5: Feline Leukemia Virus
Feline leukemia is a disease that spreads through urine, nose discharge and saliva. Cats can catch the disease through bites, sharing food and water bowls, and from simply living together. Mother cats can pass the disease along to their kittens, and kittens are more likely to contract the disease than adult cats.
Some cats will immediately become ill upon contracting the virus; however, in other cats, symptoms of the disease will not manifest for several weeks. Feline leukemia can result in a number of conditions, including system-wide infections, diarrhea, skin infections, eye disease, respiratory tract infections, bladder infections, infertility, anemia and cancer. Any severe chronic illness can be a sign of feline leukemia.
Although there is no cure for feline leukemia, the disease is easily preventable. Keeping cats indoors, restricting exposure to other cats, maintaining a clean living environment and ensuring your cat is vaccinated can all help prevent feline leukemia. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, veterinarians rarely see cases of feline leukemia among vaccinated cat populations.
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