Steven, I understand your confusion. So little is understood about FeLV. My experience has been with 6 kittens born with FeLV that I rescued from a dumpster colony. They did not 'throw off' the virus but I have only lost one. They remaining 5 are doing fine and have been mixed with my negative kitties who were vaccinated.
You are doing all the right things. Checking the status of your other companions. Seeing a specialist for Samauri. Giving him supplements to boost his immune system. I would suggest talking to your vet about adding L-lysine to his diet as well. I understand that Samauri is eating and playing just fine right now. The chemo may affect his appetite. It is important to monitor his eating starting now to make sure he maintains his ideal body wt throughout his treatment. The easiest way to do this is to weigh him regularly on a digital baby, postal or pet scale. He may need additional calories to fight through this episode. There is an Assist Feeding Group and a couple of Lymphoma Groups that can offer help while you develop a treatment plan for him. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline_lymphoma/ http://felinelymphomacaregivers.org/index.html The very best medicine is love and a low stress environment. It sounds like Samauri is receiving lots of love. All we can do is share our experiences. Hopefully they will help. Good luck with the rest of your companions and at the specialist next Tuesday. Sharyl --- On Sat, 3/21/09, spertus...@aol.com <spertus...@aol.com> wrote: > From: spertus...@aol.com <spertus...@aol.com> > Subject: [Felvtalk] Devastated and Ignorant-Confused-New Diagnosis in > Multiple Cat Household > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Cc: spertus...@aol.com > Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 2:03 PM > Hello everyone, > > My name is Steven with a long history of feline > stewardship; will not say > owner because who owns who is always in question! :) Sorry > for a long post. I > am confused and wanting to make sure I get the most > efficient and best > treatment possible for a recent diagnosis: > > I have 6 felines in my household: > Rosie-12 year old female brown tabby > Samauri a/k/a Sammy- 9 year old male blonde tabby > Olivander- 7 year old male Maine Coon > Maggie- 3 year old female blonde and white tabby > Squeaky-2 year old female tuxedo > Fuzzy-2 year old male long haired tuxedo and brother of > Squeaky > > My 9 year old Samauri just diagnosed yesterday with FELV > and x-rays show > moderate cancer mass in his chest cavity. His comprehensive > blood work shows all > is normal and in range so I am confused. He eats, > drinks, sleeps, plays and > behaves normally as he always has, would not know he was > sick at all. All > other felines being tested on Monday 3/23 and Samauri is > currently > "quarantined" in 1 large bedroom and we are all not happy > about this. Is the cancer > which my vet says is of the lymphoma type caused by the > FELV virus as a > "secondary disease" or is it possible the cancer is in > addition to the FELV positive > status and the virus is not causing havoc yet? Would > the blood work be > "normal" or are "we" just lucky so far? Samauri has > been going to the vet lately > for a cronic upper respiratory infection where his eyes > tear because the > nasal passages were clogged. Medication clears it up as it > has occurred 2-3x per > year for the past several years. > > I am seeing a specialist on Tuesday for the cancer that > shows up on the > x-rays. I imagine this is what I fight and do other > things to ensure his immune > system stays as healthy as possible? My vet has given > me liquid Immuno > Support Vitamins that contains Lysine, Larch > Arabinogalactan, Reishi Mushroom and > Lutein. He wants the specialist to come up with a cancer > fighting > chemotherapy protocol. > > Also, I have read posts regarding separating or not > separating positive and > negative felines, and my vet actually is already > assuming the other cats to > be tested will test positive. Should he be > making that assumption? I am > fairly convinced right now that I could let all > kitties roam the house under > certain managed conditions relating to shared bowls, > etc. > > Am I even close to being on the right track here? I > have supported CRF and > Cardiomyopathy felines at home in the past but this is all > new to me > regarding FELV status and cancer. > > Thank you to everyone for bearing with me > > God Bless all our felines! > > Steven > New York > **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? > Make dinner for $10 or > less. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000001) > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
