What is Feline Leukemia Virus Infection?
• Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is an infectious virus in cats, which decreases the immune system’s ability to fight infection, affects the bone marrow’s ability to make blood cells, and predisposes cats to developing cancer at an early age. It is usually spread from cat to cat through bites, grooming, shared food and water dishes, and shared litter boxes but may be transmitted from a mother to her kittens. The virus is most commonly acquired as a kitten (<16 weeks old) and male cats allowed outdoors are more commonly affected (likely due to fighting). Not all cats exposed to the disease will become permanently infected, however those that do will usually die at a young age.
