Ask A Scientist© Veterinary Topics Archive

name         Andrea
status       educator
age          50s

 Question -
I just adopted a cat from a friend last week, when I went to have him
checked out at the vet they told me that he has feline leukemia. Of course
they don't know how far along it is, so I was wondering if you could tell
me a little bit more about the stages of this disease. To be more specific
I was wondering if possibly watering eyes has anything to do with it.
-----------------
Dear Andrea
sorry i am not a veterinarian but a chemist and also a
very dedicated
feline lover. Surely you will get very good answers by
the scientists vets  at NEWTON. Still since the time
urges i asked something about from a very good
american vet and also a friend of mine.
Here is her answer:


"A positive test result means that a cat has been
exposed to the feline
leukemia virus.  It's a good idea to confirm a test
done in the office,
which is the common procedure here in the States, with
a different test
done at a lab facility.  Some cats exposed to the
virus will throw it 
off
and become negative but you usually don't notice that
and, by the time 
the
cat is tested, it may just be negative.  But they
might also want to 
test
again in 3 months to see if the cat has gone from
positive to negative.


This doesn't mean that the cat has leukemia.  That
name was given to 
the
virus several decades ago.  Actually, cats positive
for the virus are 
more
susceptible to other diseases, like respiratory
disease, GI problems, 
etc.
 Also lymphoma.  All because the virus affects how
their immune system
functions.


If a cat remains positive, it can still lead a good
life but the 
chances
are that it won't live as long as a healthy cat.  But
with good 
nutrition,
living indoors so there isn't a lot of exposure to
unhealthy stuff,
jumping on any illnesses asap, and, perhaps, using
drugs like 
interferon
alpha or Immunoreglan to stimulate the immune system,
these cats can do
well.  This virus is fairly easy to pass from cat to
cat.  (Unlike FIV
which is hard to pass.)  So a positive cat should
really not be exposed 
to
other cats.  There's a vaccine against FeLV but it
isn't 100% 
effective.


The watery eyes could mean that the cat has a
respiratory disease (cat
cold).  In a positive cat, this could be more of a
threat than a 
negative
cat so the owner should follow up.


As far as the progression of the disease.  One common
scenario is for a
cat to become sick with something like a respiratory
disease and not be
able to fight it off and end up just sicker and
sicker.  Another thing
that is fairly common is for a cat to become anemic. 
They'll often
rebound well with a blood transfusion but the anemia
typically recurs. 
And the blood transfusions become less and less
effective until the cat 
is
so anemic that it is suffering.


This is sort of a quick, general overview.  Let me
know if you want
anything else more specific."
Hope that helps.
And thanks for asking NEWTON!
Mabel
(Dr. Mabel Rodrigues)
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