Thank you Amani. Thank you to everyone in this group, it has been a very supportive for the last 15 months or so since I lost my first cat to FeLV.
On Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 1:43 PM, Amani Oakley <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I adopted a cat last summer (2014) from a feral colony. I found out, just > after I adopted her, that several of the other cats taken from the colony > died from FIP. The kitten I had taken was about 8 months old, and she got > deathly ill just after I took her home. She was congested with runny eyes > and a temperature when I took her, but got REALLY bad after that. She ran a > very high temperature and wouldn’t eat, and just basically slept for days. > I couldn’t get any real food into her, but did manage to get some pureed > baby food in via syringe (this is always a great life-saver!). I started > her on the Winstrol, because again, FIP is a game-over virus and I had > nothing to lose as she was clearly not going to make it otherwise, and > there is nothing that treats FIP effectively. I spoke to the woman from > whom I had adopted her and she told me that the cat I had been stroking and > cooing over the night before had also just passed away and again, it looked > like FIP. > > > > Samantha had a very hard belly – another sign of FIP, and I think she had > fluid accumulation AROUND her lungs (another sign of FIP). > > > > It took longer for me to see an effect with Samantha than I had seen with > Zander – my FeLV cat – but she was looking a lot better in about a week and > much better in 2 weeks. I discontinued the Winstrol after about a month > because she was very difficult to catch and pill, being a semi-feral. > Otherwise I would have continued for much longer. She got better in every > way except she continued to have sounds of chest congestion even though an > xray done eventually, showed no accumulation within the lungs. The sounds > in her chest continued, though nothing else was wrong. > > > > Recently (about 1 month ago now) I decided to try the Winstrol again, to > see if I could clear out what I felt was the accumulated fluid AROUND the > lungs, typical of FIP. I didn’t notice a change after 1 week of Winstrol > (which is unusual as I can usually tell when this stuff is working, very > early on). I decided to persevere, nonetheless, because Winstrol is really > a more long-term kind of medication. She has now been on it for 5 weeks and > I just mentioned to my husband today that I have now noticed that the > unusual gurgling and air restriction which I had always heard with her, > were now almost completely dissipated. Still a bit there, but very mild. > > > > I know that for the people on the chatline who have seen my posts before, > they must think I have Winstrol on the brain, but I have had good results > with it almost every time one of my cats receives a death sentence from one > of these incurable viruses, and other situations where it has helped boost > energy and food intake (sarcoma of the nasal cavity). The way I look at it, > it really can’t hurt in most of these circumstances, and there is a good > possibility of a positive effect. One of the Listserve members emailed me > recently to indicate she had gotten her cat on Winstrol after my > suggestions, and this turned him right around, so hopefully, others will > experience some of these good results too. > > > > Amani > > > > > > > > > > > > *From:* Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected] > <[email protected]>] *On Behalf Of *Maya D'Alessio > *Sent:* October-19-15 1:20 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [Felvtalk] Merlot > > > > Wow, after looking in to FIP, it does sound like that could be what is > going on. > > > > On Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 12:22 PM, Amani Oakley <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Then get the Winstrol ASAP. My cat was in an oxygen tent and his > haemotocrit was down to 5 before I got the Winstrol into him. > > > > The abdominal pain sounds more like FIP, to be honest, but I have a FIP > cat who also responded remarkably to the Winstrol, so same advice. Call the > vet today and speak to him about getting the Winstrol right away. I > understand that it can be injected though I have never done that. If the > vet is able, starting with an injection might give Merlot a faster boost. > > > > Amani > > > > *From:* Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf > Of *Maya D'Alessio > *Sent:* October-19-15 12:04 PM > > > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [Felvtalk] Merlot > > > > Thanks for the advice re. the winstrol. I am honestly concerned about him > making it past the next few days. > > > > His abdomen is really sore/tense/uncomfortable and he complains heavily > when being moved/picked up/palpated. Do you have any idea if that fits with > the FeLV? > > > > On Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 11:59 AM, Amani Oakley <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Maya > > > > I would be pretty sure that the platelet drop is from FeLV and I am not > sure why that is stumping the vets. FeLV can attack any one of the three > cell lines (red cells, white cells and platelets) because it effects the > bone marrow where these cells are all produced. Thus, when FeLV begins to > affect a cat, you can get a drop in one or two or all three of the cell > lines. > > > > In addition to the treatment he is getting, ask the vet to put him on > Winstrol. I have posted here many times, and will again, that Winstrol is > the only medication I found effective that actually turned back on the cell > production of the bone marrow. He can remain on the prednisolone and the > Doxycycline. Even though the Doxycycline is an antibiotic and thus not > effective against viruses, my vets have said that they have gotten some > positive results from using it with FeLV cats. I used it with my cat, in > addition to the Prednisolone and the Winstrol, but having used the > Doxycycline and Prednisolone WITHOUT the Winstrol first, I can confirm that > it was the Winstrol that did the trick (confirmed by weekly monitoring of > my cat’s blood work – checking specifically for haematocrit levels, RBC > levels, Reticulocyte levels, white cells (total, neutrophils and > leukocytes) and platelet counts. (I have posted this before, but just so > that you know, before moving to Winstrol, I had my cat on Interferon – > which did nothing to his blood work results at all – and then LTCI – which > again had no positive result on the bloodwork.) > > > > Winstrol (Stanozolol) is an anabolic steroid which usually is required to > be ordered from a compounding pharmacy. The dose I used was 1 mg 2x a day. > > > > If you want to confirm the effectiveness as I did, place Merlot on the > Winstrol and after a week or two, run his haematology blood work again. You > should start seeing a nudging up of the red cells, although the platelet > counts in my cat at least, were the last to respond to the Winstrol. Don’t > give up if there is no change in 2 weeks, and you will likely also get a > bump up in his appetite and his general feeling of wellbeing (playing, > purring, etc.) > > > > Merlot may start having his liver enzymes rise. Resist the urge or the > advice of your vet to discontinue the Winstrol. The liver enzymes will very > likely drop after he is weaned off the Winstrol, and for the time being, > the more important thing is to deal with his failing bone marrow. > > > > Amani > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > -- Maya D'Alessio PhD student B1 377B, x32320 Graduate Studies Endowment Fund Coordinator Biology GSA Vice Chair GSA Director At-Large University of Waterloo
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