A Question For People With Cats...
OK, I'm upset. Jo, however, is livid. However, I do want to know how upset I should really be. Our vet, who treats Riley, Sasquatch and Minnie, also took care of the kittens' first vaccination; when I took them in, I also asked for a "full test" to make sure they were all right. Knowing that (a) we have other cats, because they treat them, (b) the kittens were feral-born, and (c) had lived in the outside world unvaccinated for at least their first 8 weeks, heard what I said, and when I picked them up, reported to me happily that the kittens, other than heartworms (which can be treated easily with two pills), fleas (ditto with Advantage), and ear mites (a little trickier, as they require two weeks of medication directly into the kittens' ears), the kittens had a 100% clean bill of health. I even expressed some concern as to how communicable the ear mites were to our older cats. I was told, "Unless they sleep ear-to-ear, there should be no risk."
Well, guess what our kindly extremely-soon-to-be-vet didn't test for. FIV and FeLV, only the two most prevalent and deadly diseases in the feline repertoire, or so I hear. Did I mention that Jo lost a cat to FIV, one extremely close to her (who contracted FIV when a friend took care of it while Jo was in England, and allowed it to stay outdoors for a time)? Needless to say, the kittens go into the vet first thing tomorrow for a full panel including FIV and FeLV.
After venting full-on for a moment (and telling whipartist in the original post, who probably is a tad upset), may I ask you all - how bad are the risks? The kittens haven't actually been exposed to the cats, who are fully vaccinated (though against what, at this point, I'm beginning to wonder), except paws under the door (I never personally saw them in contact, but things like this theoretically could happen), but they have had the run of a hallway that the cats also had access to (though not at the same time). How contagious are FIV and FeLV. I intend to look it up as well, but I need to find out from people who have some experience with this stuff. What should I expect?
Well, guess what our kindly extremely-soon-to-be-vet didn't test for. FIV and FeLV, only the two most prevalent and deadly diseases in the feline repertoire, or so I hear. Did I mention that Jo lost a cat to FIV, one extremely close to her (who contracted FIV when a friend took care of it while Jo was in England, and allowed it to stay outdoors for a time)? Needless to say, the kittens go into the vet first thing tomorrow for a full panel including FIV and FeLV.
After venting full-on for a moment (and telling whipartist in the original post, who probably is a tad upset), may I ask you all - how bad are the risks? The kittens haven't actually been exposed to the cats, who are fully vaccinated (though against what, at this point, I'm beginning to wonder), except paws under the door (I never personally saw them in contact, but things like this theoretically could happen), but they have had the run of a hallway that the cats also had access to (though not at the same time). How contagious are FIV and FeLV. I intend to look it up as well, but I need to find out from people who have some experience with this stuff. What should I expect?