Visiting a FeLV positive cat?

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Brian Beuchaw - 08 Apr 2005 18:59 GMT

Got a friend who just got a FeLV positive cat, and want to confirm the
precautions I think I should take to keep our FeLV negative cats safe.

If I visit him and play with his cat, I figure I should be able to wash my
hands (or whatever other body parts/clothes he touches) when I get back
home in order to not spread the virus to our cats. I did some googling
and saw that the virus doesn't live long outside the cat (in a dry-ish
environment), so I just wanted to make sure that I was doing the right
thing - I don't want to go overboard and take a bleach shower :-), nor do
too little. Thanks for answers....

brian

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Phil P. - 09 Apr 2005 04:35 GMT

> Got a friend who just got a FeLV positive cat, and want to confirm the
> precautions I think I should take to keep our FeLV negative cats safe.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> brian

The risks of your cats becoming infected with FeLV carried into your home by
you is less than their risk of getting hit by a B-52 in the Lincoln Tunnel.

FeLV is a fragile virus and doesn't survive for very long outside the body.
Also, it takes a lot of FeLV to overcome the cat's natural immune system.
Thus effective transmission of the virus from cat to cat requires prolonged,
moist, intimate contact or a bite wound - when a large dose of virus is
injected directly into the body.

I've worked with FeLV+ cats on almost a daily basis for more than 20 years
and I can say with absolute certainty, none of my cats have ever become
infected - the only preventative hygiene I usually practice before comming
home is simply washing my hands - and that's only because I also clean about
45 litter boxes!

You might want to ask your friend to adopt another FeLV+ cat to keep his cat
company.

Phil

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Brian Beuchaw - 11 Apr 2005 22:38 GMT

Just wanted to say thanks to both of y'all for answering. I figured that
I really didn't have to go to extraordinary lengths to keep our cats safe,
but was just thinking of a worst possible case (FeLV cat gets saliva on my
shirt or hands, I don't notice, it stays wet, our cats get stupid and lick
my hands/shirt, ....). Definitely a "wash my hands" situation, but it
doesn't sound like it needs much more than that....

brian

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-L. - 09 Apr 2005 05:57 GMT

> Got a friend who just got a FeLV positive cat, and want to confirm the
> precautions I think I should take to keep our FeLV negative cats safe.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> brian

FWIW, I don't think there is much risk to your kitties from third-party
transmission. I used to remove my clothing after working at the vet,
and wash my hands and arms well, if I was unable to shower for some
reason. But I worked with all sorts of nasties. FeLV is pretty hard
to transmit.

-L.

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