posted 01-13-2004 04:50 PM         

I really need some advice! A bit of background, I lost my dear Spooky to FIV a few months ago and have since adopted a sweet boy Oliver. I had Spook for 9 years before FIV became apparent (he was a stray before I had him and he was completely indoors with me). Anyways, I am now super careful about Oliver and don't want to expose him to anything--he has already been tested (neg.)for feline leuk./FIV and has been vaccinated against leuk (+others).

He is very social and wants a buddy so I've decided to get a kitten for him, which I picked up on Saturday (4 months old). She was a stray and had been in a foster home for 2 months with 2 other cats there. I just had her tested for leuk/FIV today and the results were negative (she's also been vaccinated, but just recently for leuk.). She has been separated from Oliver although they are doing a lot of mutual meowing at each other and seem interested to meet.

So here's the question--I've read that there can be an incubation period up to 2 months for feLV. So should I keep them separated longer and re-test her? In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions on how I can introduce the two of them without physical contact? I know I'm probably over-reacting but after losing Spooky I don't want to take any chances with Oliver.

posted 01-13-2004 05:08 PM         

The vaccine causes the body to produce anti-bodies that would fight the disease. These anti-bodies are the same as in infected cats and are what the tests look for.