Captain Carl Domestic Short Hair & Siamese Mix Port Richey, FL

Captain Carl is fun and playful and cuddly! If you give him a lap, he'll jump right in it and start purring and rubbing his face on yours. He loves to play with his siblings.
Captain Carl came in with several other cats who tested positive for FELV. FELV cats aren't always sick, in fact they are healthy, they just have a shorter lifespan. Here is some information below about FELV, and we hope you consider adopting Globey or any of our amazing FELV+ cats!

FeLV, or Feline Leukemia Virus, is a virus that attacks the immune system of a cat. It isn't a form of cancer but is actually a virus that weakens the immune system. Cats with FeLV can live normal, happy lives - they just have a shorter life expectancy than FeLV negative cats.

FeLV is only contagious to other cats. For this reason it is required that FeLV+ cats are kept indoors only. They can only cohabitate with other FeLV+ cats as it is spread from cat to cat via prolonged, direct contact with an infected cat's saliva (sharing food bowls, grooming each other, etc.), urine, blood, and from mother cat to kittens during pregnancy. Feline leukemia is species specific, so other animals such as dogs cannot contract the virus. The virus itself is not airborne and dies rapidly in the environment, so you won't have to worry about carrying the virus on clothes when you leave the house or have friends over.

FeLV+ cats appear and act just as healthy as the other cats we have available for adoption. They do, however, have an increased risk of getting sick. This makes protecting them from stress, feeding a high quality diet, and addressing health problems as soon as they arise absolutely critical. You wouldn't know a cat had FeLV by just looking at it, and many people have FeLV+ cats in their home and don't even know it because they never got them tested.