Hi, Julie. Sorry you lost your boy. This so sounds like my own intro to FeLV, when a stray came to my door and yowled to get in. He was a sweet and friendly boy, ready for affection even during the first few days, when he had horrific mats in his fur -- he looked like he had wings, but they were all mats. We got some of them out, and the vet finished up, but their tests revealed FeLV. We isolated Patches in a room away from our other cats and gave him lots of love and care, but after only 7 weeks he stopped eating. The vet said he thought there were lymphoma tumors making swallowing painful, so we made the decision and sent him along. We felt so bad for him, he really wanted to join the other cats in the rest of the house and was just such a nice boy. To this day I wish we had been able to do better by him, but our consolation is that his last couple of months were full of comfort and caring.
The connection between FeLV and tumors is that the FeLV suppresses the immune system, and leaves them open to conditions, especially like lymphoma and cancers, that cats are naturally prone to but that a healthy cat's body would fight off. Hugs to you, and gentlest of Bridge vibes to your boy. Diane R. -----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Julie G. Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 5:31 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] Lost my FELV Stray dude Hi I've been lurking a few weeks. In July I picked up a stray that turned out to be FELV+. In his few weeks with me he gained a pound, had a cushy bed, delicious premium canned food, and all the snuggles I had time to give him, since he lived in the basement while I tried to figure out where he could live (I have 4 cats). I'd watch movies on the laptop with him on my lap, snoozing away happily. He always seemed a little wobbly, and his pupils were always different sizes. But he was relatively happy so we kept on. Last night his back legs didnt work. This had happened before, my pet sitter said, but they always came back "on" after a while. But this morning they still didnt work. The vet examined and confirmed that he had tumors pressing on his spinal cord. He was in pain and his entire back end didn't do what he wanted it too. So the decision was made to let him go. He'd been living under porches on my block for at least a few months when we finally caught him. I'm so glad we did, I cant imagine what a frustrating, frightening life he'd be having out on the street right now, starving, full of tape worm, and 2 back legs that wont work. I'm crushed that we couldnt give him a better life, and for longer, but I'm glad we got to him when he needed us, and filled his belly and his heart for a few weeks. Safe and comfy and within a foot of food at all times. :) Anyway, I dont know anything about FELV, this was my first introduction to it... so I dont exactly know how the tumors are related (cancer?)... but I wanted to drop a line to folks who understand. He wasnt my kitty for long, but he was my kitty. _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
