Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Nancy, that's GREAT! Good for you! Gloria On Nov 6, 2005, at 5:11 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Crissy, in my opinion, Frito and Emilio should stay in their home! I personally have 16 cats, 3 of whom are positive now and several others in the past who have sadly lost the battle. All share each others lives closely, and NO ONE has ever caught this illness. Get your older cats vaccinated; if Frito hasn't aleady caught the virus, he very likely won't, and if he does, well, then you have 2 cats with leukemia. I have 2 girls who came to me with it, at 9 and 4 months of age, and threw it off at 12/7 months and are free at 13/5 years later. Never give up!! Please reconsider letting ther babies stay. Luv, Nancy and her MC
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Crissy, in my opinion, Frito and Emilio should stay in their home! I personally have 16 cats, 3 of whom are positive now and several others in the past who have sadly lost the battle. All share each others lives closely, and NO ONE has ever caught this illness. Get your older cats vaccinated; if Frito hasn't aleady caught the virus, he very likely won't, and if he does, well, then you have 2 cats with leukemia. I have 2 girls who came to me with it, at 9 and 4 months of age, and threw it off at 12/7 months and are free at 13/5 years later. Never give up!! Please reconsider letting ther babies stay. Luv, Nancy and her MC Heaven, to me, will never a Heaven be Unless my pets are there with me! Don't take your organs to Heaven~~~ Heaven knows we need them here!
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
And by the way, Crissy, I would also buy those Christmas cards! I've had at least 4 kitties pass away from Felv (I adopt them deliberately, you see) and have left one vet because of his attitude to it, so it's a VERY IMPORTANT cause to me. I think cards are a GREAT idea! Luv, Nancy and her MC Heaven, to me, will never a Heaven be Unless my pets are there with me! Don't take your organs to Heaven~~~ Heaven knows we need them here!
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Hi, When I got my first positive I didn't know she was positive. I had at least 11 other cats at the time that were NOT up to date on their vaccinations. They were 2-3 years off schedule (the adults anyway. kittens were up to date). Anyhow, I spent a lot of money retesting and retesting my negatives because I was so afraid they would catch it and it would be my fault for not getting them vaccinated and not being more careful bringing in a new cat. After testing them all 2 or 3 times in different time increments, 90 days, 6 months, etc they just kept coming back negative, negative, negative. I quit retesting them and kept my positive cat. Now I only retest if someone gets sick and we're trying to find out what's wrong. It's been about 10? years??? tonya
Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Hi Everyone, I just wanted to thank you all again for your kind words of support. My mother has taken Emilio and Frito's mommy, and she's named her Lady. Lady tested negative for FeLv, but we're worried that she might test positive once the virus has had a chance to incubate (again??). She's very healthy and alert, and probably no more than 2 years old, so we're hoping no matter what the outcome of the test, she'll have a long life. A recap/update of the situation: Emilio tested positive for the virus; on both the screening and the official test (Hardy test??). Frito was not able to be tested because she was whipped into a frenzy with the vet. Everyone has told me that since they are so tight and share bowls, groom, play together, that we should assume that Frito is also positive. Emilio is congested, but for the most part, not too plugged up. He is alert and playful and both he and his sister have become very outgoing in the weeks they've been separated from their mommy. I have so many doubts and reservations, but we'll be sending Emilio and Frito to The Best Little Cat House in Pennsylvania this weekend. I doubt myself constantly about Frito, in particular...what if she is negative? or what if she's positive, but one of those who carries, rather than gets sick from the virus? Am I doing the right thing?? We have five healthy cats in the house, but if I didn't, I would keep these kittens...my cats aren't vaccinated - and now I have to wait because they need to be retestedoi! What a mess this became, gut-wrenching and stressful. It's given me a whole new respect for the folks who work at the shelters; as well as for what y'all are doing. So many times, professionals just recommend euthanasia, and while, intellectually, I can understand (to a degree), I just can't do it, and I'm so glad that so many of you are giving your FeLv + babies a chance. The more of us who do, the more likely a cure will be found, I think. I hope. So, it's in that hope for a cure that I was brainstorming for a fundraising idea, and wanted to run it by everyone here. First of all, is there are good research scientist/institution who might be underfunded who could continue researching a cure, with more money? Or would any money be better off going to a shelter/hospice for sick kitties? I'm a freelance graphic artist and my mother is a watercolor painter; we were planning to collaborate to make a set of handmade Christmas cards with Emilio and Frito on them to sell...we'd donate all of the proceeds to a good feline leukemia cause (research or shelter). Do you think the idea will fly? Any good sales avenues to pursue? Craft shows? Online groups? Animal organizations? I was also thinking about other non-holiday merchandise, like calendars, regular greeting cards, etc. maybe with images of other felv+ kitties. I would be willing to work with any of you here -- if you wanted to send me photos of your kitties, help me promote the items, etc. Emilio and Frito's situation and all of your stories have touched me, and in many cases, broken my heart. I cried for hours after reading Mandy's story! I am learning about my own limitations, and I'm not sure if I have it in me to continue to do much in the way of hands-on stuff with the cats in my neighborhood, though I will try (it's getting cold and no one else helps them). In the meantime, I am committed to continuing to help in other areas, like fundraising. Please let me know what you think. Chrissy Trenton, NJ www.ottseetotsee.com
