Michelle L

[Nina]

Michelle L, The steam inhaler and eucalyptus is a very good idea to help with congestion.  Someone on our list used "Little Noses", (brand name).  It's a human infant's nasal decongestant.  If it's available where you are, you might want to ask your vet about using it.  The active ingredient is Phenylephrine Hydrochloride USP .125 %.  I think they put a tiny bit on a Q-tip to apply.  Speaking about vets...  It's very important to find a vet that is willing to treat FeLV cats.  Some vets don't put the effort into them, thinking they're doomed anyway.  That's just wrong thinking, FeLV is not the death sentence most assume it to be.  They can, and do, live happy, healthy lives for many years. It's wonderful that the feline interferon omega is available to you where you are.  It's not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yet and only a few of us have been able to get special dispensations and order it, (myself among them).  I do think it has helped my cats and I think it's a valuable tool in fighting infectious diseases.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be able to help with lymphomas and other cancers, which our babies are prone to. There doesn't seem to be an "average" life span for FeLV kitties.  They are all so unique and no two cases are identical.  It depends on when they contract the disease, (kittens seem to succumb faster), the quality of care they get, (most of us have ours on all sorts of immune boosting supplements and the best diets available), and keeping their lives as stress free as possible.  A couple of big dangers are surgery and being exposed to disease from other cats.  Things that a neg cat might catch and recover from quickly may be dangerous for a pos.  It's important to keep them protected.  That being said, I do allow my cats supervised time in my back yard, (even though I maintain a feral colony).  They enjoy it so much that I've decided to take the risk.  It's a tough call sometimes deciding between quantity and quality.  Your's has already passed a milestone in that she is two years old   We seem to lose alot of the younger ones before their first year, many live longer when they can get past a year and a half.  There's just no telling, really, it's all so individual.   I lost two of the litter I rescued at a few months old and my last angel left me at 18 months, but there are people on the list with pos that have lived much longer, (we suspect mine were born with the virus). Welcome to the list, I'm glad you found us and sorry that you had to, Nina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks Nina - The main concern is about having FeLV near FIV cast as they are already immune compromised but as you say they have lived together for 2 years so I would have thought that after 2 years of exposure it couldn't really get any worse. My sick FIV cat Bramble is snoring so loudly at the moment but at least he is managing to sleep - I'm using eucalyptus oil in a steam inhaler to help him until he is put on feline omega interferon on Thursday. My FeLV cat has had a little bit of a runny nose and an odd sneeze but seemed to fight it off very quickly but she is only 2 years old yet.   How long would you expect an FeLV+ cat to live on average?   I will use the name Michelle L from now on to avoid confusion with the other member called Michelle.