FeLV does not kill cats, except in the (in my experience) rare situations where the virus itself interferes with the bone marrow's ability to produce red cells. I had 6 FeLV+ cats and none of them appeared to have died from that.
FeLV reduces their immune system a lot so that they get and die of other things. Lymphoma is very common-- 4 of my 6 died of lymphoma. I did chemo with 2 of them and it helped for a couple months. They also get FIP more than other cats-- one of my remaining 1 died of wet FIP and the other appeared to have dry FIP. Not one died from anemia that was jut the FeLV in the bone marrow, though I know it does happen and appears to depend on the strain of FeLV. That said, they can also get whatever other cats can get, and are more prone to some of those treatable things, like infections. And to normal stuff-- my last surviving FeLV+ cat, who was also FIV+, lived to 9 years old. When she was about 7, she developed all the symptoms discussed here-- lethargy, inappetance, weight loss. I had just lost the second to last to FIP so my vet said she probably had that. But we did blood work, and what she had was diabetes that had been untreated long enough for her to get ketotic. She was hospitalized and fully recovered and got insulin shots the last 2 years of her life. When she was 8, she started losing weight again and it was hyperthyroidism, so she got treated for that too. The last time it was lymphoma, and she did ok with treatment for that for a while but not a long time, maybe 2-3 months, on steroids and a few chemo treatments. But if I had assumed that the lethargy and weight loss from diabetes were just the FeLV, she would have had 2 fewer years, and they were good years for her. So this is why I always push getting to the bottom of what it actually is that is causing the weight loss and lethargy, because there is a chance it is something completely treatable, and there is also a chance that it's something that can be controlled for a while with steroids or other drugs. That said, I go farther with treatment than most, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad, but something to keep in mind. Michelle -----Original Message----- From: Lorrie <[email protected]> To: felvtalk <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Mar 2, 2014 7:41 am Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Too little appetite On 03-01, [email protected] wrote: > Has anyone seen these signs before? Yes, this is very commom with FelV+ cats. I've had several who started eating less and less until they stopped eating completely were soon just skin and bones. At that point I had them euthanized. This was after several trips to a vet to try to help them feel better and live a little longer. I am so sorry you are experiencing this. Lorrie _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
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