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Contact the Marley Fund in NC. They are an organization devoted solely to raising money for research on FeLV and for finding homes for FeLV+ cats (they have a very small shelter). They have a website. They do all different kinds of fundraising and I am sure would love your help. Seems better, probably, than reinventing the wheel. Michelle
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Chrissy, Just because one tests positive does NOT mean that another will, even littermates. I rescued 6, 2 1/2 week old kittens that I am sure contracted felv from their momma. One of the kittens from that litter, Tim, (now 2 yrs), has tested negative. I'm sorry to hear you are giving up loved ones for adoption because you fear for your negatives, it's so sad! I do understand your fears, I'm not even saying they aren't warranted, it's just a shame that these babies aren't going to share their lives in a home where we KNOW they will be loved and cared for. When I learned that my bottle babies were positive, there was no choice for me, I was in love and committed to them. They had already been mixed with my negatives, (none of my negatives, who were adults and had been vaccinated, ever became positive). They weren't going anywhere, and I wasn't about to segregate them from the family. I wish you the best, and I especially pray that Emilio and Frito find a loving compassionate home. Nina Christine Ott wrote: Hi Everyone, I just wanted to thank you all again for your kind words of support. My mother has taken Emilio and Frito's mommy, and she's named her Lady. Lady tested negative for FeLv, but we're worried that she might test positive once the virus has had a chance to incubate (again??). She's very healthy and alert, and probably no more than 2 years old, so we're hoping no matter what the outcome of the test, she'll have a long life. A recap/update of the situation: Emilio tested positive for the virus; on both the screening and the official test (Hardy test??). Frito was not able to be tested because she was whipped into a frenzy with the vet. Everyone has told me that since they are so tight and share bowls, groom, play together, that we should assume that Frito is also positive. Emilio is congested, but for the most part, not too plugged up. He is alert and playful and both he and his sister have become very outgoing in the weeks they've been separated from their mommy. I have so many doubts and reservations, but we'll be sending Emilio and Frito to The Best Little Cat House in Pennsylvania this weekend. I doubt myself constantly about Frito, in particular...what if she is negative? or what if she's positive, but one of those who carries, rather than gets sick from the virus? Am I doing the right thing?? We have five healthy cats in the house, but if I didn't, I would keep these kittens...my cats aren't vaccinated - and now I have to wait because they need to be retestedoi! What a mess this became, gut-wrenching and stressful. It's given me a whole new respect for the folks who work at the shelters; as well as for what y'all are doing. So many times, professionals just recommend euthanasia, and while, intellectually, I can understand (to a degree), I just can't do it, and I'm so glad that so many of you are giving your FeLv + babies a chance. The more of us who do, the more likely a cure will be found, I think. I hope. So, it's in that hope for a cure that I was brainstorming for a fundraising idea, and wanted to run it by everyone here. First of all, is there are good research scientist/institution who might be underfunded who could continue researching a cure, with more money? Or would any money be better off going to a shelter/hospice for sick kitties? I'm a freelance graphic artist and my mother is a watercolor painter; we were planning to collaborate to make a set of handmade Christmas cards with Emilio and Frito on them to sell...we'd donate all of the proceeds to a good feline leukemia cause (research or shelter). Do you think the idea will fly? Any good sales avenues to pursue? Craft shows? Online groups? Animal organizations? I was also thinking about other non-holiday merchandise, like calendars, regular greeting cards, etc. maybe with images of other felv+ kitties. I would be willing to work with any of you here -- if you wanted to send me photos of your kitties, help me promote the items, etc. Emilio and Frito's situation and all of your stories have touched me, and in many cases, broken my heart. I cried for hours after reading Mandy's story! I am learning about my own limitations, and I'm not sure if I have it in me to continue to do much in the way of hands-on stuff with the cats in my neighborhood, though I will try (it's getting cold and no one else helps them). In the meantime, I am committed to continuing to help in other areas, like fundraising. Please let me know what you think. Chrissy Trenton, NJ www.ottseetotsee.com
Re: Emilio/Frito -- fundraising idea?
Chrissy, I think the Christmas cards are a great idea! In the way of research, a place to start might be the Veterinary Department at Texas AM University. It's the only vet school in Texas so I think the majority of veterinarians in Texas go to school there and I believe it has a great research facility. Also from felineleukemia.com, I see that Auburn University does research (a vet there created the FeLV vaccine), as well as the University of Washington, University of Southern California, Cornell, and University of Pittsburg. There are only 27 veterinary schools in the U.S. and I think they might be the best place to start. I bet if you sent out a blanket letter to each of them, you'd find that there are several doing research. I have seen some research online and in book form from Cornell. For the record, I would definitely be interested in buying the cards when they come out since the money will be going to a great cause. And since I know several veterinarians in our city, I might be able to get the cards there and sell them at their offices. I imagine there are a lot of us who would be willing to help you and your mom raise money for FeLV. I think the money would be better spent in research vs. shelters, considering that they don't know as much as they need to about the virus. Let me know what I can do to help! :) Wendy P.S. I have an adorable picture of Cricket's face (he's black with big yellow/green eyes) surrounded by red Christmas garland (taken after he had, of course, torn the whole Christmas tree apart-lol). __ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com
