Hello Anna, I am sorry for your situation. Felv is an illusive, unpredictable and sometimes devastating disease.
I think the people in this group have good advice and knowledge pertaining to this group of cats. In my experience, 2 died from the anemia and bone marrow suppression that often kills the younger cats (cats turning positive at less than one year generally do worse), 1 is doing well - she is about 6 years old and on interferon (she came to me in good shape already on interferon), the third, Autumn, nearly died about a month and half ago and is symptomically improving today. I started her on the LTCI injections (from Imulan) and Ambrotose (a mannose supplement similar to Acemannan). I have heard multiple stories of cats turning negative on this treatment. There is no known cure for the virus. Some cats do well and eradicate the virus on their own, some become asymptomatic carriers and some die from it. I wish someone would have suggested I try LTCI and ambrotose (Acemannan) initially. The LTCI injection costs about $65 weekly for four weeks and than monthly. There were very few side effects identified in the study. This treatment aid is a somewhat debated issue in this group so you may want to investigate it yourself. I have personally reviewed the literature and think there is promise in it, but others will disagree. Good luck and God bless. Jenny On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 4:11 PM, Anna Waltman <anna.walt...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi everyone, > I've been lurking around for the last day or two reading your posts. My > darling Sylvia, the first cat I have owned as an adult, just tested > positive > for FLV on both the in-office and IFA tests. She's one of my best friends > and I'm devastated; she was negative as a kitten and has lived inside for > most of her life (as a little baby, she was a stray-- I adopted her from > the > SPCA at five months, and I know she was there for a while before I adopted > her). She was given a confident all-clear by my former vet to move with me > to Massachusetts and live in a multiple-cat household less than three > months > ago. > > Upon moving, it became obvious that Sylvia doesn't like being left alone in > the apartment for long periods of time (prior to our move, we lived with my > retired parents and their two dogs so she was almost never home alone). I > decided to adopt a kitten, Beatrice, a few weeks after we moved in, after > Sylvia had gotten comfortable in the apartment. > > So when Sylvia started meowing strangely and acting a little lethargic, I > assumed it was a kitty flu but took her to the vet anyway, just to be safe, > and tested her just to be absolutely sure she was still negative. What a > horrible surprise. She's been living with Bea for a month or two now and > they're best friends; they wrestle all the time, share food bowls, groom > each other, etc. I feel sick with guilt about bringing a young kitten into > a house with a FLV+ cat, and now chances are I have two positive cats to > care for. Our current vet is wonderful, though, and she feels that if we > vaccinate Bea ASAP and keep a close eye on Sylvia (treating her problems as > they arise), there's a good chance we can keep both of them healthy for a > long time. She says she has other patients and co-workers with FLV+ and > negative cats living in the same household who never pass it to each other. > I'm feeding them a mix of Wellness and Innova ENVO and giving the kitten > multivitamins to boost her immune system and help her fight off the > exposure. > > I'm a young graduate student in an MA/PhD program and I don't have a ton of > money. These kitties had been the most stable thing in my life and this > diagnosis is totally eating me up, from the inside out. I love them to > pieces and want to be the best cat-parent I can to my girls (having chronic > illnesses myself that significantly increase my risk of certain health > problems, I'm as empathic about this as anyone). The horrible potential of > this disease breaks my heart every time I think about it. My childhood cat > passed away a few months before I got Sylvia, and I can't bear to lose > another one like that (he was very sick for a long time before he died, but > we don't know what it was. Could've been FLV or FIV; he wasn't tested > every > year, though he was vaccinated. He was indoor/outdoor and a fighter). > > What do you wish you had known when your cat was first diagnosed, if > anything? If there is any advice people have, I would appreciate it, and > as > I gain experience caring for my girls I will share what has worked and what > hasn't with anyone who asks. > > Many thanks and best wishes to you and your families, furry and otherwise. > Anna > _______________________________________________ > 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
