Before I went straight to the Pit and screamed as loud as I could, I wanted to get some advice from people who might know better:
I have a 3 month old kitten that we took into the vet this morning. It’s eye was leaking and swelling shut. I left him there for the day, and just got a call that we can pick her up after 4. It is quite a bit more expensive than I thought, which is OK, I’ll know better next time.
BUT, part of the cost is for a Luekemia/Aids test. Does anyone else think it’s strange to give this to a 3-month old kitten who has never been outside? Or am I completely off base, and this is something every cat needs, regardless of age.
I don’t think it was an unusual thing to look for. I lost a kitten to Feline leukemia and the first symptons she showed was leaky eyes and a high temperature. Apparently she got it from her mother, as the whole litter died from it over the period of a few months, all of them young, inside cats.
It’s something I always have my cats tested for now.
It’s something that every cat needs, regardless of age, especially if he came from a shelter and/or mom was a stray. They can get FeLV or FIV from their mothers, and the oozing eye could actually be a symptom of either becoming active. But it’s more likely to just be a cold. Shelters are like preschools - everybody shares all the infections. You’ll probably have to give him antibiotics and eye ointment for a while.
Now if he never goes outside, you shouldn’t have to do it again, unless you bring home another cat. If you do, keep them segregated until the new cat has had a FeLV/FIV test, so you won’t risk infecting this one.
And congratulations - kittens are adorable, especially when they’re so small. There are pictures of mine growing up at www.contracheck.com/cats .
malenki the miraculous was at the vets at least once a week until she was about 4 months old. she had eye infections, skin problems, bowel problems, you name it. at 4 weeks the vet tested her for fiv. she tested positive. that explained most of the problems she had.
we tested her again at 3 months and she tested neg!
excitement abounded!!! at 3 months most ( i stress most) kittens may throw off antibodies from mom, so that is why they test at 3 months.
i would consider it normal. esp. if the kitten is from parents who don’t have a history at a vets, ie one parent is unknown or feral.
My familys old cat died that way because my mom brought home a kitten that she found on the street and some how that kitten got my cat sick ( i was kinda young so i dont remember the whole thing) it was so sad near the end we had her on everything we could find that might help but in the end we lost both cats
Here is some detailed information about Feline Leukemia, from Cornell University Veterinary Medicine.
My wife is a vet; here are the vaccine protocols at our animal hospital. We always test before the first FeLV vaccine, and start vaccinating kittens as early as 9 weeks old.
If you ever want to check with other veterinarians online, you can post questions (like you posted here) for vets at www.Veterinary Partners.com.