Hi Beth,
I remember little Stamp and how he was found at a post office. I'm
sorry he's not doing well at the moment. I understand your reasoning
about not wanting to put your charges through "aggressive" treatment
only to lose them anyway. I really do. However, at least in Stamp's
case, it sounds like you are making this call without enough
information. Yes, a great number of felv kitties do succumb to anemia,
but if you can find out what specifically is causing the anemia and
treat for it, there is a much better chance that they will get better.
You are giving Stamp Clav, and now trying Pred. It seems to me, if you
are willing to treat him, you might as well be treating him with
something that the vet recommends. We were just talking about anemic
symptoms brought on by hemobart, treating with Doxy will help that, but
Clav wouldn't be able to control it. I'm sure you know different abx
are used for different things. Giving him steroids might help him feel
better and they can relieve inflammation, but they also suppress the
immune system. It may not be the best thing for him, and again, if you
are just trying to help him "feel" better, a different steroid, perhaps
Dex, might be a better way to go. Please don't dismiss the possibility
of a blood transfusion helping Stamp at this point. You don't know
what's going on with him yet. It's possible that a blood transfusion
might give him the time he needs to discover what is truly going on and
with proper treatment it might save his life and bring him back to health.
I'm so sorry that you and Stamp are suffering through this. I know what
it's like to fall in love with each and every rescue that crosses our
path and how some dig deeper into our hearts than others. It may be
that Stamp has something that he won't be able to recover from, but
there's no way to know that without further testing. Ask your vet about
the least invasive options to figure out what might be going on, and do
it quickly.
Blessings and prayers,
Nina
Gussies mom wrote:
Sorry so long...
I've not been very active on this list. I try to read as many emails
as I can, but with the rescue group lists I am on the amount of mail
gets overwhelming.
I have an FeLV foster cat, Stamp. I have had him since November. I am
at a loss with him at the moment. All my other FeLV cats died from
anemia (I had them PTS at a PCV of about 10). The first one I treated
aggressively, the rest I did not, as I felt I had done the wrong thing
by shoving pills in the first one, making her unhappy, only to lose
her anyway.
I have had Stamp since November. He was a kitten (still is,basically).
He had good weight and great silky black fur. I did, however, catch
him eating litter. I took him to the vet and he had a PCV of 22. Not
terrible for his age (I never realized the normal PCV ranges change as
the grow up). The vet started him on a low dose of Prednisilone. About
2 months ago I had him retested (new vet) and it was 24.
Over the last couple weeks he has started to loose weight, even though
he eats. He loves his Pet Tinic, roast beef, and Science Diet kitten
dry (I know there are better foods, but I get it free from the shelter
because he is a foster). I took him to the vet last week and she did a
CBC. She said he was at the low end of normal on everything. His HCT
(which she said is the same as PCV?) was up to 28. His WBC was
slightly elevated. His ears seem warm sometimes, although he lays on
the heating pad like it is the middle of winter (I'm in Atlanta, so it
is not!). The only thing I have done different is take him off
Prednisone after the second vet I saw claimed they didn't know he was
FeLV positive, or they never would have prescribed it for his anemia
(did they not read the records faxed from the other vet?!) He has been
off that for about a month.
I can feel his back bone some now. He is breathing faster than normal.
He licked the floor around the litter pan this morning (anemia). He
cries sometimes. I started him on Clavamox (they only antibiotic I
have). I have just never had an FeLV act this sick with a PCV that
high. My others never started showing symptoms until it was around a
17 (severly anemic).
The shelter wanted to know if I weanted to do a blood transfusion. I
know with nonregenerative anemia this won't give him more than a
couple extra weeks, so, no. Any suggestions that won't be terribly
invasive? I would thing the quickened breathing would be the anemia. I
started him back on the prednisone last night. (1/2 of a 5mg tab that
I had left over from my FIV cat) Should I have givern him the other
half this morning also? This is way more than he was getting before,
but he is bigger.
I love this little boy so much.
Beth
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