![]() Spay/neuter can stop the spread of disease As a result, a program that snap tests all cats and euthanizes any positives is probably putting down some perfectly healthy, virus-free cats.ģ. Given financial and time restraints, follow-up testing is rarely done with ferals. Instead, for a conclusive result, the cat's blood must be re-tested in a laboratory using more rigorous techniques. Snap tests have high rates of error, especially in regard to false positives, and are not intended for final diagnoses (see The Merck Veterinary Manual (2012)). It is commonly called a "snap" test because it can be done quickly in the clinic. The test normally used on community cats, when it is performed, is the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) test. If the cost of a spay/neuter surgery is $50, identifying those 8 cats through testing would mean 30 cats would not get altered.Ģ. 220: 620-622.) Using this figure and assuming a cost of $15 for an FIV/FeLV snap test, testing 100 feral cats would cost $1,500 and identify an average of 8 cats as presumptively positive for one of the viruses. al., Prevalence of feline leukemia virus infection and serum antibodies against feline immunodeficiency virus in unowned free-roaming cats (2002) Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. ![]() Research has shown the infection rate for FIV and FeLV in community cats is similar to that in pet cats - approximately 8% for both viruses combined (Lee et. The mission of a typical TNR program is to stabilize then reduce the free-roaming cat population, not stop the spread of feline diseases. Every dollar spent on testing is one not spent on spay/neuter.
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