Re: [Felvtalk] PA or OH FeLV+ Cat Sanctuaries
Anyone knows a better way to give medications (pills) to a cat? The vet can sell you a pill popper - a little device that helps some people get those pills down them. What I would do is to grind up the pills and mix with meat based human baby food and a little water. Then use a syringe, without a needle, to squirt this into the cat's mouth but not down his throat. If a cat isn't eating, he needs assisted feeding until you see if the medicines are going to make a difference. When I am syringe feeding a non-eating cat, I give them a syringe of food, a syringe of water or pedialyte, a blob of nutrical that I try to wipe off my finger onto the upper palate of the cat so it is harder to spit out, and cycle around that way until the cat has no more patience for the proceedure. For a grown cat of any size, I would aim to get at the very minimum, one jar of baby food in him per day. Two jars would be much better. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Raw Food
A funny story- my husband suddenly decided that he would feed a raw diet to the cats and invested a lot of money in meat and supplements according to a good recipe he found. Not one cat out of about 12 would touch it. Turns out he had purchased (a big!) bottle of lemon-flavored fish oil to put in it I don't think they liked the lemony freshness! ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] advice on kitty's loose tooth
One of my positives started smelling bad and I realized that he had a serious red line on his gums near the teeth. The vet said that the gum infection was so bad, his little front teeth would probably fall out. Gum infection is quite often seen in positives. Alot of the infection cleared up with antibiotic but not all. We'll need to try something more. I would suspect something like this with your kitty to let that tooth get so loose. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] request info
if anyone has another really good sanctuary for FIV cats, In my opinion, only aggressive FIV+ cats need to be quarantined or go into a sanctuary. I successfully placed 2 sweet non-violent FIV+ cats in good adoptive homes last year. Many people mix them with their other cats. I'd prefer to see sanctuaries and special homes used for desparate cases if at all possible although of course that is up to the people running them. It is such a bad feeling if you have a cat that truly does need a special circumstance and there is really no place to take them. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] very hungry cats
I just found out that the Wilderness type of Blue Buffalo dry cat food has 100 more per cup than their regular cat food. It is a high protein low carb food. Depending on the age of the cat, that might be a good choice instead of or along with kitten food for gaining weight. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] PUREVAX FELV vaccine
I just heard about the PUREVAX FELV vaccine. This is administered with a transdermal technology that does not result in possible injection site sarcomas. Has anyone experience with this or heard anything especially with respect to the efficacy of it compared to the traditional one? Trissa in Philly ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk - freezing interferon
Interferon is a protein. It is dried into a powder which should be able to be frozen with no problem. But when proteins are dissolved into a liquid solution, freezing can be tricky. As a scientist working with a variety of proteins, I can tell you that many proteins will start to break down if frozen more than once. And rapid freezing is preferable to slow freezing. At home, the closest thing to rapid freezing could be done by putting the protein tube into ice in the back of the freezer lowering the temp more rapidly than if you just stick it on the shelf in the freezer. Proteins also generally survive freezing better if they are more dilute and freezing in smaller portions will allow the freezing to go faster than freezing in big portions. If a protein is degraded by freezing, it's structure starts to unwind. Some molecules of the protein in the solution may degrade and others won't so you may still see that the protein has some activity or it may lose all activity. You might see some precipitate in the solution (always a bad sign) or you might not. Without some kind of activity readout, it seems impossible to me to know whether freezing is causing a problem. In summary, I would make up the solution to the appropriate dilution and freeze it in the smallest portions that will work (need appropriate sized containers) in the coldest part of the freezer in ice. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Intro
My 2 FeLV+ cats lived to ages 22 and 16. Stripes, the 16 year old, was sick on and off his entire life. Squeaky was never sick until his last 3 weeks on earth. Laurie Laurie, With that wonderful statement, can you tell me how you cared for them - both the sick one and the well one? I would like to do exactly what you did. Thanks! Trissa in Philly ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Testing an 8 week old kitten
I think the conventional wisdom is that if the test is negative, it is reliable. If it is positive, it has to be redone in 3 months to get a final answer. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] OT - will kittens born to mom with URI have URI?
