The Community Cats Podcast

Interview! Niki Cochran, Program Manager at Alley Cat Rescue “Just because you’re getting the [positive] combo test … that doesn’t mean ‘death sentence’. That means ‘OK, now I have to go and educate myself about what that combo test result is.’ ” Niki Cochran, Program Manager at Alley Cat Rescue in Washington, DC, has been a cat lover her whole life. Her career in animal welfare began when she took a job as an animal control officer, and included time spent at a large, open-intake shelter. At that shelter, she worked with a team of progressive veterinarians who challenged long-held beliefs about Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia (FeLV) — including the belief that cats who test positive for these diseases should not live with other cats. In this episode, Niki and Stacy debunk several commonly held myths about FeLV in particular, including the idea that FeLV is extremely contagious, and that cats and kittens with it always live shortened lifespans. They also talk about the idea that FeLV a