I am no expert and some on this list have been very critical of me. However, I
offer this for your information. Take what you can use and leave the rest.
Dixie Louise tested positive over two years ago and she is the picture of
health. She has a very good diet of Primal Raw + lots of finely chopped
veggies + raw organic eggs 2-3 times a week supplemented by Colostrum/Transfer
Factor/ Lysine and holistic/alternative compounds. Markwell and Wellness
canned foods are subbed in when something just doesn't work out with her
primary diet. I use PetzLife BrushAway on her teeth since she showed signs of
stomatitis when she came into my life. She is appx 5 years old and was a
throw-away so I am not sure about her history. Her future is the light of my
life who currently travels between a log home we are building on a farm and a
house in Louisville KY. She has regular vets in Louisville (Middletown Animal
Clinic) who are very open-minded about FeLV and alternative medicines and very
attentive to Dixie. She has two alternative vets Drs. Betty Boswell and Dr.
Susan Maier. Both do some phone consultations. Immediately after MAC tested
her I consulted Dr. Boswell who had treated other animal friends of mine and to
whom I was initially referred by the vets at MAC. Dixie, as I said, is the
picture of health. All of this is to say don't worry about the future. I did.
You will but try to recognize that this is not a death sentence. And to do
every thing you can to help the immune systems of all your cats. Even those
who show up here for a snack regularly get some supplements ..........what just
depends on when they show up.
I don't know how long you have had the cats or how long they have mixed.
Others on the list can address this better than I. Dixie mixed with the Royal
Princess Kitty Katt who had been diagnosed with cancer and after it was
apparent that mixing them was (unfortunately) not going to endanger Kitty Katt.
To be honest, I am not sure what I would do about letting her mix with another
cat since the ones that come my way are either alley cats, barn cats,
throw-aways or ferals--all of which have probably been exposed to FeLV and
will not be endangered by Dixie. I do have concerns about what they may bring
her. This is a bridge we have not crossed yet.
Attempt to get your breathe. When MAC vets called me with the test results (I
had taken Dixie there to be spayed) it was like a ton of bricks hit. I had no
way to keep her........she was supposed to be spayed and released and taken to
the farm when the house was finished as an outside cat. I found ways. I could
not kill a perfectly healthy cat (much to my vets' relief). I am not sure how
but things do work out. You must relax enough to think.
If you have an alternative vet close please talk to him/her. I hope your
regular vet is open-minded.
Take deep breaths..............think...........ask your Creator..........and
ask your cats...........it will work out.
If you have men who will
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of compassion
and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with their
fellow man.
St. Francis
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 1:08 PM
Subject: New Diagnosis
Hello Everyone,
My name is Michael Roberts. I just received word a few hours ago about one
of my "babies" being diagnosed, so bear with me if this takes me a while to get
out.
First of all, a bit of background information. I currently have three cats,
all Siamese and all from rescues. The oldest, and the one with the FeLV
diagnosis, is approximately 6-7 years old, and the other two are a little over
two. The first one came from a local rescue shelter here in Tennessee called
Angel Wings, which has since been shut down. The other two came from VA Siamese
Rescue, an organization that my partner and I are still somewhat active in. We
volunteer to transport on occasion and remain in the newsgroups/email lists.
I took all three for their checkups today, and the vet asked if we watned
them tested for FeLV, to which we agreed. The test on Grizzabella came back
positive. The test on Penelope was negative, and they ran out of tests, so
Poppy hasn't been tested yet. I did request them to retest Grizzabella (even
though they charged me again), and the blood was drawn and sent out for
Grizzabella's retest and Poppy's test today, and we should have results by
tomorrow.
Here's my issue....this is my first time dealing with FeLV, and I don't know
what to do or what to expect. All three of those cats are our children, and I
can't bear the thought of seperating them or giving Grizzabella up because
she's sick, but I don't know how likely it is the other two will contract the
disease, or how to seperate them. I'm not sure what to do about treatment,
either. I've heard there's no treatment, then I've heard there's meds, and
diet changes. I'm just not sure what my next step should be. I noticed there
are six stages to the disease, and four different types...I don't have any of
that inforomation yet. Can anyone give me a heads up and let me know where we
should start with this? Not sure what I need to do, guys. I know lots of you
have a lot of experience with this, and i'd be interested in any advice you can
give.
Thanks in advance.
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