My experience has been that the kittens will get the URI and it can be a killer. I would personally get the mom on an antibiotic right away and get some antibiotic that can be given to the kittens from birth. Just the tiniest amount can save kittens. It is by far the best idea to aggressively treat the mom before the kittens are born and not wait around while the URI gets worse. Lots of sick moms will stop nursing or licking the kittens at all when they get very congested. And the moms may stop eating so no milk. The kittens will have the best chance to survive if the fosterer can get the mom through the worst of it before the kittens arrive. Generally, an antibiotic is critical even if the URI is a virus. A vaporizer or humidifier is extremely helpful because congestion makes the mom miserable and she may stop eating if she can't smell. When the fosterer takes her to the vet to get her looked at, they should definitely get the vet to discuss and prescribe for congestion. We have just gone through this in my rescue group for several litters in which all kittens died. I don't want to be too negative but want to get across that it is not a time to take a wait and see attitude until they are all very sick. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] OT - will kittens born to mom with URI have URI?
If the mom is eating and caring for the kittens, they can relax some but I'd like to emphasize that they should take the whole litter to the vet at the first sign that there is anything wrong with the kittens. Or get some antibiotic like clavamox to have on hand if possible. Lysine is good. I wish you and them the very best of luck! Laurieskatz lauriesk...@mchsi.com Sent by: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org 13-Apr-2009 13:23 Please respond to felvtalk@felineleukemia.org To felvtalk@felineleukemia.org cc Subject Re: [Felvtalk] OT - will kittens born to mom with URI have URI? Thank-you for this. The five babies were born last night. The mom sounds like she has mucous in her throat when she swallows and her purr sounds hoarse but there are no other symptoms. The foster mom started l lysine. Mama kitty (Spring) is eating. No discharge from eyes or nose. Symptoms have not worsened since she got there Saturday noon so foster mom is hopeful this is not a URI. Any thoughts based on symptoms? Still think she should treat the mama? Thank-you!\ Laurie -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of patricia.a.elk...@gsk.com Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 12:11 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] OT - will kittens born to mom with URI have URI? My experience has been that the kittens will get the URI and it can be a killer. I would personally get the mom on an antibiotic right away and get some antibiotic that can be given to the kittens from birth. Just the tiniest amount can save kittens. It is by far the best idea to aggressively treat the mom before the kittens are born and not wait around while the URI gets worse. Lots of sick moms will stop nursing or licking the kittens at all when they get very congested. And the moms may stop eating so no milk. The kittens will have the best chance to survive if the fosterer can get the mom through the worst of it before the kittens arrive. Generally, an antibiotic is critical even if the URI is a virus. A vaporizer or humidifier is extremely helpful because congestion makes the mom miserable and she may stop eating if she can't smell. When the fosterer takes her to the vet to get her looked at, they should definitely get the vet to discuss and prescribe for congestion. We have just gone through this in my rescue group for several litters in which all kittens died. I don't want to be too negative but want to get across that it is not a time to take a wait and see attitude until they are all very sick. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] supplements for Grr
I can't remember how old you said that Grr is but I foster lots of very thin cats for the local shelter. At first I used canned kitten food alot for extra calories but with respect to an older (+10 years) cat, my vet said that the high protein content in kitten food was not good for an older cat's kidneys. Although you aren't interested in useless calories, for very thin cats, I supplement with some Nutrical which you can get at the Pet store cheaper than from a vet, several times a day. My experience has been that Nutrical is something of an appetite stimulant. Or maybe it works that once an emaciated cat starts getting a threshold level of calories, their appetite starts to kick in again. After looking at the calorie content of foods and trying lots of things, I usually feed Hill's A/D (from the vet) which isn't so extra high in calories but is apparently very digestible and high in nutrition, Nutrical, and meat baby food as a supplemental treat to start putting weight on cats. Extra bits of nice chicken or other meat in between meals can also be a help. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk Vaccines
I bought the vaccine and my sister-in-law was able to vaccinate my young negatives for much much less than I would have to pay at the vet. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Euthanizing FELV+ cats in shelters
Anita, Great websites with lots of information. Thanks for posting them! ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Vaccinating FELV+ cats for FELV
I haven't ever heard of any research that indicates what could happen if you vaccinate an FELV+ cat for FELV. Most people seem to assume that it would make no difference to the course of the FELV disease but I don't think that is based on real information. I thought the reason vets almost always recommend against it is that injection induced sarcoma - or tumor growth at the injection site - is highest for the FELV vaccine (although still very minimal). So vaccinating for FELV when not necessary is subjecting the cat to the risk of the tumor growth at the injection site. One might want to run the risk of tumor growth if there was a beneficial affect in terms of length of life with the vaccination. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Survey
I have/had 4 FELV+ kittens. I was fostering large numbers of kittens and URI cats from the city shelter but all tested negative before coming home with me or after being in isolation, before mixing with negative cats. As far as I can guess, a pregnant Himi mom that tested negative after giving birth, passed FELV to her one surviving kitten, Lady Baltimore. That kitten was very sickly but with intensive nursing care, was taken to be spayed when she reached 3 lbs in weight and we were shocked to find out that she was FELV+. The kitten was in good health for only about 2 months then started losing weight and died about 6 weeks later. The other 3 kittens all tested negative when they came into the house but interacted with Lady Baltimore during the period before she was spayed. I just didn't dream that she could be positive coming from a negative mom. These kittens all tested positive at about 7-9 months of age. That was 3 months ago so they are all around 1 year of age now. Two were and are in excellent health. One came to me with a bad URI and has always been a chronic snuffler and has on and off periods of sleeping more than usual. His snuffling, congestion, and energy levels improved signifcantly when I did 3 Intranasal FVRCP vaccinations in the eyes and nose, 2 weeks apart, around Christmas according to the advice of a vet that heard about this at a vet conference last year. He has grown well throughout though. Next month when I have the money, I plan to get some blood work on him and talk to the vet about these down periods he has. Otherwise, so far I haven't been convinced about supplements for them. They all eat dry IAMS adult food with small bits of canned ProPlan occasionally. All are indoors and mixed with vaccinated negative cats. I am a research scientist and work for a pharmaceutical company although the immune system is not my specialty. So far, I am not convinced that supplements that are purported to stimulate the immune system have any efficacy. I joined this list to learn what I can from the anecdotal information and am trying to get to the meat of the reports of good results with various therapies. Thanks to all on the list for all of your information! Trissa in Philadelphia catatonya catato...@yahoo.com Sent by: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org 08-Feb-2009 15:01 Please respond to felvtalk@felineleukemia.org To felvtalk@felineleukemia.org cc Subject Re: [Felvtalk] Survey AT WHAT AGE DID YOUR CAT BECOME FeLV POSITIVE? CC was positive as a kitten. she was found in a parking lot, so I have no idea. DD was positive when I got her at about 2 years of age. WHAT TREATMENTS DID YOU DO/ CC got very sick at about 8 months and almost died. We used interferon, immunoregulin, she eye herpes and medicines for that and saw a homeopath.DD has never been sick but once and was put on antibiotics. I give her no special treatments. WHAT LIFESTYLE DO YOUR CATS LEAD, all indoors ? LIVE WITH OTHER CATS OR NOT? Yes, up to 10 at a time. there has been no contamination of my negatives. CC lived until about 8 years old, and died of herpes. CC is still fine at around 10 years old.t__ _ How fun is this? IMing with Windows Live Messenger just got better. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/messenger.aspx ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Lysine as a supplement
My vet opthamologist here in Philly, Dr. Glickstein, told me that he was aware of only one controlled study on the effects of L-lysine on herpes. He said that the study showed that L-lysine did keep cats from getting their first herpes infection but that it had absolutely no effect on subsequent infections or outbreaks. Apparently these are not the same results that are seen in human trials where it is belived to be effective on continuing outbreaks. I know that many many people believe that they have seen results with its use in cats however in ammeliorating a herpes outbreak. L-lysine is not a general immune booster, it is primarily effective against herpes virus (which sometimes causes URI like symptoms and runny eyes) by suppressing the L-arginine that herpes virus needs in order to replicate. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Could anyone help?
In 2008, a large private no-kill rescue in western PA was raided and shut down for bad conditions. I can't remember the name of it - but maybe it was Tiger Ranch. There were plenty of news articles on it. Why don't you check into who the authorities were in that case and maybe that can give you a lead on who in your area would be the comparable people to go to. I'm sorry that I don't have time right now to look it up and give you the details. Trissa in Philladelphia ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] How old to test kittens?
Or in other words, how old does a kitten have to be before you can believe that a negative test means the kitten is negative? And since you all are the experts, does anyone have any reliable info on how long it takes after exposure before a cat or kitten would test positive on a combo snap test? I have been thinking that an FELV carrier came into my home but tested negative because it was tested close to the time of infection. Is that a possible/reasonable hypothesis? I haven't identified the carrier so dont' know if later it tested positive. Thanks! Trissa in Philly ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] New - how to preserve the health of Healthy FELV+ kittens
I have been fostering for a big city shelter and although I almost always tested new cats when they came to me and kittens before they were introduced into the general herd, I ended up this year with 4 FELV+ kittens less than 1 year old. Three of these tested negative when they came to me and the fourth and youngest was born at my house from a pregnant mom that also tested negative. I am adopting all of these guys now. I am working my way through reading the archives of this list, but is there a consensus on best practice for treating kittens and cats while they are still healthy before they experience problems related to FELV to keep them as healthy as possible? Thanks! Trissa in Philly ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
