Hi Sandy,
I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry you had to find us. I don't have time for a long reply right now, but you were right not to let your vet euthanize your cat.
My opinion is the first thing you need to do is go ahead and vaccinate your negative cat. Quarantine it and booster in 3 weeks.
Most importantly of all, you need to find a good vet who knows what he's talking about and is willing to work with you with your positive cats. Positive cats can just be carriers and never get sick at all! There is no reason to euthanize and I would not trust a vet recommending that!
I'm sure you'll get lots more advice. This is a wonderful group. We've had positive cats on this list over 10 years old and some die as kittens. There are many different variables involved and it sounds like your vet has not researched this disease.
Tonya
Dudes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dudes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hello everyone,
I am new to the list and wanted to introduce myself and tell about why I am
here. I appreciate you taking a minute to read about us.
My name is Sandy and until recently I've had 3 adult cats who I love like
fuzzy children. I have a stepdaughter who moved home this summer for a few
weeks, and brought with her an orange kitten she had adopted from someone
she didn't know. She got him to keep her older cat Kuma (Japanese for
"Bear") compnay. After they got here, her cat Kuma became very ill, and
within just a day or so of showing symptoms, had to be euthanized. He
experienced multi-organ failure. The vet diagnosed FeLV.
So we took the orange kitten Cotton to the vet as soon as we could, since we
knew so little about him. Cotton also tested positive for FeLV. My
stepdaughter has neither the desire nor the means to care for him, so she
left him. The vet recommended immediate euthanasia, and wouldn't even check
his little orange ears for ear mites or intestinal parasites or suggest any
more blood work. Just FeLV positive = death. That was hard to swallow, but
in the meantime, I gathered up my three established cats to be tested, and
unfortunately my younger female has also tested positive. The other two
older cats were negative.
I am heartbroken and distraught. I've tried to read and learn as much as I
can about FeLV. I have been angry at myself for letting this all happen,
and feel now that hindsight is always 20-20. But please don't make me feel
any worse than I do. It had been about 2 years since my cats had the FeLV
vaccine, becuase they are 100% indoors, and I was worried about
overvaccinating them.
Now I feel that I need to look ahead and address this head-on, and I am
hoping for some sound, rational advice. My vet seemed totally negative and
I do intend to get a second opinion and confirmatory blood tests. The two
cats that are negative got a vaccine, even though I know it may not do much
good. They also have boosters scheduled in 3 weeks.
I fear that even though Kuma (stepduaghter's cat who died) was sequestered
during his illness, everyone was exposed before we realized what we were
dealing with. I now have a household of 4 cats, two of whom are FeLV
negative, and two who are positive, one of whom is symptomatic, as Cotton
the orange kitten now has swollen glands and diarrhea.
Any words of wisdom would be totally appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandy C.
Houston, Texas area
