Hi Sam,
First of all, bless you and your wife for opening your hearts and home
to those in need. I'm so sorry for your loss. Yes, we all get how
quickly our hearts can be stolen by the wayward ones that find us just a
little too late. I'm so glad you were there for your rescue friend to
show him that humans are capable of love and compassion. Now Grumpy Gus
has entered your life and given you another opportunity to fight this
dreadful disease...
I haven't been active on the felv list in a while, but recently there
was some trouble with the list serve and it caused my subscription to
change from "digest" to "inbox" and I peeked in to see how things were
going for the good people here. It was in that vein that I opened your
post and noticed that no one had responded yet. I went to check on the
mail-archive page and not only are there no replies, but your original
message isn't there either. It may have something to do with the recent
trouble. Anyway, I didn't want you to think that no one cares about
what you are going through. I'm sure others will step in to help inform
you, (or correct me if my memory is faulty or current thinking has changed).
There are many supplements that the folks on this list have found
helpful for boosting the immune system of kitties fighting/living with
the disease. As you've indicated you are aware that Gus could throw the
virus, (retesting is usually done 90-120 days after initial diagnosis).
Keeping the environment as stress free as possible, as good a quality
diet as you can afford, supplements and lots of encouragement and love
have helped my felv and fiv guys live longer and healthier lives.
I'm trying to remember all the supps I've used... There's Transfer
Factor, CoQ10, L-Lysine, Vitamin supps, (esp C)... I've often wondered
if feline interferon might be more effective on cats that have recently
contracted the disease and are in the process of fighting it off.
Hopefully others will jump in to help you sort it all out. Are you
familiar with ELISA, (in-house "snap" test), vs IFA, (more conclusive
test sent out of office)? There is a wealth of information in the lists
archives and right about the time I left the list someone started
another felv support group that might help you as well.
The very best to you, Gus and your whole family. You will be in my
thoughts and prayers,
Nina
*
* <http://www.4life.com/>
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:13:15 -0600
From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Greetings Again
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Greetings Again,
I have not been very active here since the passing of my LeLV cat Elric
Whiteybone. Since then I have been active in cat rescue.
Recently I have lost another cat to this disease, he came to our back
porch, and rubbed between my wifes legs. He was more than friendly, but
he had a full mucus mustache on his face.
He tested positive for LeLV but not FIV, the respiratory infection which
was giving him his mucus mustache did not respond to any of the 5+
antibiotics we used on him. We named him Gio short for Giovanni.
With in two weeks the disease did it work on his body along with the
respiratory infection. On a Saturday we took him to our Rescue Groups
Veterinarian.
We got there way early and were able to spend over an hour with him there.
When the Veterinarian got there, she asked if this was our kitty or a
rescue kitty. We responded he was a rescue kitty and that we were
staying with him while his time came.
So while the Veterinarian gave him the meds to ease his passing, my wife
and I were holding and touching him. We both felt him relax then go
totally limp. After a bit the Vet listened for his heart, and said he
was gone.
We spent another 15 minutes with him. Later the Vet came in and asked
what we wanted to do with Gio's body. We replied that we already had
place dug for him in our back yard by our porch and the catnip bush that
grew nearby. She seemed taken a back that we were doing this for a
rescue kitty. I believe she got her eyes opened about those that rescue
cats/kitties.
We took him home and placed him in the spot we prepared for him.
We have been putting food out of the strays in our neighborhood, getting
them snipped and returned.
We recently heard a sound while we were eating breakfast coming from our
back patio. It sounded like two male cats squaring off to fight. When we
looked it was a single domestic short haired Gray male cat.
We named him Gus as in Grumpy Gus. He was at first a bit shy, but later
became much easier to handle. We spoke to our rescue group about him,
offered to foster him, they said they would pay for his testing and
snipping if we fostered him.
Well the news from the testing was not good, it was the SNAP test and by
that test he was positive for LeLV. We have him in a separate bedroom
where he gets his love and food.
I am wondering if any here have any experience with the various immune
system enhancing drugs/compounds.
I want to boost his immune system so he has a chance to throw off the
infection prior to his next series of tests. As of right now he has no
symptoms of any disease.
Sam
_______________________________________________
Felvtalk mailing list
[email protected]
http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
