How to Manage Feline Leukemia

Studies have shown that around 1-3% of the cat population is infected with the Feline Leukemia virus. But this is not the whole story. This number can go way up in communities that have a denser cat population, or a relatively young one. FeLV is called a “droplet infection”, where in the bodily fluids and the secretions of an infected cat can transmit the virus to another cat.

Not all cats that are exposed to the virus will get infected, in fact 33% have the ability to fight off the disease. 33% of that will become carriers of the disease, or have it in “latent” form. Latent FeLV means that the disease will be dormant until it is triggered by outside stimuli, which can range from stress to prevalent re-infection. The best way to ensure that your cat is not infected is to not have them exposed to the virus at all.

There are vaccines available against FeLV, but as all vaccines are, it is not a complete guarantee.
FeLV is incurable, and if left untreated can be deadly. Still, getting diagnosed with FeLV is not an automatic death sentence to a beloved pet. There are ways to manage the disease with medication and other measures that can give the cat a long and good quality life. The medicines can get expensive, and which type of medication depends upon the severity or stage of infection.

The virus is strongly indicated to exist for thousands of years, and will likely exist for more. Treatments and procedures for FeLV infected cats are symptomatic and supportive treatments only, or treating the signs of the illness as they arise and strengthening the immune system to prevent opportunistic infections from happening or worsening. It will not get rid of the virus completely although it may help the cat’s immune system to fight it off.

Symptomatic or secondary infection treatments include medication such as Acemannan, Interferon, or Prednisone, chemotherapy, or drugs used by HIV patients like ATZ, and ImmunoRegulin. Other topical solutions may also be administered to support these medications.

FeLV infected cats may also suffer from malnutrition and anemia because of loss of appetite, and vitamins like B complex may be helpful as well as appetite stimulants. Administering vitamin C is still controversial because cats produce their own nutrients and the benefits of giving them more have not yet been fully proven.

Procedures include removal of tumors, and their biopsy, in case the FeLV infection is considered to be neoplastic or cancerous. Another procedure is blood transfusions if the RBC of the cat is very low.
Needless to say that a cat with this disease will benefit greatly from a lot of love and attention, and that while the medicines and procedures will need a veterinarian’s professional assistance, keeping the cat in a safe, comfortable, and clean environment is also very important in managing this disease, and can be done by the owner at minimal cost to them.