Tracey, I am so sorry to hear this. Each of us needs to make our own decisions about this, so I'll share our story.
Last July (2009), my husband and I adopted two beautiful Bengal kittens, brother and sister. They were extremely unsocialized, so we worked with them for several months before they would let us handle them at all. When they reached six months of age, we took them in to be spayed/neutered, and at that time it was discovered that they were both FeLV+. One of the first things I did was to search for this list and thank heaven, you all are here. Taj, the male and 18 months old, started having difficulty breathing in mid-July 2010. We took him into the vet for tests, and discovered a massive tumor pressing into his lungs. We were give the option of chemo and other treatments, but opted to let him go, as he was in obvious distress. Several weeks later, we took his sister Rani in for an exam. I had felt a lump in her lower abdomen, and although she was showing no signs of weight loss or a decline in appetite or energy level at that time, we wanted to check it out as quickly as possible. She also has developed lymphoma, this time affecting her kidneys. They are about 1.5 times the size they should be. Again, we were offered the option of chemo, but decided to go with palliative care. She has been on 5mg of pred twice a day for three weeks now. It is likely this sweet girl will join all our other precious babies at the Bridge very soon. Given the FeLV+ status, we can't justify putting her through the trauma. We had taken another cat (no FeLV issues) through chemo for a stomach tumor several years ago, and it took such a toll on her, on us, on our finances....we bought her perhaps 6 months of diminished quality of life. In retrospect, we did it for ourselves, and not for her. I do know that some cats respond very well to chemo, so please be open to others' advice on this issue. It's just that our experience has not been so positive, and you're climbing a pretty big hill with the FeLV+ issues. There are so many on this list that will know specific questions to ask regarding the specifics of her blood work and other chemical levels that might work in Vixen's favor. I hope so. I'm also happy for her that she's had 10 years, hopefully most of them with you. My heart goes out to you as you face this difficult decision, Sara -----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Weese Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 3:10 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] Lymphoma/Brain Inflammation, etc. My 10+ yo cat, Vixen, now has FeLV+ spinal fluid and brain inflammation which is causing head bobbing and weakness/uncoordination in the back legs. The most likely scenario is now lymphoma. She has always been very robust and healthy (and pink) even though being diagnosed with FeLV as a kitten. Now, this. She is still eating good although she has lost a little weight -- she still likes to be around me and the other cats, but... I have an apptmt with the oncologist next week, and just don't know whether to treat or to do simply pallative care. I know cats can respond well to chemo, but my other cancer cats did not have FeLV. So I was looking for any ideas, suggestions, etc., that folks might have. She is still on some antibiotics while we wait for final reports on several infectious diseases but the prelim reports have showed no infectious diseases. She is also taking an anti-inflammatory dose of pred. _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org __________ NOD32 5390 (20100823) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
