It sounds like Buddha is a real fighter. I had success using a holistic vet to get one of my positives through upper respiratory problems as a young cat. I lost her at about 8 years old.
The humidifier will help. Just don't put any kind of eucalyptus smelling stuff in it or anything like that. I'm sure others on the list will have some advice too. I think they have used 'little noses' or something like that. I know the emergency room used some kind of children's nose drops on CC when she was there as well.
I hope Buddha turns this around and feels better soon!
tonya
chandra simms <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
chandra simms <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I have a few questions and hopefully some words of
hope and comfort about sharing your life with an FeLV
positive cat.
My cat, Buddha, tested positive for FeLV 8 years ago.
At the time I had him tested he was not sick or
showing any signs that he might be FeLV positive. He
had been vaccinated regularly, however one of my
mothers cats had recently been diagnosed with FeLV and
was quickly deteriorating. Although Buddha and I had
been away at college for 2 years, he had spent time
with the infected cat when we still lived at home so I
went ahead and had him tested just to be on the safe
side.
When he tested positive it was like someone had
reached in and ripped out my heart. At the time he
was already 7 years old and I had hoped that he would
live to a ripe old age. Our family vet suggested that
I have him tested again in 60-90 days to rule out a
false positive, but he said that he probably wouldn't
live that long.
Since Buddha had never been sick a day in his life,
Buddha and I decided then and there that he was going
to be one of the rare and lucky few that don't succumb
to the disease. Over the next 8 years he lived a very
happy, healthy and stress free life.
He celebrated his 14th birthday on October 13, 2005
and it seemed as if he would sail through another year
without any problems.
However, on November 7th he began sneezing, which then
turned to a runny nose and an irritated, watery left
eye. My husband and I decided he needed to see the
vet, but couldn't get an appointment until the 11th.
On the morning of November 9th, I woke up to the sound
of Buddha having a sneezing and coughing fit. I
quickly noticed that he also had a bloody nose. I had
never even heard of cats getting bloody noses, so I
called my vet and told them that it was an emergency.
I rushed him to the vet, where after $300 worth of
tests, I was given frustrating news. Although all of
Buddha's blood work came back perfect and his organ
function was normal, his red and white blood count was
normal, and even his cholesterol was good, I was given
a bottle of Clavimox for his upper respiratory
infection and was told to take him home and wait for
him to die. Probably within a week.
This was exactly the reason I had avoided taking him
to the vet for the past 8 years, which some people
might see as irresponsible, however he was never sick,
never went outdoors, was never exposed to other
animals and I was concerned about injection site
sarcoma. Also, I had never found a vet who had a
positive outlook on FeLV infected cats.
For a month he seemed as if he was going to yet again
prove the "vet of doom" wrong, however a little over a
week ago I once again awoke to the sound of Buddha
coughing and sneezing, this time much worse. He was
very lethargic and could barely open his left eye. He
was so limp and listless, I was worried we wouldn't be
able to get him to the vet in time.
This time my husband and I took him to an vet that
practices alternative medicine, in addition to
conventional veterinary medicine and also specializes
in FeLV positive cats.
It was as if an angel had come into our lives. (If
anyone reading this has a cat and lives in the North
Texas/DFW region, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Ballard at
the Alternative Veterinary Hospital)
She immediately diagnosed him with Lymphatic Cancer
and started him on steroid therapy supplemented with
homeopathic Immune System boosters, stress relieving
drops, Nutri-Cal vitamin gel, and more Clavimox.
However, she did say that this was only going to be a
short-term solution and that IF he responded to the
steroid treatment and his tumors began to shrink, it
would only buy us a few weeks to months, a year at the
most, which we were more than willing to take.
By the time we got into the car to come home he was
almost back to his old self. He was moving around,
vocal and purring.
I took Buddha back for his follow-up exam last Friday.
His tumors had been responding very well to the
steroids and he seemed to be getting over his upper
respiratory infection.
Which brings us to this week. At about 3am Monday
morning I woke to the sound of him wheezing and
snorting. Like a person with a really stopped-up
nose, who still tries to breath through their nose but
can't. I called the vet and she had me come in and
pick up some nasal spray and drops for his water.
We noticed Tuesday afternoon that he hadn't eaten all
day. By Tuesday night he was breathing almost
exclusively through his mouth. I was able to force a
little water down with an eye dropper, but not enough
to be of much use to him. We took him in to the vet
this afternoon and the vet gave him intravenous fluids
and a booster shot of antibiotics and vitamins. She
also gave us a can of liquid cat food, which can be
fed with with a syringe if necessary. We have been
home for several hours and he seems to be feeling
somewhat better. He not only ate 1/4 of the can of
the liquid cat food, he also had a few bites of his
regular cat food.
However, he is still having trouble breathing through
his nose. The vet said that his tongue was still
pink, and his breathing wasn't labored, so he was
getting enough oxygen, and he wasn't running a
temperature.
Although I am trying to be realistic about Buddha's
future and I am thankful for every second of the 14
years and 1 month we have had together, I am still
hoping that we can clear this upper respiratory
infections up, at least so he can breath normally
again. He is a strong cat and still has light in his
eyes.
This is where I come to my question for anyone who
might have any experience with feline upper
respiratory infections...
I have read that humidifiers can be helpful to cats
with upper respiratory infections, but I have not read
anything about using humidifiers on FeLV positive cats
or cats with Lymphatic cancer.
Also is there ANYTHING at all that anyone has come
across that is really effective in clearing a cat's
nasal passages?
Sincerely,
Chandra and Buddha
Love is not necessary to life, but it is what makes life worth living.
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