From: avia.rausc...@gmail.com Subject: New to the list, would like some advice!
------------------------------------------------------------- Hello! I'll try to make the history brief but clear (not always easy for me), we adopted a kitten from AC&C here in NYC in July 2007 to keep our cranky, one and a half year old, only cat Onyx company. The kitten (Cinder) was 9 weeks old and tested negative at adoption for FeLV. We added a third cat (Horus) from a rescue group that October (tested negative after adoption, the rescue group said he was negative, but there was no record of testing with his paperwork), and this past October added a tamed feral (Blackie) to the mix (kept separate from the other three until she was medically cleared and tested negative). On January 12, 2009 our darling little Cinder was diagnosed with lymphoma after an extremely sudden decline (fine on Friday, heavy breathing, not eating/drinking, hiding under the bed Sunday night) at one year and eight months of age. I took her to the vet first thing Monday morning, and after xrays and an ultrasound found her chest so full of fluid she couldn't breathe and a massive tumor in her liver, we made the decision to let her go rather than tormenting her with treatment to make ourselves feel better. The postmortem tests revealed that Cinder had FeLV. We were in shock and couldn't believe how quickly she got sick! Onyx is a three year old persian, Horus is a five year old mix (Siberian/Maine Coon?) and Blackie is a dsh. Onyx and Blackie have been the picture of health, Horus was diagnosed with asthma almost a year ago and is on Flovent twice a day. After waiting the recommended two months, I had the other three tested this past Thursday. Horus and Blackie are negative, but Onyx came up positive. Yesterday, I had Horus & Blackie vaccinated, and the IFA test results for Onyx will be back in about a week. For now I have some questions that maybe some of you can answer: 1. My vet said no booster was necessary for the vaccinated cats, yet I see many references here to 30 day boosters - should I ask again or insist on the boosters? 2. The vet said to separate my kitties, but I can't stand the idea of locking Onyx up. From what I read, most of you seem to mix your positive and negative-vaccinated kitties, so am I being awful by not separating them? They say low stress environment, but Onyx likes to roam the apartment and it seems like it would be very stressful for her to be confined. 3. I feed my kitties Weruva canned and California Natural dry. I was thinking about supplementing with a vitamin like Nupro. Any suggestions in that department? Onyx is very picky, and it has been difficult to find foods that she will eat that don't upset her tummy. I guess that's it for now, any advice anyone can give will be most appreciated!! Avia ======================================= James G. Wilson - phaed...@charter.net http://www.felineleukemia.org (FeLV Research & Support) http://www.myspace.com/wilsonjamesg (MySpace) http://weather62025.com (Weather for Edwardsville, IL) _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
