what I posted?? The reason being is they could have come into contact very soon before testing, and it wouldn't show up on the antigen test done in house, which is why they recommend 12 weeks apart, as there is a chance of them being negative on the first and postive on the second. I am also waiting for them to get back to me to confirm the amount of false negatives and will post when I know.

[Booktigger]

Actually, here is the bit that comes before that, which confirms what I have just said
Cats should have two tests 12 weeks apart. If cats have only been recently infected, they may not yet have virus in their blood. The interval from getting infected to producing virus in the blood can be as little as two weeks or as long as eight weeks.

And teh full article, which I think is very informative

http://www.gla.ac.uk/companion/ofelv.htm (http://www.gla.ac.uk/companion/ofelv.htm)

[smudgley]

Yes we will only test once, although I understand the risks that they may have been exposed to the virus & be incubating it.

In an ideal world, I guess there are lots of things that we would do, but I think a one-off in house test is adequate under the circumstances & more than lots of people do.

However I may be getting the kittens from the FIV mom tested at Glasgow. Still researching info at the mo.

[Booktigger]

I just can't get my head round doing a not fully accurate test only once. despite the fact they could have come into contact days before and not be able to shrug it off, so you could be homing cats you think are negative but aren't, so what is the point?
With regards to the kitts, they shouldn't be tested till they are 16 weeks old, as they could have antibodies from mum - but she still needs confirming, she could be one of the lucky 7%. Also, I don't think the chances of it being passed on are very high with kittens, and I really would query that result actually, FIV can cause miscarriage in cats, so if everyone looks healthy, it would be rather unusual.

[smudgley]

I think 93% is fairly accurate.

Yes the kittens only have a very slight risk so not really worried about them,but will test as a precaution.

The cat will be homed as an indoor cat,so I don't really see the harm in trusting the 93% accuracy. If she is in the 7% of false positives then what difference would it make other than she would be homed as a normal cat as opposed to an indoor cat.

Don't understand your comments about healthy cats?
FIV can cause miscarriage in cats, so if everyone looks healthy, it would be rather unusual.
Not sure what you mean.

[Booktigger]

93% isn't good enough for me when it comes to knowing about FIV though, and it simply isn't good practice not to get it confirmed - even if she will be an indoor only cat, it will still impact on her owners - if they know for certain she is, then they have to state it for insurance and there are then restrictions etc.
The point being that it would be unusual for an FIV+ cat to have a normal amount of healthy kittens.