Oh, Kerry...I am so sorry...please know that you and Flavia are in my thoughts. I bet there's a shiney new angel at the bridge telling the other fur-angels all about her wonderful Mum here on Earth! Keep your heart open 'cause I bet Flavia will be sending you a sign that she's okay...although my signs usually manifest themselves in a pair of sad little eyes that suddenly show up on my doorstep... ;) My little angels must have joined some kind of "Cat Consulting Club" as I always get a sense that *somebody* has whispered into the ear of our newcomers just which doorstep they need to show up on! :)
Take care of yourself, Jen **************************************************** "But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world; You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed..." --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys." --Chief Dan George ----- Original Message ----- From: Kerry MacKenzie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2005 12:35 pm Subject: Please add Flavia to CLS Belinda > Dear all > My sweet, gorgeous little girl Flavia is gone. > It all happened so quickly. When I went in to check on her at > 9.30am (she > had seemed fine at 6am and later), she was hiding in the carrier, > and seemed > to be breathing more rapidly than the others. I also noticed than > someonehad vomited--a first, if my memory serves me right, since > they all arrived > in December 2003. I figured it was probably Flavia. Someone else > has also > been urinating a little over the past few days out of the box-- > again, a > first. I thought it was probably Flavia. > So, seeing her fast breathing, I panicked, and took her immediately > to the > vet I saw yesterday, Dr Teuber, and she confirmed that her > respiratory rate > had increased since yesterday. We ran a PCV, and it had plummeted > to 10, > from 16 1/2 at 4pm yesterday. > I actually think Flavia was ready. She didn't want to play at all > last night > (she hasn't been able to play the way she used to--leaping in the > air to > catch the "bug"--for a few weeks, presumably because she hasn't had > theenergy). Her quality of life was going downhill. It's a pity we > didn't get a > chance to use the IR, which I had had fedexed to 2 clinics. (Her IR > wouldhave probably begun later this week--I had the housecall vet > set up, and > just had to set a schedule.) > I was/am a mess, but Flavia and I had a long cuddle, which was really > lovely, and helped a lot, for which I am very grateful. The vet was a > wonderful woman, who I only met yesterday (Dr Teuber at Higgins, > Belinda--do > tell your Chicago friend.). Looks like I may not have terminated my > relationship with Higgins after all... > I am grateful that Flavia gave me the signs today, while I was > still here > and able to help her.act on it immediately. The thought of her > fighting for > breath for hours, or suffering in any way, while I was gone, and no > one here > apart from the petsitter 30 mins a day, was not something I could > accept. (I > did not want to hospitalize her.) > I'm going to miss her terribly. I loved that little soul. I've been > a bit of > a mess over the thought of losing her for the last 2 weeks, and > shed more > tears than I thought humanly possible. She was a tabby, very feminine, > elfin-faced, with streaks of auburn and coffee and cream on her > undersideand a long, beautiful, elegant tail. Last night I stroked > her with a feather > for a long time and she really enjoyed it--stretching luxuriously. > And, of > course, she became much more willing to be stroked and held over > the past > few days. > Thanks to everyone for their prayers and good wishes. If I'm not in > touchagain today, I send lots of healing vibes for all the sick > kitties, and I'll > be in touch again the weekend of the 23rd. > Goodbye, my gorgeous Flavia. > Kerry > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 10:52 AM > Subject: Re: Felvtalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 3...for Michelle L. > > > > Dear Michelle L.: > > > > There is no point (and much risk) in vaccinating an immune- > compromised cat > > who is FIV+ or FeLV+. Vaccinations are an assault of sorts to > the immune > system > > and can be detrimental to even a cat with a normal immune system. > There > is > > much good info about the risks of vaccines on the website > Holisticat.com,or I > > would recommend highly the book by Dr. Martin Goldstein, The > Nature of > Animal > > Healing. > > > > Some vets do still believe that the FIV and FeLV viruses are > related, but > > more recent research tends to show they are not just substrains > of the > same > > virus. The best that we can do for immune-compromised cats is to > providethem with > > the healthiest possible diet, provide immune support and protect > them from > > exposure as best we can to undue stress to their immune system > due to > emotional > > challenges, enviromental toxins or other cats that may carry > pathogensthat > > their immune system cannot withstand. Other cats are really more > of a > threat to > > the FIV+ or FeLV+ cat than vice versa. > > > > I have not done much research on FIV, but got a crash course on > FeLV in > > '03-04 with two unrelated kittens I rescued in Oct. and Nov. '02 who > turned out to > > be FeLV+. The strain of FeLV virus (call it FeLV-A) that cats > pass one to > > another causes significant immune suppression, but little else. > It is > through > > recombining with a cat's DNA and mutating that the more virulent > subgroups> occur, the FeLV-A+B that is associated with lymphoma or > other cancers and > FeLV-A+C > > that is associated with nonregenerative anemia/leukemia. In the > worsecase > > scenario it is possible for both subgroups to develop to FeLV- > A+B+C. At > present > > the mechanism which prompts such mutations is not known. This > explainswhy > > some cats live for years, even with the virus in their bone > marrow, while > > others crash and succumb early on. Have you found out there is a > similar> progression for cats who are FIV+? In general, they seem > to have a better > prognosis > > for long-term survival than do FeLV+ cats and I have always > wondered if > there is > > any research out there to suggest why this may be the case. I > also wonder > if > > the concept of viral load is a pertinent one with FIV and FeLV, > as it is > > where corona viruses like Panleukopenia and FIP are concerned. > > > > Since your three cats have already been together long-term, > unless they > are > > hostile toward each other and prone to fighting, I would not > separate them > but > > just keep the stress in their lives as minimal as possible, > provide a > healthy > > natural diet with immune support and supplements to address any > symptomsthey > > may have. And, of course, LOVE them one day at a time. I would NOT > vaccinate > > them for FeLV or FIV, respectively. The FeLV vaccine has been > implicatedin > > causing a latent infection to become an active one. Most holistic > vetswhose > > books I've read do not consider the FIV vaccine to be safe, either. > > > > Sally in San Jose > > > > >
