My cat was put to rest today. Any advice?

Question

he came home with a broken leg, so we rushed him to the vets, he is a ferrel cat that we feed and occasionaly take in the house, the vets did the routine blood testes before fixing leg but they found he had feline leukemia so said it was best to put him to rest, i am now very concerned about my indoor cats, do you think they may have picked this up? they were never close or fought but did share feed bowles, Please help i dont want to loose another. I dont think i could cope.

Answer 1

First off, THANK YOU for caring enough to not only feed this cat but to have it's medical needs taken care of. So many people treat ferals like trash.

As a precaution I would have your other cats tested, but in my experience the risk of exposure, even though they share the same food bowls, is very very low. While Feline lukemia can be trasnmitted through saliva, usually it's through bite wounds that they get infected. So I would say with 99% certainty that your other kitties are OK, it is never bad practice to have them tested.

Are they current on their shots? If they've been innoculated for the disease with routine vaccinations, they should be fine EVEN if they have had an exposure.

I rescue and work with feral cats (have a kitten in my bathroom right now being tamed) so I've worked with cats who have this disease as well as all the others. While yes it is a contageous disease, it is NOT a fatal one and can be managed. Cats can live long healthy lives despite being infected.

So don't worry so much, and when things calm down and you have grieved properly for your furry friend, have your cats tested and updated on shots if needed. And at least you can feel good that the feral kitty didn't die in pain from a broken leg and unable to find food or shelter. He died peacefully with people around him who loved and cared for him. You did a wonderful thing for him, and he appreciated it I'm quite sure.

Read the poem, Rainbow Bridge. It will bring you comfort.

Also, as another precaution, stearlize all food and water bowls. If you have a dishwasher that is an EXCELLENT way to get them extra clean. If not, wash them with regular dish detergent on a sponge, rinse with diluted bleach, then wash again with detergent.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

they can't catch leukemia , try not to worry, poor you its awful, how about planting a rose in memory when my cat sparkey died i painted his picture to remember him, all the best and let yourself feel sad

Answer 3

http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rai...

And please have your other cats checked out...sorry for your loss.

Answer 4

Sorry For Your Loss, Get the other cats checked out..

Answer 5

You did the right thing, so you can grieve. The other cats may or may not miss the feral cat, but dont punish them for this.

Just dont try to repress any feelings of guilt or sadness, that will only hurt you in the long run.  

Answer 6

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat!

If your indoor cats were vaccinated, they will probably be all right. If not, tell your vet about it and see if an emergency vaccination will help. Or perhaps he will have other suggestions.

Feel better.

Answer 7

omg i am sooooooooooooo sorry :'(

Answer 8

Feline FeLV is treatable . it doesn't have to be a death sentence.. this disease is spread threw saliva as well as other ways so if you used the same cat dishes....??? you may want to reserch the disease and watch for its symptoms in your other cats but know that it is treatable- you don't have to lose another one. The vet probable suggested putting the cat down because it was a stray/ferel, but if it had been one of your indoor cats I believe that an alternative would have been given to you. I am sorry for your loss.  

Answer 9

I would have the cats tested so treatment, if any, can be started right away. Never allow your cats to share a food or water bowl, toys, or bedding with a new cat before having it tested.  FeLV is not a death sentence.

http://www.felineleukemia.org/felvfaq.sh...