Wow. That really gives me hope. My guy is only 2, so I hope I get to have him as long as you had your Ember. I am sorry you lost her.
On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 5:37 PM, Lance <[email protected]> wrote: > I’m very sorry to hear about Yang’s passing and that Merlot has tested > positive. Hopefully, Merlot has a lot more time ahead of him. > > I used interferon alpha and Liquid DMG fairly regularly for my Ember. She > also got Transfer Factor (human formula; not the one for cats), but I > wasn’t consistent with that and was uncertain about its efficacy. I might > have eventually looked into LTCI, but my vet did not like the lack of > third-party data on the treatment. However, that doesn’t mean that it > doesn’t work. > > FeLV is scary, but don’t lose hope. Ember had minor illnesses here and > there: sneezing (likely due to allergies) and an occasional day or two of > diarrhea. For the latter condition, I would fast her for 12 hours (going > much longer could cause liver damage), and I would feed her canned pumpkin > (not pie filling but plain pumpkin) for a day to give her some fiber. These > problems weren’t frequent for us, thankfully. Blood tests were moments of > anxiety at times (Ember usually had low wbc). > > Ember lived for at least eight years from testing positive to her death > two months ago. I would have liked to have had her longer (she was a little > over 12 years old), but I feel very fortunate for all the time we had > together. > > Lance > > On Jul 24, 2014, at 2:12 PM, Maya D'Alessio <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hello everyone, > > > > My cat Merlot, just tested positive for FeLV yesterday afternoon. We > had him tested, because my three year old cat Yang (female) started acting > ill at the end of June, the next morning I took her in to the vets and we > discovered she was anemic, jaundiced and had a high fever. They checked > her blood levels and found she was anemic (about 13, vs 26 in a healthy > cat). She stayed at the vet during the day and her blood levels didn't > get any worse, and our vet was optimistic. They transferred her over to > the emergency clinic which was open all evening and in to the weekend. > They monitored her overnight and her red blood cells decreased, her fever > lowered but she went past normal to too cold. That morning the blood tests > came back and she was positive for FeLV. We were shocked. Even worse was > that her detailed blood work showed no uptick in blood cell production, > where she should have increased production, she actually had almost no > production. We then got to see her before we had to put her down. That > was the hardest day of my life. > > > > Now, with Merlot testing positive I am terrified of losing him so > quickly, and I am still grieving for Yang. I know the statistics are not > great for long term prognosis, but he is currently healthy (just a tiny bit > of gingivitis - we are going to start brushing his teeth). What can I do > to keep him healthy? How do I live with him everyday without starting to > grieve him already? I know we all are going to die someday, but this just > feels like it is going to hang over me. I am still doing reading on the > disease and newer treatments and such, but do these all start after the cat > becomes noticeably ill, or are there things I can be doing now to help keep > him healthy? Are probiotics helpful in this case? > > > > For those who have or have had a healthy FeLV cat, how long did they > stay healthy for? > > > > > > -- > > Maya D'Alessio > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > -- Maya D'Alessio PhD student B1 377B, x32320 Graduate Student Endowment Fund Coordinator Biology GSA Vice Chair GSA Director At-Large University of Waterloo
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