The feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a highly dangerous and usually deadly virus that affects the immune system of your cat. Unfortunately, there is no known treatment that is consistently effective against this disease.

This disease has a varied list of symptoms and signs, many of which may be common to other illnesses and conditions. FeLV is a retrovirus, which means that it is able to insert copies of its own genetic material into the cells it has infected.

Healthy felines are attacked by harmful organisms all the time. Most of the time, your cat can fight them off. When your cat’s immune system is compromised, however, diseases that would not normally cause a problem can become more severe. In some cases, they can become life threatening.

Secondary infections and diseases will cause problems with FeLV infected cats. These secondary infections and diseases make the symptom list for this illness quite varied. FeLV infected cats have a difficult time fighting off invaders, even common bacteria.

Initially, symptoms of FeLV may include blood disorders, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and general malaise. It’s possible for some cats, however, to experience no symptoms at the early stage.

Some FeLV infected cats may exhibit excessive urination and thirst, which is also common to a number of other conditions. They often will develop anemia, and some will develop tumors, leukemia, and other forms of cancer.

Additional feline leukemia virus symptoms may also include depression, weight loss to the point of emaciation, and diarrhea. Cats may also experience blood in the stool, jaundice, constipation, and chronic recurring infections.

There are two stages of feline leukemia virus. Some cats will mount an immune response upon initial infection, and the disease will not progress to the second stage. Other cats will eventually enter the second stage.

If your cat has FeLV, the only thing you can do is to treat the secondary infections and diseases, and try to boost the immune system of your cat. This disease is usually fatal for those cats who reach the second stage of this disease.

In fact, it’s estimated that only about 2 to 3 percent of all cats are infected with FeLV. Infection rates are higher in high risk groups. The disease is transmitted through direct contact with an infected cat. Keeping your cat indoors and away from infected cats is a good precaution. Fortunately, if your cat is not in a high risk group, chances are limited that she will contract the disease.