Veterinary students, left to right, Julie A. Stephens, Carolyn Fisher, Eileen R. Adamo, Reena Shah and Tracy Misner, with James Richards, D.V.M., rear center, volunteer to examine cats for feline leukemia at the SPCA on Hanshaw Road.
By Roger Segelken
Lacking a sure vaccination or cure for feline leukemia, the best way to halt the number-one viral killer of cats is to prevent contact with pets that have it, veteri narians at Cornell's Feline Health Center have concluded.
"I hate to give pet owners this news, but the fact is: Vaccines against feline leukemia virus are not 100 percent effective," said James R. Richards, D.V.M., the College of Veterinary Medicine's telephone "cat answer man."
Some of the most heartbreaking calls to Richards at 1-800-KITTY-DR involve feline leukemia, he noted. "People say, 'I've fallen in love with a cat infected with feline leukemia virus; can I keep her with my other uninfected cats?' I'm sorry, but the answer has to be 'no.'"
FeLV, the retrovirus that causes feline leukemia, is spread from infected cats in saliva, urine and milk when cats groom each other, fight, eat from the same dish, nurse or share the same litter box. Once in the bloodstream and bone marrow, the virus produces, among other symptoms, anemia, jaundice, decreased appetite and weight loss, diarrhea or constipation, enlarged lymph nodes, depression and de creased stamina, respiratory distress and, as the name implies, leukemia.
The disease is almost always fatal, and 80 percent of infected cats are dead within three years. Between 3 and 4 percent of the general cat population in the United States is infected with feline leukemia virus, but high-risk groups, such as mul tiple-cat households, cat-breeding facilities and outdoor cat populations, suffer about a 7 percent infection rate.
Some 15 to 20 percent of sick cats seen by veterinarians are infected with the vi
rus, said Richards, director of the Camuti Memorial Feline Consultation Service at the Veterinary College. Vaccination, although useful, protects only 30 to 90 per cent of cats, he reported.
"The best way to keep this virus from spreading is to prevent exposure. Keep your cats inside, keep them from fighting outside
and keep them away from cats that you know are infected," Richards said. "That's one reason why tests are so important."
Taking that advice, students in the Vet College volunteer at the local animal shel ter, giving physical exams and FeLV tests to cats that are up for adoption. The FeLV testing program earned the Cornell Stu
dent Chapter of the American Association of Feline Practitioners national rec ognition, the 1994-95 Hill's Outreach Program Award.
"Until a sure-fire vaccine comes along, the only way we're going to control this disease is by testing and preventing exposure," Richards said.