Beth Noren
Tue, 06 May 2008 19:31:35 -0700
Hi Heather, Of the 5 kittens, one was positive right away, and one turned positive several weeks later. We lost the first one to FIP, which I partially blame on vaccinating too soon and too short a regimen of antibiotics. She was vaccinated a couple of days after the antibiotics were stopped, they were still in her system then and were masking the fact that she hadn't really kicked her URI. Her immune system just got tired, and she came down with FIP. She was a very sick little runt when we found her, so she may not have made it even without our mistakes. When one of her brothers came down with a high fever, we had him retested and he came up positive. He got prednisolone for 1 or 2 days and was put on Clavamox. The fever came back within a week, one prednisolone tablet was all it took to break the fever. After all I had been through with the first one, there was no way I was letting him off the antibiotic. He was on Clavamox as a preventative for *months*. Everyone says that it will kill the good bacteria along with the bad, and that may be true for some cats, but he never had a problem. He has always been my best and most enthusiastic eater, no diarrhea or anything. I think that the antibiotics allowed his body to concentrate on its fight with the virus instead of wasting its energy on any bacteria. Just my layman's guess. I think that the typical 10 day antibiotic prescription is way too short. Then again, he was much healthier than his sister when I found them, so maybe he has stayed well *despite* my meddling. Anyway, I was kinda flying under my vet's radar getting Clavamox refills, finally I took him in to have his mouth checked 'cause he wouldn't eat his crunchy treats (it was fine) and she said that she couldn't in good conscience see any reason to continue prescribing meds to such a healthy looking cat. He's solid muscle from playing all day long. The only supplement I use with him is L-Lysine powder in his wet food. Food brands have changed a few times, but for a lot of their lives they have been on California Natural chicken and rice dry. Current wet food is Pet's Promise chicken from Petco. I avoid fish flavors because they can have a flame retardant chemical in them (from pollution). Once in awhile they get a plate of wet baby greens or romaine lettuce, otherwise they try to steal it from our birds. That's it. Oh, and I waited longer to have him neutered (7 months). He is healthier than his three remaining siblings (all negative, but two have food allergies and one broke her femur). I know that the odds are long on making 3 years, but I have hope, and I try to concentrate on the joy of his company right here and now. Even when he's hell-bent on stealing used Q-tips from the bathroom trash. :o) Sending good thoughts for Sissy, Beth On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 9:34 AM, Heather Wienker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Beth (Noren)- > > For your two surviving 2 year old FELV kitties, are there supplements > you've used or anything in particular you attribute to them doing so well? > > Thank you all for your condolences and thoughts, I sent Jann a link to the > archives so that she would know that many thoughts are with her, with wishes > of peace and love for Hobbs. > > Heather > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >