Roxanne Well before I would ever let a vet insert a feeding tube into a cat’s stomach to deal with anorexia, I would give the Winstrol a shot. It is quite inexpensive and works relatively quickly, though if Tiffany is down to 4 pounds, you will definitely have to keep her on syringed food like the baby food and/or the A/D diet, for quite a while – even if she responds to the Winstrol.
Of course her red cell numbers were better after a transfusion, because you just gave her red cells, white cells and platelets in the transfusion so her numbers will be boosted. The problem is that if she has FeLV and non-regenerative anemia, those numbers will gradually fall as the these transfused cells naturally die off. The life span of a red cell is 120 but the ones in the transfused blood will obviously be various ages already so some will die tomorrow and the next day and the day after, etc. etc., and if Tiffany is not producing her own cells (as is the case with FeLV) then in two or three months, you will be back into trouble. Check her reticulocyte count to see if immature red cells are being generated from the bone marrow. Now is the time to try treatments like the Winstrol or others that people have suggested. Tiffany has now received an artificial boost, and she may start to feel better and there is a foothold for things like the Winstrol to build on. And DON’T wait for the numbers to drop. There is no question they will drop if she is not producing her own cells. Also, giving her ongoing blood transfusions is probably not an option. Aside from the terrible expense, the more transfusions, the higher the risk of eventually developing a transfusion reaction since the body is receiving a foreign substance and may well react to it. When that happens, giving another transfusion is likely to result in death. It’s like what happens when a person responds to something to which they are allergic. The first time, the reaction may be relatively mild but second exposure to the same antigen will often result in a very serious reaction which can put a person into anaphylactic shock and may kill them. So, for now, it is good that you have this option but recognize that it is giving you some breathing space to find another solution, and use the time you have to get that other treatment going. Frankly, I would suggest you can use several of the treatments if you don’t know which ones to try. With Winstrol, I did find we had a pretty quick response so I could see it working rather quickly. Like Ardy said about Tigger, the conclusion she and I reached was that Tigger’s numbers were very low when the Winstrol was started, and even though we saw both his red cells and his white cells improve, the platelets did not and I suspect that this may have resulted in some internal bleeding. I mentioned to Ardy that with my cat, Zander, we had given him a transfusion and his numbers were dropping but his haematocrit was still around 10 when I started the Winstrol. I think that may have helped to allow the Winstrol sufficient time to increase all three of the cell lines – I too found that the platelets responded last and most sluggishly. Don’t wait. You’ve bought some time with the blood transfusion so my advice for you is to put that time to good use. Amani From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Roxanne Smith Sent: May-13-16 9:09 AM To: felvtalk; felvtalk Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Tiffany Thanks to all who has given advice. We went to vet last night and her blood levels have improved. However, Since December she is down 4 lbs. She purrs and is a good girl. I will keep moving forward until Tiffany wants to leave me. Due to her lack of eating they want to put in a side trach tube... I am not comfortable with this due to her state. I don't want her sedated in case she passes away from sedation. A lot of vets in Milwaukee Wisconsin where Tiffany and I live are incompetent about feline leuk.and treat us like we are cootie filled.. I get it she is sick and feline leukemia is dangerous but dont disrespect my child. I plan to use the advice given to me. ________________________________ From: Ardy Robertson <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>; To: <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>; Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Tiffany Sent: Fri, May 13, 2016 3:46:39 AM Hi Roxanne, I just lost my 5-1/2 year old FeLV+ male cat - Tigger – however I do think if I had gotten him on the Winstrol (Stanozolol) sooner, along with the Prednisolone, he would have had a chance of making it longer. It turned his bone marrow back on to producing blood cells, and I believe it turned his anemia from non-regenerative to regenerative. I also wish I would have put him on the antibiotic Doxycycline rather than Convenia because it may interfere with the virus duplicating itself. If you do decide to try Winstrol and are unable to find it – I do have a source for it in Arizona – a very good company. I used the liquid and it worked well because it was salmon-flavorerd. It comes in other forms and flavors also. I hope Tiffany is doing better! Ardy From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Roxanne Smith Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 11:57 AM To: Felvtalk <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: [Felvtalk] Tiffany In the last two weeks my poor Tiffany has had three blood transfusions. Vets and nurses all feel she has a will to live. We just need to get over this hump. She will now be on epogen. Any feedback is welcome. She was diagnosed with feline leukemia a year ago. Has anyone had a feline tgat lived awhile with feline leukemia... Thanks
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