Riley is a tiny orange Persian cat who was doing really badly at the Nanaimo SPCA. We took him out to foster on October 9.

We made an appointment for Riley to be examined at Island Veterinary Hospital on October 13. We did not get to see a vet to discuss our concerns, but a blood sample was drawn and sent to the Central Laboratory in Langley for testing. The sample led to a diagnosis of positive for feline leukemia, which usually amounts to a death sentence for an animal. Both the Nanaimo SPCA and Dr. Karsten of Island Veterinary Hospital suggested that he be euthanised. We were given the chance to place him with a rescue group.

Ownership of Riley passed to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue on Saturday October 16. They readily agreed to accept him despite the awful diagnosis as they have special facilities for cats with feline leukemia.

Following the advice of many professional people, we made an appointment with Dr Keith Grey in Duncan to make sure that this diagnosis was correct. Dr.Grey did two tests which proved that Riley was negative for feline leukemia. What a relief!

Dr. Jim Bilenduke was the duty pathologist at the Central Laboratory in Langley when Riley's blood was initially examined. He was responsible for diagnosing Riley as being positive for feline leukemia. However the blood sample was "grossly hemolyzed." I obtained a copy of the results from the SPCA. Apparently gross hemolyzation (usually caused by careless handling of blood samples) could have been a factor in the misdiagnosis, but there are other possible reasons for error.

Dr. Bilenduke sent me a long scholarly letter in response to my inquiry about the error. He went into detail about how feline leukemia is diagnosed and reported. The difficulties with conducting this test were clearly explained. He apologized for the grief that was given to my family as a result of the diagnostic problem and he was pleased that we had retested Riley.

The Central Laboratory went over Riley’s results with all the people involved in testing for this disease. They re-examined a sample they had retained of Riley’s blood.

To quote a few sentences from Dr Bilenduke's letter:

“This incident has uncovered some problems in the way we train personnel to perform and report this test as well as how we define a weak positive result. We have already taken steps to correct these problems and are continuing our attempts to be better able to differentiate between false positive and true positive results.”

I am grateful to the Central Laboratory for paying close attention to what happened and for taking the time to review this case thoroughly. I hope that Riley’s case will result in many saved lives for cats as a result of the changes made in how the test is conducted.

I have had no response yet from Island Veterinary Hospital to a letter I sent to them on October 24.

No wonder Riley is purring! He's doing very well.