Question for those who rescue cats.

[farthing]

Do those of you who rescue or foster cats, blood sample routinely for FIV/Felv, and what would you do if it came back positive. Also do you bloods test old cats.
Once we started fostering we kept the foster cats in quarantine and blood sampled for viruses, we also did old cats for mainly kidney and hyperthroidism.
Triger came before we started fostering and we lost him to FIV, we now have Tabatha, who is FIV but is the study cat, and kept seperate from the others. Thankfully, while fostering none of them came back positive, as I don't know what I would do.

[pinklizzy]

When I worked in rescue we routinely blood tested all cats that came in (using snap-tests) Those cats that came up as positive for FIV usually had further bloods sent away for PCR to determine the levels of antibodies present (and because snap-tests can be unreliable) All FIV positive cats were housed separately from the main cattery.
The majority of these cats were rehomed but it always depended on the individual cat's personality-sometimes they were cats that had always lived outdoors and didn't cope at all well with being confined, even with access to an outdoor run and unfortunately were unrehomable.
The majority of cats that had tested positive for FeLV were already showing signs of other disease by the time they arrived with us and were euthanased on welfare grounds, although those that weren't were rehomed, to single cat households and as indoor cats.
Don't know if that helps....

[smudgley]

All the cats we have in are tested for FIV / FeLV - we use the snap tests. If we have a positive FeLV they would be euthanazed. If we have a positve FIV then we will usually rehome to an indoor home unless the cat is unwell, but if it's feral then we would PTS.

It's a difficult one, but I know we had a FIV positive kitten once and he lived in a pen for the first 6 months of his life, which I think is very unfair and to be honest would have been kinder is some ways to have PTS.

We don't blood test older cats for anything other than the routine FIV / FeLV test.

[Moli]

The policy here is ny positive results at all and its pts...

[farthing]

I can see the logic of PTS for any infected cat, but at the same time, Tabatha is a happy health girl at the moment. We wouldn't have known she was FIV, however, unless we had insisted on a blood sample before taking her in. She seems happy in the study and between us we spend quite a bit of time in here, she is snuggled up beside me at the moment.
PTS any infected cat is not going to wipe out the virus, I suppose I am thinking more about FIV as there is a vaccine for FELV, so I would assume my cats are protected from it.
I also realise it is hard to get somebody to take in a cat who will have more health problem down the line and needs to be kept in, you have to really trust the owner.
I just find this a really tough issue and wondered what the general practice was.

[smudgley]

It is a tough one.
I feel strongly that all FeLV should be PTS. Most show clinical signs early on anyway.
With FIV - it's hard, I can understand a blanket policy of PTS - because the reality is they would be in a pen for months on end, waiting for an owner & there are many healthy cats out there that could be given a chance in that space. however on the other hand, I think FIV cats do live a long & happy life quite often and with an understanding of the condition - it can work out well for some. Ferals with FIV or even outdoor cats with FIV should also be PTS without doubt. A lady who used to be our rehoming officer / welfare officer would try & save every cat she clapped eyes on & would rather see a feral alive in a small pen that PTS - I think that's cruel when they've ony ever been used to roaming. Anyway, she has now left. I cover the welfare now & another girl does the rehoming. We have a more realistic view on disease / viruses.