Hi Beth, His HCT was 28% (2% below normal). Thanks.
On Sun, Sep 9, 2012 at 6:38 AM, Beth <create_me_...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Most of my FeLV cats have died from anemia. Your other cats may be ok.if > he has been positive for all this time there's no reason to separate them > now. Our shelter had a hoarding case a few yrs ago where some of the cats > were FeLV positive but most were not & remained negative after a lengthy > quaranteen. Some just develop natural immunity. You do need to get them > tested, though. > I personally would not have spent the money on an IFA test at this point. > You just have to treat him like any other cat who is ill. Treat the > symptoms. Did they say what the red blood cell count was? > Beth > > Don <mosquito.d...@gmail.com> wrote: > > >Thanks for your note Lee. I am an "old hand" when it comes to long term > >care for a sick cat. We nursed Oliver's brother, Milo, for 3 years with > >CRF and a heart condition. I cannot count the number of subQ sessions, > >pills, and assisted feedings I did. Through all of it I educated myself > on > >every aspect of the disease and treatments. Our first vet told us we have > >3-6 months, and we had that and a lot more. I also went through several > >vets until I found one who seemed not only to understand but to try. > > > >All of what you said makes sense, but I also wonder about his fever. On > >Thursday it was 105 but tonight it is normal. What could be made from > >this? He did get a antibiotic shot. I assumed that the fever was being > >caused by the virus, but I guess it could have been due to something else. > > > >Thanks again. > >Don and Oliver > > > > > >On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 9:21 PM, Lee Evans <moonsiste...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > >> I'm sorry you're going through this unhappy experience with Oliver. > First > >> of all, I would just like to mention that the FIV vaccine is always a > bad > >> idea. It turns the cat positive on testing. If the cat gets lost, > picked > >> up by someone who tests him and is not aware that FIV is NOT contagious > by > >> any way but deep biting, usually in a fight for mating superiority, then > >> the cat would be killed by a vet or by Animal Control. So please don't > use > >> this vaccine. It does nothing to protect your cat because neutering is > >> what protects most cats from FIV, no mating, no fighting, no biting into > >> blood vessels. > >> > >> OK. Back to Oliver. Since you didn't have him tested when you > originally > >> offered him your home, he may have been a carrier of FeLv all these > years > >> and your other cats, who have been living with him are still healthy so > >> don't worry yourself too much. One of my cats, Tiger, lived to be 14. > He > >> had been tested twice for FeLv but tested negative. The disease > sometimes > >> hides in the bone marrow and does not show up on the test. He did become > >> very ill towards the end, but it was renal failure that caused his > death. > >> Because he was showing symptoms of anorexia and anemia, the vet tested > him > >> and he was FeLv+. However, my vet said that if he hadn't had renal > >> failure, he may have survived another year with good nutrition and > >> antibiotics. Tiger lived with 12 other cats. They ate, drank together > and > >> used each others litter boxes. They groomed each other and slept > >> together. They were like one big family. None of the other cats ever > >> tested positive for anything even several years after Tiger passed. The > >> very best that you can do now for Oliver is allow him to live whatever > the > >> rest of his life is as he has lived the past 15 years, happily and > >> peacefully with not a whole lot of vet visits or stress. Whatever > >> medication you want to try, is OK as long as you research it. This is > only > >> my own opinion. You have to take into account what your vet tells you > >> also. It may or may not be FeLv that has become active. It could be > an > >> ordinary virus or bacterial infection. Vets tend to jump on the first > >> thing that they are taught might be fatal. I have quite a few FIV+ > cats. > >> Every time they get an upper resp. infection, the vet tells me that of > >> course, they are more prone to get infections than ordinary cats. Which > >> isn't true because my regular cats get the sneezes and runny noses more > >> often than the FIV+ cats. I have learned not to do battle with old > >> fashioned thinking in veterinarians. But I do gently remind them that I > >> have had a lot of cats in for URI who were not positive for anything but > >> URI. I will keep Oliver and you in my thoughts. Just keep on loving > him > >> and try to lower your own stress level so he won't feel something is > wrong. > >> > >> > >> Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty > >> neighbors too! > >> > >> > >> ------------------------------ > >> *From:* Don <mosquito.d...@gmail.com> > >> *To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > >> *Sent:* Saturday, September 8, 2012 8:51 PM > >> *Subject:* [Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver > >> > >> Hello. > >> Our boy Oliver, has been doing well since his brothers passing due to > CRF > >> last Feb but in the past year or so we have seen some signs that we had > >> been reading as old age (less grooming, weight loss...he just turned 15 > >> this August). Thursday night he was acting lethargic and seemed to be > warm > >> to the touch. I dropped him off at our vet who suggest it might just be > a > >> virus (most of this blood panel was good, except a low white blood cell > >> count, now 2% below normal HCT values since July, and a 105 F > temperature). > >> He suggested we might test him for leukemia and FIV as he wanted to > rule it > >> out even though Oliver has always been an indoor cat (he used a ELISA > snap > >> test...as far as we know he has never been tested for feLV or FIV). The > bad > >> news came later when he called to say he was positive for both. He said > the > >> FIV could be false if Oliver was every given an FIV vaccination (he > has), > >> but the other was likely true (and also explained the low white count > and > >> the fever, and now in retrospect some of the other issues). The vet > thinks > >> he may have had this all his life and is just now experiencing the > >> symptoms. So now he is home and although I have read up some and don't > see > >> much hope, I wondered if anyone can offer any advice. We have sent the > >> blood off to get the more sophisticated test but won't hear back until > next > >> week. > >> Our vet, who is the best I have had, suggested perhaps he will last a > few > >> weeks or months, given that he is showing signs that his body might be > >> losing the battle (low white cells, anemia). I'm trying to be > optimistic, > >> but with no treatments I know this is probably a battle we cannot win. > >> > >> Here are my questions: > >> 1. We have 2 other cats who we think have had the feLV booster recently > >> (they are 14 and 16 years old and got the immunization as kittens). Are > >> they in danger? If they got shots as kittens would they be still safe? > We > >> have Oliver with his own litter box and am making sure they use separate > >> water and food bowls. There is not grooming among them. > >> 2. Is there anyway to know if Oliver can still fight off the virus and > >> become free of it? If he did have it for 14-15 years, then why does he > >> have symptoms now? If it was a recent exposure (we cannot think of any > way > >> he would have gotten it) then could he still be fine? > >> 3. He seems fine now (no fever, eating, drinking, using the litter box, > >> etc.) so is this a good sign that perhaps he is able to fight it off or > is > >> this just a false hope. > >> 4. If the other test is positive, would anyone suggest using the LTCI > >> treatment? I have not found good scientific info on it's effectiveness > >> although there appear to be no major side effects. > >> > >> Thanks. > >> Don and Oliver > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > >> > >> > > > >_______________________________________________ > >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 >
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