Bangor's Story: FeLV Survivor

A very ill Bangor ...

... and this is Bangor now!

Bangor's Story

Annie Mals of The Peaceful Kingdom Alliance 4 Animals submitted Bangor's inspiring story to Feral Cat Network.

I found Bangor (Bangy, for short) at a local restaurant. Standing outside the door, he looked extremely sick; it was as if he was asking everyone for help. I immediately took him home and to my veterinarian the next morning. Bangy had a temperature of 105 degrees and was very anemic; his gums and pads were white. My veterinarian told me that he had never seen a cat with that high a fever or as sick as Bangy. Bangy was tested for FeLV and the tests came back positive. Bangy lived in my home office, separated from my other cats.

About every other day, Bangy would run fevers and have to go to the veterinarian for fluids and vitamin injections. I gave Bangy NUTRICAL, a nutritional supplement, at least 3 times per day. I kept cold towels on Bangy whenever he would run a high temperature, which was quite often. I would also give Bangy cold, natural spring bottled water. He would do well for a couple of days and then the temperature would come back and he would become very ill.

Finally, after about eight months, Bangy seemed like he was staying well for longer periods of time and I noticed his pads were no longer white, but a pretty pink color. Once again, Bangy went to the veterinarian; this time, he tested negative for FeLV. My veterinarian was reluctant to accept that diagnosis and wanted to run another test, which we did; that was negative, too!

I call Bangy my miracle cat. He still enjoys living in my office with his special window seat. He has a roommate now, an older diabetic cat who also prefers my office as her main stomping ground.

Some people would have chosen to euthanize Bangy after learning that he tested positive for FeLV. I would like to stress that people should never lose hope. Positive test results are not automatic death sentences.

It took several months and lots of extra care, but Bangy made it -- and he is a very special part of my life.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT FeLV

• Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) is a virus that may eventually suppress the immune system of the carrier animal. The most common secondary disease that affects the cat is cancer.
  
  
• The FeLV virus is present in the saliva, blood, urine, and feces of an infected cat. For the virus to spread to another cat, prolonged contact is most likely necessary. Mutual grooming is the most common means of transmission.
  
  
• FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) & FeLV are unrelated.
  
  
• Between 60-70% of the adult cat community has a natural immunity to the virus. Cats become more resistant to infection with age, so that adult cats are very much less likely to become persistently infected than young kittens.
  
  
• In nature, many cats who are exposed to FeLV recover from the infection.
  
  
• Cats who are exposed to the virus and then recover are generally solidly immune and are resistant to further infection.
  
  
• There is a vaccine for FeLV, but it is only reported as being 60-90% effective.
  
  
• The life expectancy of an adult cat with FeLV varies tremendously, given that there are several strains of the virus, some being more debilitating to the cat than others. With a less aggressive infection, the cat could live many happy years.
  
  
• When being tested for FeLV, cats should have two tests 12 weeks apart. If cats have only been recently infected, they may not yet have virus in their blood. The interval from getting infected to producing virus in the blood can be as little as two weeks or as long as eight weeks. For this reason, when cats are tested for the first time, it is recommended that they be tested twice, 12 weeks apart.
  
  
• A small percentage of cats who are FeLV positive are in the process of developing immunity after which they will become negative; this is another reason for testing healthy cats twice.
  
  
• A cat can test "False-Positive" for FeLV. Because of this, many cats who were never infected in the first place, or would never have become ill, have unfortunately been killed.
  
  
• Even with a very accurate test, when an infection is of low prevalence (as with FeLV in healthy cats), an appreciable number of false-positive results will be obtained. It is widely agreed that a single positive result in a healthy cat should not be considered to be indicative of persistent infection and should be confirmed by a more specialized test.
  
  
• Cats who cannot clear FeLV from their bloodstream need to be carefully monitored. If they show signs of illness, they should be promptly treated.