I am a feral cat feeder and I have a few questions that nobody seems to be able to answer to my staisfaction, so perhaps someone here can help:

A number of ferals at the colonies present with specific symptoms from time to time (over a long period of time): weight loss, fur loss, gummy eyes, lethargy. Eventually they deteriorate to such an extent that (if we can) we finally trap them for euthenasia. The vets helping normally guess that they have FIV which apparently causes sores in the mouth and gum disease, etc, which makes them eventually stop eating and then lose condition. Does this sound about right? Just I am not sure if FIV is the most likely cause or something else.

What are the risks of me transmitting something like FELV to my own cats at home? I mean on my shoes or clothes. I am pretty careful about changing my clothes etc as soon as I get home, and keeping my feral cat equipment out of reach of my cats. I think FIV is only transmittable through bites/saliva, so there is minimal danger there, but what about FELV: how hardy is the virus? Can I theoretically bring home a germ and infect my cats? My cats have been vaccinated against FELV. I was hoping to cut down on the vaccines as they are indoor cats and just vaccinate for the basics. Should I reconsider and keep up the FELV vaccs?
Or am I just being totally neutrotic?
Advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think there is a chance an adult cat could get FeLV that way (I would be more cautious if they were kittens though). It takes prolonged contact with FeLV infected cats for an adult cat to become infected. If they are indoor only cats, vaccinating them against FeLV is not necessary.

Since both viruses cause suppression of the immune system which severly impairs the cats' ability to fight disease, I think your vet is spot on here!

FelV is transmitted through close contact with other cats through saliva tears and urine through grooming, shared litter trays and feeding bowls and bite wounds. The virus can be passed on to kittens via milk. However it doesn't survive outside the host in the environment for long periods so the risk of transmission to your own cats is extremely low.

FIV is transmitted through blood and saliva and again the virus will die very quickly in the environment and can be killed by disinfectants.

So while it's wise to take precautions I wouldn't be overly worried about your own cats, even without the vaccinations.