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Young cats (3-6 mo old) were challenged with oncogenic Snyder-Theilen feline sarcoma virus (FeSV) after vaccination with live or killed FL74 cat lymphoma cells. Compared with controls immunized with normal cat fibroblasts, the FL74-vaccinated cats exhibited increased resistance to FeSV-induced progressive primary and disseminated secondary tumors. Maximum protection was achieved by vaccination with live FL74 cells or with a low dose of freeze-thawed cells, but tumor cells inactivated by glutaraldehyde or paraformaldehyde were also effective. Infectious helper feline leukemia virus (FeLV) was detected in the blood of all cats after FeSV challenge, but the duration and magnitude of this viremia were reduced in animals that had been previously vaccinated with live, freeze-thawed, or paraformaldehyde-fixed cells. Although immunized cats were resistant to FeSV-induced tumors and FeLV viremia, no evidence was obtained to suggest that vaccination with dead cells induced detectable circulating antibody prior to challenge with oncogenic virus. After FeSV challenge, complement-dependent antibody to feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (CDA-FOCMA) appeared at high titer in cats that were destined either to survive tumor-free or to develop small, localized, and eventually regressing tumors. Cats immunized with live FL74 cells developed CDA-FOCMA prior to challenge, and antibody appeared in these cats following an episode of transient FeLV viremia induced by virus replicating from the injected tumor cells. Therefore, apparently, a state of transient or persistent FeLV viremia regularly preceded detection of CDA-FOCMA activity. Several individually derived feline lymphoma cell lines were used as targets for CDA-FOCMA, and the results suggested that lytic activity is directed to multiple antigen determinants expressed differently by individual feline lymphomas.