Posts tagged "feline leukemia"

Feline leukemia is a potentially deadly virus that afflicts household cats. As part of a Paw Nation series providing background about the medical problems your pet may suffer, we spoke to Dr. Cynthia Leveille-Webster, professor of veterinary medicine in the Department of Clinical Science at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, to get some insights about the condition. You should always consult your veterinarian before giving medication or supplements to your pet.

What are the signs that my cat has feline leukemia?
The two most common signs are anemia, which makes your cat weak, and reoccurring infections. Additionally, leukemia may lead to cancers, such as lymphoma, which can affect internal organs.

How common is feline leukemia?
About 2-3 percent of cats in the United States are infected with feline leukemia, or FeLV. The incidence, however, has decreased in the past 15 to 20 years -- likely to due to a FeLV vaccine and good quality diagnostic tests. A vet can take a drop of a cat's blood and tell within 10 minutes whether it has leukemia. I don't see it much in my practice at Tufts, but it still exists and we must be vigilant about it.

How serious is feline leukemia?
It is fatal; most cats die within two years of a diagnosis. On rare occasions a cat may carry the leukemia virus and not become infected. The FeLV vaccine is not effective in cats already infected.

Do your cats live outside? Or come in and out of the house? If your cat does spend a lot of time exploring the great outdoors, there are some concerns and dangers you should be aware of. A sad statistic is that the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is half as long as an indoor cat's. In fact, according to PetPlace.com, it may be more like one-third: 5 years.

The purpose of this post, however, isn't to shame you into locking your cats inside. Instead, we want to arm you with the information you need to keep your outdoor (or indoor/outdoor) cat safe in the great big world. To help us with this, we've enlisted the help of former American Veterinary Medical Association president, Dr. Gregory Hammer.

According to Dr. Hammer, the dangers posed to outdoor cats fall under three categories: infection, trauma and parasites. The threat level of each of these risks can vary depending on your location (rural, urban, suburban, etc.), but unfortunately the risks are always significantly higher for outdoor cats.

Danger: Infection
The more contact your cat has with the outside world, the more likely it is to be exposed to some sort of infectious disease. "The most common diseases to watch out for are distemper, leukemia and upper respiratory infection from contact with other cats," Dr. Hammer tells Paw Nation.

Contact with other neighborhood cats is a primary source for respiratory illnesses and feline leukemia, which is highly contagious between cats. More like HIV than the leukemia that affects humans, feline leukemia (FeLV) is an immuno-suppressive virus that infects the white blood cells. Yet another dangerous infection outdoor cats may be exposed to is, of course, rabies.

What you can do: The mantra here from Dr. Hammer is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. Many of the common infections that can threaten a cat's health -- like distemper, rabies and leukemia -- are preventable with simple vaccines. If you own an outdoor cat, it's imperative to keep these vaccinations current.

The Cat House on the Kings is a one-of-a-kind animal shelter. Located on 12 acres next to the Kings River in California's San Joaquin Valley, it's an utterly surreal spot on which hundreds and hundreds of cats run free. "It's cat heaven and dog Disneyland," says founder Lynea Lattanzio, who opened the sanctuary in 1992, having purchased the tract of land after a divorce, as a place to retire in peace and quiet.

The cats even have their own house, as Lattanzio recently moved out of the 4,200-square-foot home she'd been living, as there were 65 cats living in her bedroom. She now lives in a small house on the property, and does her best to keep cats out of her personal space. But animals otherwise have their run of the place. Lattanzio estimates she's currently harboring 700 cats and 100 kittens, as well as about 15 dogs and six goats.

Cat House on the Kings is less "crazy lady and her cats" and more of a well-run company, boasting numerous volunteers and 22 paid employees. Lattanzio wakes at 4:30 a.m. every day to begin taking care of the felines, starting with their feeding. The facility goes through some 900 pounds of cat food per week -- giant bowls of chow and water sit around the premises -- not to mention 300 ounces of canned food and half a pallet of scoopable litter. One worker's sole job, from when they arrive until when they go home, is to change litter boxes. "That's going to be a nice thing for them to put on their resume," notes Lattanzio.

Pet vaccination can be a confusing subject for even the most conscientious pet owner. Should you vaccinate your cat? How can shots protect your kitty's health? To get the expert scoop on the subject, Paw Nation spoke with veterinarians Kristen Nelson, author of "Coated with Fur: A Vet's Life," and Christine Bellezza, co-director of the Feline Health Center at Cornell University.

When and why should pet owners vaccinate their cats?
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) recommends that kittens start getting their shots at around 6 to 8 weeks of age, the time when the immunity they received from their mothers starts to wane. "It's important to vaccinate cats because the viruses that we're vaccinating against are very prevalent in the environment," Bellezza says. "Cats that aren't vaccinated are very much at risk."

Despite that high risk, not all cat owners follow the guidelines.

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect information on the Internet related to vaccinations," says Dr. Nelson. "As a result, I have observed an increase in the number of people who refuse vaccinations for their pets. Now I am beginning to see an increase in the number of animals who contract these diseases."

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are phrases that every cat owner dreads -- and for good reason. The diseases are deadly, and treatments for either of them are limited. That may soon change.

Missouri-based company ProLabs has recently launched a drug to fight these devastating infections. It's the first treatment for the diseases to have been granted a conditional license by the USDA.

Veterinarian and consultant for the Cornell Feline Health Center Christine Bellezza told Paw Nation that FeLV and FIV are related but distinct diseases. "They both affect the immune system, but in slightly different ways."

Both infections suppress a cat's immune response and impair the ability to fight off diseases. As a result, infected cats often pick up a parade of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Blood disorders, such as life-threatening anemia, are common in cats with FeLV or FIV, and the viruses can also cause various types of cancer. In fact, feline leukemia is the most common cause of cancer in cats.

FIV is spread from cat to cat mostly through bite wounds and intercourse (another reason to spay and neuter!). FeLV passes from cat to cat much more casually -- infected kitties can pass the virus to their playmates through grooming and by sharing a litter box or food dish. Kittens are especially susceptible to contracting the virus.