When we treat FeLV kitties like little ticking time bombs that are dangerous to other cats, that's how people think of them. We create unnecessary fear and make it more difficult to adopt them out. We actually increase their risk of death by making it more difficult for them to leave the shelter. FeLV is transmissible, but not easily so, and while FeLV+ kitties may live a shorter life, they can still have a good quality of life. We need to overcome our own fear of the disease and learn to talk frankly to adopters about adopting a cat with a shorter life span.

About Dr. Heather Kennedy
Heather is the director of feline operations at KC Pet Project. Her role encompasses all aspects of feline operations, including animal care, health and enrichment, behavior, and feline fostering. Her career helping cats started as an experienced cat trapper, colony caregiver, and foster caregiver. She went on to attend U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where her singular commitment to cats earned her numerous scholarships, as well as the AAFP Outstanding Scholar Award. In 2017, after four years in felineonly private practice, Heather decided to focus on the welfare of shelter cats. She is recognized as an expert on the humane care of feral cats and currently sits on the AAFP Committee on FreeRoaming Cats and speaks at national conferences on her work in sheltering. She was mentored by Dr. Niels Pedersen, a nationally recognized expert on feline infectious peritonitis, and she often provides consults to other veterinarians on the diagnosis of the disease. She managed the Alley Cat Allies emergency shelter after Hurricane Katrina and was instrumental in helping Santa Barbara County (CA) become nokill through TNR and RTF (Return to Field). She started and managed a feral cat clinic in Yolo County (CA), where she mentored students on TNR and the humane care of feral cats.