The only thing I know about his mom is that she was a stray a friend
of mine took in over the winter and low and behold she was preg.
Ziggy has three other siblings and I know my friend is trying to see
if the other two she gave away have tested pos. (I guess it's kind of
difficult to ask someone especially if they have not had them tested
but I was of the mindset she should at least let them know one of the
litter had a pos test). I know she was going to take the last one -
whom she still has - to the vet this week coming up to test her. She
was also going to let her ex know about Ziggy for his mom to be
tested (he took her and she does not care to be an indoor cat - she
escapes). As far as I know he is otherwise healthy -- his temp was
normal ,his gums are pink, he is grooming himself regularly, going to
the bathroom regularly and being as playful and mischievous as ever.
The only thing I know is he has no desire to eat is wet food although
he has had this aversion since he was weaned (he does come running at
the sound of a tuna can being opened though!).
Niki
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Nina <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Sunday, June 12, 2005 3:04 PM
*Subject:* Re: Information
Niki,
Yes, the vet would prescribe interferon for you. It is a clear
liquid,
(looks and tastes just like water) that you give orally. I don't
know
if I would start an asymptomatic kitten on interferon right away
because
of the immunity factor, (because it's human interferon, not
feline), we
are told that eventually their bodies develop "immunity" to it and it
stops working for them. You may want to save that for when he's
symptomatic. Tonya has a point though, if Ziggy is actually fighting
the disease itself, it will help boost his immune system. I would
think
he'd be showing symptoms, at least a fever, if that were the
case. I'm
still hopeful that he has tested false positive. Can you get any
information about his mother? If we knew her status, (positive or
negative), that would tell us if Ziggy was exposed invitro, or
somewhere
else. I'm not sure about this, but I think cats that have gotten
FelV
and cleared it can still test at least faint-positive. Adult healthy
cats, have a very good chance of clearing the virus. Cats that are
immunized, don't get it at all. Hopefully someone will step in here
with more info. That brings us to whether or not you should proceed
with vaccinations. If Ziggy is otherwise healthy, I would get him
his
shots, (except FelV, of course). This is only my opinion, and he
could
have a bad reaction because of his status. I'd talk to your vet
about
this, research it, and again, others on the list may have different
advice. If he's truly going to stay an indoor only cat, and he
has no
siblings that come and go from the house, it would make a
difference in
considering vaccines.
Please don't feel at all uncomfortable about "asking so many
questions". You are a concerned and loving fur-mom trying to make
the
best decisions possible for your Ziggy. Believe me, we get that!
Nina
Nicholena Rushton wrote:
> Tonya:
>
> Ziggy is strictly an indoor cat only. Would the vet be the one to
> prescribe the interferon? Would this boost his immune system?
Alos
> the vet gave him "kitty shots" and now I am wondering if I should
> continue with his next round when I take him back to the vet as
I am
> now wondering if these vacs are going to compromise his immune
> system. Do you have any info regarding this? I apologize in
advance
> for asking so many questions but I trying to do what is best for
Ziggy
> and do not want to compromise what health he has right now.
>
> Niki
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* catatonya <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> *To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
> <mailto:[email protected]>
> *Sent:* Sunday, June 12, 2005 12:48 AM
> *Subject:* Re: Information
>
> Niki,
>
> I'm not the best one to give advice on the supplements as
I'm not
> using them right now on any of my own. I have read a lot about
> transfer factor, but have never used it myself. If I were
in your
> position I think what I would begin with is interferon. I would
> call the vet and ask if it's ok to start Ziggy on it to
hopefully
> help him fight off the virus and seroconvert. Vets usually
are ok
> with this. Most vets usually recommend a half cc of diluted
> interferon (Your vet will give you the amount.) for kittens.
> Once you get going on the interferon if things are going
well you
> might then try transfer factor next, and so on. That would
be my
> opinion.
>
> Does Ziggy stay indoors only? I would keep him away from other
> cats right now because you don't want to risk him being
exposed to
> the virus at this stage obviously. You also don't want to take
> chances with kitty colds or anything else when you're trying to
> boost his immune system. I'm sure others will chime in with
more
> advice and you can just pick and choose what works best for you
> and Ziggy.
>
> tonya
>
> */Nicholena Rushton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/>* wrote:
>
> Hi Tonya:
>
> Thanks you so much for the information. Any suggestions on
> food that I should be giving him? Right now I am giving him
> Iams Kitten Formula and catmilk (I think by Wiskas)
every once
> in a while as a treat. Should I start vitamin C and the
> interferon now? If so what would the dosage be? I have
been
> reading some stuff about something called Transfer
Factor and
> am a bit confused by what I have read about it. DO you have
> anything yu could tell me - is it even worth it? I have to
> let you know that you have quelled my nerves somewhat as I
> went bonkers when I first heard of the + test and began to
> think the worst. Now it is nice to know Ziggy can have a
> productive life for whatever time I am going to be
blessed by him.
>
> Niki
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* catatonya <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> *To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
> <mailto:[email protected]>
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 11, 2005 1:42 AM
> *Subject:* RE: Information
>
> Hi Niki!
>
> I'm glad you found the list. You'll get lots of support
> and advice! First of all congratulations on your new
> baby! The good news is that if Ziggy is only 8
weeks old
> he could still fight off the virus (which it sounds like
> you've already learned). I'm not sure what the
total time
> you would need to be sure with a kitten this young.
But I
> think by June 30 he could still be positive even if he
> were eventually going to be negative. In the meantime I
> would get directions from the archives on feeding Ziggy
> good, nutritional food. I would probably add some
vitamin
> c and get interferon from my vet. My vet used to give
> interferon to negative shelter cats to keep them from
> catching URI's at the shelter. It's supposed to boost
> their immune system, so I would give it a try.
You'll get
> lots of other advice. The most important thing, in my
> opinion, is not to over worry. Even if Ziggy remains
> positive, it is possible he could only be carrying the
> disease and never get sick from it. Also, add one thing
> at a time. Try not to overwhelm yourself and Ziggy
with a
> zillion new foods and additives, etc. all at once.
Good
> luck with Ziggy! I like the name!
>
> tonya
>
> */Nicholena Rushton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/>* wrote:
>
> Hello. I have just adopted a 8 week old kitten
named
> Ziggy. Ziggy had his first vet visit on 6-9-05 and
> since I knew nothing about his mom or dad I
decided to
> have a FeLV test done which resulted in a
positive. I
> was devastated and am now trying to figure out the
> best course for Ziggy. He is acting like a normal
> kitten would, getting into all sorts of trouble and
> shows no signs of the diease. I am trying to stave
> off an full blown attack and would like to have
> information regarding what I should be doing right
> from the start. I am going to have retested in a
> follow up visit on 6-30 and am also curious to
know if
> he could come up neg by then? I know relatively
> little about this disease and am becoming
increasingly
> confused by all of the information on the web. Any
> help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks you
>
> Niki Rushton
>
