Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Community
Hello and welcome to the group Manda. I've had quite a few FelV positive cats over the years, as I'm a rescuer too. I have 15 rescued cats at home and 10 more in my cageless cat sanctuary in town. Some of my cats lived many years with FelV, but some died young. Mostly the kittens. Kittens don't seem to have much resistance to FelV, as their immune systems are not fully developed. Losing six of your cats in one year is rough. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but thank you for what you do for cats. Being a rescuer is hard and heart breaking at times. Lorrie On 12-28, Amanda Vollaro wrote: Hi there all, just wanted to introduce myself and start some dialog concerning my cat community. I live out East on Long Island and my town is affected greatly by FIV and FELV cats. I have been a rescuer for 20 years and never seen outbreaks so fearsome. For over 15 years I never had FELV cats (a couple of FIV positives, but never symptomatic). Within the last year I've seen 6 of my cats come down with symptoms resulting in their deaths. Two were middle aged and one was a breeding female who lost the battle with FELV after being stressed by litters. Most of her brood has passed away and I now have four left, 2 from 2 different litters. It's heartbreaking to see them become symptomatic,and I recently lost my favorite in very bad circumstances. What I'm writing about is how to get a vet who knows that cat is FELV to help follow through with antibiotics, steroids, and a triple coctail. No one wants to try steroids as they fear the problems with the liver, but the cats die without them. How can I convince my vet to offer the steroids that they need to absorb the fluids once they start coughing? My last vet left me alone and at my wits end with just antibiotics and an IV D5W. Poor kitty died in the middle of the night due to fluid buildup. It seems to me that the vets out here just don't want to treat FELV cats because they consider it a poor outcome no matter what. Your thoughts? Thanks, Manda ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Community
GRAS: Sorry, I didn't see your email until today. Yes, most of the cats are local and can be handled, all except for two who are feral. I have great cat appeal - most cats warm up to me after a few feedings. I'm talking about antibiotics that are presecribed due to the hack/sneeze that the cats seems to develop just before serious complications in respiratory systems arise. Once the fluid has gotten to their lungs, there are various treatments (such as diuretics) that can pull the fluid out, but diuretics cause the elimination of good fluids that the sick cats need. Steroids allow the cats to reabsorb the fluids so that they do not become dehydrated. In this case the antibiotics work double-time; they prevent new infections and treat underlying ones at the same time. The triple coctail refers to treatments similar to what AIDS patients get. As far as I know very few cats have gotten this treatment (I'd have to look up the consituents - it's crazy stuff) but it works in humans and has worked in cats before. Manda - Original Message - From: GRAS To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 5:24 PM Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Community Manda, The vet has to take a blood test in order to know that the cat is either FIV or FeLV positive. Antibiotics should be used only if the cat exhibits any symptoms that require them; I have never had steroids used on a FeLV positive cat, and by triple cocktail, what do you mean? Our vet calls his Vitamin C, B12 etc. shots cocktails. Are you talking about feral cats in a colony or cats that you can handle? I have been doing cats rescue in CT for almost 20 years. Natalie From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Amanda Vollaro Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 5:05 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] FELV Community Hi there all, just wanted to introduce myself and start some dialog concerning my cat community. I live out East on Long Island and my town is affected greatly by FIV and FELV cats. I have been a rescuer for 20 years and never seen outbreaks so fearsome. For over 15 years I never had FELV cats (a couple of FIV positives, but never symptomatic). Within the last year I've seen 6 of my cats come down with symptoms resulting in their deaths. Two were middle aged and one was a breeding female who lost the battle with FELV after being stressed by litters. Most of her brood has passed away and I now have four left, 2 from 2 different litters. It's heartbreaking to see them become symptomatic,and I recently lost my favorite in very bad circumstances. What I'm writing about is how to get a vet who knows that cat is FELV to help follow through with antibiotics, steroids, and a triple coctail. No one wants to try steroids as they fear the problems with the liver, but the cats die without them. How can I convince my vet to offer the steroids that they need to absorb the fluids once they start coughing? My last vet left me alone and at my wits end with just antibiotics and an IV D5W. Poor kitty died in the middle of the night due to fluid buildup. It seems to me that the vets out here just don't want to treat FELV cats because they consider it a poor outcome no matter what. Your thoughts? Thanks, Manda -- ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Community
Manda, The vet has to take a blood test in order to know that the cat is either FIV or FeLV positive. Antibiotics should be used only if the cat exhibits any symptoms that require them; I have never had steroids used on a FeLV positive cat, and by triple cocktail, what do you mean? Our vet calls his Vitamin C, B12 etc. shots cocktails. Are you talking about feral cats in a colony or cats that you can handle? I have been doing cats rescue in CT for almost 20 years. Natalie From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Amanda Vollaro Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 5:05 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] FELV Community Hi there all, just wanted to introduce myself and start some dialog concerning my cat community. I live out East on Long Island and my town is affected greatly by FIV and FELV cats. I have been a rescuer for 20 years and never seen outbreaks so fearsome. For over 15 years I never had FELV cats (a couple of FIV positives, but never symptomatic). Within the last year I've seen 6 of my cats come down with symptoms resulting in their deaths. Two were middle aged and one was a breeding female who lost the battle with FELV after being stressed by litters. Most of her brood has passed away and I now have four left, 2 from 2 different litters. It's heartbreaking to see them become symptomatic,and I recently lost my favorite in very bad circumstances. What I'm writing about is how to get a vet who knows that cat is FELV to help follow through with antibiotics, steroids, and a triple coctail. No one wants to try steroids as they fear the problems with the liver, but the cats die without them. How can I convince my vet to offer the steroids that they need to absorb the fluids once they start coughing? My last vet left me alone and at my wits end with just antibiotics and an IV D5W. Poor kitty died in the middle of the night due to fluid buildup. It seems to me that the vets out here just don't want to treat FELV cats because they consider it a poor outcome no matter what. Your thoughts? Thanks, Manda ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Community
Don't forget to check into holistic vets. My regular vets sent me to a holistic vet to supplement treatment (I had been to her numerous times with dogs' neck, back etc issues). The combination was marvelous. Dixie lived a wonderful life until very close to the endthen she died a fairly gentle death on her own terms. All of my guys and gals see Betty Bosewell as soon as possible after coming into my life. I wish I could do this for my ferals but the trip would be impossible. On Dec 28, 2011, at 4:04 PM, Amanda Vollaro wrote: Hi there all, just wanted to introduce myself and start some dialog concerning my cat community. I live out East on Long Island and my town is affected greatly by FIV and FELV cats. I have been a rescuer for 20 years and never seen outbreaks so fearsome. For over 15 years I never had FELV cats (a couple of FIV positives, but never symptomatic). Within the last year I've seen 6 of my cats come down with symptoms resulting in their deaths. Two were middle aged and one was a breeding female who lost the battle with FELV after being stressed by litters. Most of her brood has passed away and I now have four left, 2 from 2 different litters. It's heartbreaking to see them become symptomatic,and I recently lost my favorite in very bad circumstances. What I'm writing about is how to get a vet who knows that cat is FELV to help follow through with antibiotics, steroids, and a triple coctail. No one wants to try steroids as they fear the problems with the liver, but the cats die without them. How can I convince my vet to offer the steroids that they need to absorb the fluids once they start coughing? My last vet left me alone and at my wits end with just antibiotics and an IV D5W. Poor kitty died in the middle of the night due to fluid buildup. It seems to me that the vets out here just don't want to treat FELV cats because they consider it a poor outcome no matter what. Your thoughts? Thanks, Manda ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://fusion2.fusionhost.com/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
