Feline Leukemia and the yard?

Question

My neighbor just had her cat of 5yrs put down today. The Vet said he had Feline Leukemia. Alot of the neighbora have kittens and cats. Some of which I and she feed. Now I have washed all the bowls with bleach. But, what can we do about the yard? Is it infected as well. if so, how do we treat the yard so no other cat gets it? i don't own a cat. I don't need to , I feed 5 now as it is. I can't stand to see a cat go hungry, when the neoighbors have them and don't put out food. There are 2 kittens about 4 months, 1 is about 6 months, and then there is Momma cat, and she is prego again. Now none of these cats have had their shots of any kind at all. Does this make them more at risk?

Answer 1

Feline leukemia is spread through body secretions--saliva, urine, from breeding, bite wounds. It is not a strong virus that lives long at all outside the body, so you don't need to worry about the yard. Simple disinfecting of the bowls and litter pans is fine. Any of your cats that came into contact with your neighbors cat may have contracted the disease. Without vaccines, they are very susceptible. You should have the all tested, and isolate any positive ones. Keep in mind that a negative test can be false--the virus may not be showing up yet and the cat should be tested again 2-3 months later. Outdoor cats do not have an easy life, exposed to disease, fleas, internal parasites, hunger, predators, dogs, cars, poisons, etc. They need to go to a shelter to stop the cycle of abandonment and breeding.

Answer 2

Not having shots definitely puts everyone at risk. Feline leukemia requires direct cat-to-cat contact, there's really no point in trying to disinfect the yard. It's transmitted mainy through bodily fluids, i.e. fighting and mating. The ideal thing to do is test everybody, euthanize all that are positive, vaccinate all that are negative, and re-test the remaining cats in 6 months-a lot to ask of someone that's trying to help wild strays. Contact your local humane society, and see if they have or know of a fix-and-release program, at least that way you can try to limit the population. Female cats can have 2 to 3 litters a year pretty easily, and can get pregnant as young as 6 months.

Answer 3

Contact your local ASPCA/Humane Society about their spay/neuter programs and low cost shots. They are very little cost. ALL of these cats are at risk for feline leukemia and FIV (feline immune deficiency virus). I can pretty much guarantee that some if not all will be get sick if there is not intervention from you, the owners or a cat rescue organization. It is a terrible way for the cats to die. These are spread through contact from cat to cat and are preventable with vaccines. Many cities have catch and release programs for strays where the cats are caught, spayed/neutered then released.
This is a bad situation that will only get worse without intervention. I know from experience after living near a cat "collector" who never took proper care of the cats.

Answer 4

feline Leukemia is very contagious - in spite of the undeniable fact that it is not some thing it particularly is often modern in a cat stored indoors. maximum vets do no longer advise the vaccine for indoor cats, because it particularly is been implicated in vaccine-led to sarcomas (maximum cancers on the injection website) and is no longer a hundred% useful in combating the ailment. So - are your cats indoors basically, or indoor/exterior? and how previous are they, and the place did they arrive from? Did they arrive from a safeguard or rescue that mechanically exams cats for this virus, and already universal to be unfavourable? Are any of them exhibiting indications of universal ailment (often a clue that a cat is FeLV+). there are lots of of things to contemplate. in case your cats are indoors basically, and healthy, then the vaccine is probable no longer needed. it particularly is particularly pointless to grant the vaccine without testing for the ailment - if the attempt is beneficial, all 4 cats probable have it and the vaccine will do no good, so she is right there. Cats do no longer quite die of FeLV - they have a crummy immune equipment by using fact of it, and could die of a few thing else. till the cat is universal to be FeLV+ by way of a blood attempt, no one quite says for particular that the cat died of FeLV. In some areas, as much as 50% of the stray/feral inhabitants has this ailment, and your exterior cats are in threat for it vaccinated or no longer.