Prevalence of feline leukemia virus infection among adult cats at an animal control center: association of viremia with phenotype and season.

The overall frequency of feline leukemia virus infection among 555 cats tested from the Hillsborough County Florida Animal Control facility, using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, was 9.4%. Among male cats, the frequency was 13.8%, which was statistically higher (P = 0.003) than that for females (5.9%). There was no statistical evidence to associate frequency of viral infection with hair length or coloration. There was an association with color distribution. The frequency of viral infection in cats with a solid color in their coat, excluding tabby, calico, and tortoise, was higher (12.2%) than the frequency in the remainder of the cats (5.5%; P = 0.011). Finally, there was a difference in frequency related to season. For the 10 months of the study, cats collected in the 5 cooler months (January, February, March, April, and October) had a frequency of 14.6%; cats obtained in the 5 warmer months (May, June, July, August, and September) had a frequency of 7.2% (P = 0.038).