Re: Felv and Feline Interferon

[Nina]

Hi Beth, For goodness sake, doesn't Moxy know that she's a cat and suppose to land better than that??  Poor little girl!  She certainly picked the right family to join, didn't she :-) ?  Our GSD, Zevon, took a nose dive over a very high, very steep cliff trying to get to the ocean when he was about 4 yrs old.  Two different vets told us to pts before we found an orthopedic surgeon that saved his life, (and drained our finaces to the tune of $5000).  He did the same thing with wrapping the repaired bone with muscle tissue.  After months and months of down/stays, casts, splints and physical therapy, he recovered wonderfully.  Prayers that Moxy does the same.  If her name suits her, I'm thinking she'll do just fine!   Animals have such a limited concept of "future" thinking, it's all about the now with them so make sure she enjoys her life as best she can while she recooperates.  Take her out on calm weather days, put her cage near a window or in the middle of the hub bub of family life if she seems to enjoy the distractions.  Keep telling her that this is not forever. If you look through the archives you'll see posts about members using feline interferon.  I was the first member to go through the process of getting a special dispensation from the FDA, (it isn't approved in the US yet).  A wonderful woman at my specialty clinic has made up a packet for other vets to follow when applying.  I had such high hopes for it being the answer to our prayers.  It did seem to help my girls fight off some earlier illnesses, but it couldn't save them from this dreaded disease.  I've often wondered if it might be the answer to helping kitties when they first become infected to clear the virus.  Unfortunately, most of us don't learn about our babies' status until felv has taken a firm hold and the darn stuff is so expensive and hard to get.  Hideyo has ordered it directly w/o benefit of dispensation, (you still need a prescription from a vet).  Here's the paste from my post on my vet's info if you want to encourage your vet to apply to the FDA for special dispensation: For anyone interested in starting the process of obtaining Feline Interferon, (Virbagen Omega)... My vet's liaison, Michelle Rose, at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura CA (805-339-2290) has made an "FDA packet" that she will fax out to anyone's vet who is interested in starting the special dispensation process.  She says everything they need to know will be in there, and of course they can call her if there are further questions. Since only vets can apply, only they, or their offices should call.  If she's not available, have your vet leave their voice and fax numbers on her voice mail. If you have any trouble, email me directly and I'll call her. Gary Murphy wrote: Hi everyone, I have been away from the list for 1-1/2 weeks, had two of our boy kittens neutered and thought we were done with big vet bills for a bit, and then their sister Moxy fell awkwardly off of a chair and broke off the head of her femur.  She had to have a "femoral head osteotomy", which means an orthopedic surgeon removed the broken piece, smoothed the stump, and flopped a muscle over to create a false joint and hold it in place.  All that for only $2300.00 dollars :o( The good news is she did really well with the surgery, came right out of the anesthesia easily just like she did after her spay surgery last month, and is healing well.  The somewhat bad news is that the specialist found a grade 1-2 heart murmur that her regular vet missed.  And, she is now 2 pounds lighter than her brothers, making me worry that something else major is up with her, or at least that she won't be able to keep up with the gang when she's freed from solitary in six weeks.  One thing at a time, I guess... Anyway, while researching her injury on the net, I came across a reference to a study that showed feline interferon to be helpful in treating Felv cats.  It's from 2001, so maybe the regulars are already familiar with it, but I found it hopeful.  I knew Dr. Addie was using fel int. for FIP cases with significant success, but wasn't sure how helpful it could be with Felv.    My Will Feral is on human interpheron at this time and is asymptomatic, but if he has a hard time again in the future and we have any room left on our credit cards we would like to try it.