Hi Jane Our little Zander had his crisis when he was about 12 to 18 months old. He was close to death and under an oxygen mask to help him breath because his red cells and haematocrit were so critically low, he couldn’t move oxygen around his body via his blood circulation. We first tried giving him blood transfusions which helped with the immediate crisis, but didn’t “hold”. Two units of blood only bumped his haematocrit up from 5 to 16, which was still about half of the normal range. Over the subsequent weeks, as we tested his blood, it was clear that his red cells and haematocrit continued to drop, because red cells only have a life span of 120 days and then they die. His retic count was basically zero, showing he wasn’t producing any of his own red cells.
We gave him a second blood transfusion when his haematocrit dropped back down to 10 from 16. They had to stop after a single unit of blood, because Zander had a reaction to the blood transfusion. They don’t cross-match as thoroughly as they do with people, and we were told that this meant that any more blood transfusions would probably kill him as he had developed a reaction. So with his haematocrit once again dropping from 16 down to 10, I knew it was just a matter of time before it would drop down to dangerously low levels again and nothing we had tried (Immunoregulin, interferon, LTCI) had worked. I therefore did a hail Mary and rummaged through my drawers and found some Winstrol meant for another cat years before, who had not survived long enough for me to use it. Within 2-3 days (SERIOUSLY!), my husband and I noticed a slight blush in Zander’s gums (where they had been ivory white before) and when we took him in that week for testing, his haematocrit had gone up to 12. Though we were very skeptical that it could possibly be the Winstrol, (so, so simple, we thought it couldn’t be that the vets didn’t give us this), we kept him on it and lo and behold, all his cell lines began a slow and steady climb back into the normal ranges. It took 6-8 months to get him into the normal range and I kept him on the Winstrol the whole time, but cut the dose from the original 2 mg 2 times a day to 1 mg 2 times a day. Whenever I would try to discontinue the Winstrol, there would be an immediate dip in his weekly blood work, so there is no question in my mind that the Winstrol was keeping his red cells in the normal range. After about 10 months, I did wean him off to give his body a break, and he was doing phenomenally well. His appetite had immediately increased, right at the outset of the Winstrol usage, and his activity level also increased. The technician at the vet’s office who took his weekly bloodwork, told me that after about 3 months, she could feel the difference as he was feeling very solid and strong to her. Zander lived to about the age of 7. He died from a heart condition that appears to have been caused by the initial FeLV infection, since I have since heard others on this chatlines describe the same type of heart problem that Zander ended up with. (No question I queried if it might have been the Winstrol but as much as I can reassure myself, I believe that it wasn’t, both from my research and from the fact that other people whose cats have FeLV also describe unusual heart problems later in their lives.) In any event, even if I had any doubt about the Winstrol, I also had no choice. There is no question at all that Zander was going to die before he even turned two. The vet specialist who saw Zander, told me that there was zero hope, since I couldn’t keep giving him blood transfusions. When I called him a year later to report on Zander’s condition, he was absolutely stunned that Zander was still alive. I don’t think you need to do much blood testing with the Winstrol, but you may want to, to convince yourself (or more likely, your vet) that it is working. If my vet hadn’t tracked the blood results with me, I doubt she would have believed that the Winstrol could do this. The only think I caution about, and have indicated it many times on this chatline already, is that Winstrol can shoot up your cat’s liver enzymes. This freaks out the vets who insist on discontinuing the Winstrol. In Zander’s case, I obviously had to ignore this. He was going to die without this medication, so being worried about his liver was secondary to me, until he recovered. What I learned is that the enzyme increase is transitory in nature and leaves no lasting effect on the liver. Zander had no liver problems although he was on it for at least 70% of the his life. I have also used it in other situations where there is “no hope”, (nasal sarcoma in a 16 year old cat; FIP in a 6 month old kitten; spinal damage in a kitten; torn knee ligament in Zander – who was supposed to need surgery, but ended up not), and the Winstrol has either helped a lot or at the very least, increased appetite, weight, etc. Amani From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jane Gannon Sent: November-18-15 8:17 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Lymph nodes Do I just keep him on this indefinetely? Do I have to keep having his blood tested, how often? How long did this help your cat? Do you still have this cat? ----- Original Message ----- From: Amani Oakley<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 10:38 AM Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Lymph nodes Hi Jane Speak with your vet. He probably uses a compounding pharmacy for other types of medication. This is where my vet gets Winstrol. Our vet can get the Winstrol in 2 strengths: 2 mg and 1 mg tablets. They are hard to cut in half, but for a long time, that is what I had to do since originally the compounding pharmacy only had the 2 mg size tablets. The tablets are very small and powdery when split, and dissolve very quickly with very little moisture. Therefore, it made life a lot easier when the compounding pharmacy started providing 1 mg sized tablets. If you can only get 2 mg tablets, you also have the option of just giving them once a day, but I think it is better to give 1 mg, 2 times a day. I have no idea where you are located or how big the compounding pharmacy is that my vet uses, but it is called Chiron. (I’m in Ontario, Canada, and I think this compounding pharmacy is located close to Guelph Ontario, near the vet college there). Definitely start your cat on the Winstrol as soon as possible. I have also found Winstrol helpful in a cat I highly suspected of having FIP. She is fine now. Amani From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jane Gannon Sent: November-17-15 11:54 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Lymph nodes I have had the worst nightmare happen to me. I have a large cat family, I used to work at a cat rescue organization and I also help any cats that show up at my door. Last year one of my two outdoor cats started to loose weight. He was 12 so I thought maybe kidney or hyperthyroid. He started having anisocoria (one pupil lager than the other) and then I noticed 3 other cats with the same thing. I researched online and found that it can happen to FELV+ cats. So I took them all to the vet and found out they were positive. I then took the rest of my cat family and found out I had a total of 10 positives and 12 negatives. I vacinated the negatives and am letting them all live together. Since that time I have lost 5. Two older ones actually died from kidney disease, I had to euthanise my son's 2 two year olds cats, one developed FIP and the other ended up getting neurological problems until he could no longer walk. I euthanised one that was having difficulty breathing and was no longer eating. So I searched for a group that was going through the same thing so maybe I could learn about what can be done. Grayson, who is positive, is now loosing weight. He is 12 so I hoped maybe kidney or hyperthyroid so I had his blood tested and he does not have either. He is starting to have the sylmptoms of FELV. His hematocrit is 19 and he also has an abcess on his face that doesn't want to heal. He is acting like his old self and eating well. I know my vet would not have a problem using winstrol, he has always worked with me. Where would he get it from? Should I start it now before he gets worse.
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