How Often Do Cats Need Feline Leukemia Shots – Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is one of the most common infectious diseases in cats, affecting two to three percent of all cats in the U.S. Leukemia is also the second biggest killer of cats, behind only trauma. The disease kills 85 percent of persistently infected cats within three years of diagnosis. Leukemia can also commonly cause anemia or lymphoma and other fatal infections.
But leukemia is not necessarily a death sentence for your cat. In fact, 70 percent of cats are able to resist or eliminate the virus on their own. The incidence of leukemia has also decreased significantly over the past 25 years thanks to the development of an effective vaccine.
How Often Do Cats Need Feline Leukemia Shots
With that prospect in mind, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the causes, symptoms and treatment of feline leukemia should your pet ever come down with the disease.
Feline Leukemia Education
Feline leukemia suppresses a cat’s immune system. The virus affects a cat’s blood and can cause various other blood diseases. Because it suppresses a cat’s immune system, it makes it harder for the cat to protect against infection from bacteria, fungi or other viruses.
Feline leukemia is actually contagious, as cats persistently infected with FeLV can infect other cats. The virus is transmitted by direct, cat-to-cat contact. Leukemia is shed in saliva, nasal secretions, urine, feces and the milk of infected cats.
The virus can be transmitted through a bite wound, mutual grooming, and sometimes through the use of shared litter boxes and food dishes. The virus can also be passed from a mother to her kittens, either before birth or during breastfeeding.
The disease cannot be transmitted to humans or other animals, including dogs. It only affects cats. The virus cannot survive outside a cat’s body for long, only for a few hours. Seemingly healthy cats can become infected and transmit the virus.
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The cats most at risk of contracting leukemia are those living with an infected cat, or a cat with an unknown infection status. For this reason, it is important to have a new cat tested before exposing it to your other cats. Kittens and young adult cats are more susceptible to the virus than older cats, as resistance appears to develop with age.
The risk is very low for indoor cats, while outdoor cats and cats in multi-cat households are more at risk, especially if they share water, food dishes and litter boxes. Only three percent of cats in single-cat households have the virus, but the number rises for cats that go outside. As previously mentioned, the incidence has decreased thanks to vaccines and reliable testing.
Signs can vary greatly because the feline leukemia virus can affect almost any organ system in the body. Infected cats will often show one or more of the following feline leukemia symptoms:
Because feline leukemia virus attacks the immune system, it impairs a cat’s ability to protect itself from other infections, making it vulnerable to other diseases. Common bacteria, viruses, and even fungi that would not normally affect a healthy cat can cause serious illness in cats with the leukemia virus. The secondary infections are often what become fatal for the cat.
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During early stages of infection, cats will often show no signs of the disease. But the cat’s health will deteriorate over time, taking weeks, months or even years. The progress can be rapid and consistent or go into repetitive cycles of illness and relative health. Many cats will not develop long-term complications, and some cats may clear the infection completely before ever getting sick from the virus. Sometimes the virus can even “hide” in a cat’s bone marrow, becoming difficult to detect until later in the cat’s life when it begins to cause problems.
Diagnosis of the feline leukemia virus is complicated because there are several stages of the disease and because each cat deals with the infection differently. For most cats, a blood test will be done to detect the disease, but for others, bone marrow must be examined to confirm the infection. Some cats may test positive for the infection when they are younger, then test negative later in life if their immune systems have been able to eliminate the infection.
And because the virus progresses through stages, some will test negative early and positive later. It will often take several tests to confirm the diagnosis.
The first blood test (ELISA) detects leukemia by identifying the proteins associated with the virus in a cat’s blood. It is a highly sensitive test and can identify the virus very early. This test is done in the vet’s office and detects the presence of free particles that are common in the bloodstream during the early and late stages of infection.
Diagnosis: Feline Leukemia
Some cats can clear the infection in as little as a few months and test negative. A second blood test (IFA) is used to detect the progressive phase of the infection. It does this by detecting the presence of the virus in a cat’s white blood cells, which is an indication of a more advanced infection. Cats with positive results in this test are unlikely to clear the virus from their system. This test is performed at a diagnostic laboratory, rather than at your veterinarian’s office. In general, these cats tend to have a poor long-term prognosis.
Eighty-five percent of cats persistently infected with the disease die within three years of diagnosis. But with regular checkups at your vet, including twice-yearly physicals, and routine testing, you can keep your cat feeling good and prevent secondary infection.
Although there is currently no cure for feline leukemia virus, the secondary infections can often be treated as they occur. Cats with bone marrow leukemia or widespread lymphoma will have a dire prognosis. Even with aggressive treatment, some cats can still die from the virus.
There is no medication that can eliminate the virus, but many medications are available to help with symptoms. Steroids, antiviral drugs, chemotherapy and blood transfusions are commonly prescribed to treat feline leukemia. Steroids are used to reduce the number of cancerous lymphocytes in the blood, but they also leave the cat vulnerable to other diseases because they can weaken a cat’s immune system.
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An antiviral drug can reduce the amount of virus in the cat’s blood and is easier on the cat’s body than chemotherapy. The risks and benefits of the treatments must be weighed, keeping in mind that they cannot get rid of the virus, but can put a cat into remission. Vets will usually prescribe antibiotics for any bacterial infections or perform a blood transfusion in a case of severe anemia.
The only sure way to protect cats from developing feline leukemia is to prevent their exposure to infected cats. It is recommended to keep cats indoors away from other potentially infected cats. If you continue to leave your cat outside, try to supervise them or place them in a secure enclosure.
If you get a new cat, be sure to have him tested for feline leukemia before introducing him to your home and other cats (if you have any). If you have an infected cat, make sure you don’t share food and water bowls or litter boxes with your other cats. Be sure to test your other cats when you have an infected cat.
Although there is no cure, there is a fairly effective vaccine available for feline leukemia. It does not have a 100 percent success rate and is not considered a core vaccine, but it can be beneficial. Since this does not work for all cats, preventing exposure will remain important, even for vaccinated cats. The vaccination will also not cause false positive test results for the ELISA, IFA or other feline leukemia blood tests.
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Many of the vaccines available are a combination of vaccines that also protect against feline herpesvirus (rhinotracheitis), calicivirus and panleukopenia (FPV). All of the available feline leukemia vaccines have been tested and found to be safe and effective when administered as prescribed by a veterinarian.
Kittens are usually vaccinated against feline leukemia virus at around eight to nine weeks of age. They are then given booster vaccinations three or four weeks later, depending on the vaccine. This is followed up by boosters every year as long as they are at risk of exposure. These cats include cats that go outside or live with other cats. If a cat is suspected to be at low risk for feline leukemia, a vet may not recommend vaccination at all.
When you are diagnosed with feline leukemia, you may think the worst, but it is important to remember that cats with feline leukemia virus can live normal lives for long periods of time. Cats diagnosed with feline leukemia virus have a median survival time of two and a half years.
Careful monitoring of a cat’s weight, appetite, activity level, elimination habits, appearance of the mouth, eyes and behavior will be important parts of managing the disease. Consult your veterinarian if any of these signs appear abnormal.
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