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My kitten tested FLV positive. Is the test accurate? Can they survive?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | unneutered | 4 lbs

My cat is tested to be FLV + via blood smear. My questions are: 1) How accurate can a blood smear be in giving an accurate result for this disease? 2) How likely can an 8 month old kitten survive and be immune to FLV? Are there any successful cases? Thanks.

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1 Answer

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Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on October 4th, 2017

a blood smear is quite reliable but i would still recommend having an additional blood test (Elisa, IFA or PCR) to have a confirmation. unfortunately the disease is not curable but it is manageable and many cats can live many years with the disease.

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