Flavia & Snowball

Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:02:21 -0700

My belated but no less heartfelt thanks -- it meant and means so much -- to Joan, MaryChristine, Kat, Terrie, Cherie, Barb, Stephanie, Nina, Hideyo, Jen, Tonya, Bramble's Michelle, Jennifer, Gloria, Del, James, Erika, Sheila, Peggy, Faye, Sue, Jenn & Melody for all your messages on and after July 6, a day that for all the wrong reasons will be etched in my brain for ever.
I was touched by the request for pix---I'm not teched up enough to upload pix at the moment but I'm told I can do it with a CD made from my regular pix. So watch this space for a fabulous pic of Snowball with his "arm" around his girlfriend Flavia. Hideyo suggested "the only thing I can think of is that Snowball is such a gentle soul, he could not let Flavia cross the bridge all by herself – so he decided to join her" which I found comforting.
It seems a bit weird that I'm posting this almost a month after it happened--all I can deduce is that that necessary trip to UK really got in the way of grieving for my little furballs. It wasn't possible to talk to anyone about it (my family aren't animal people and don't "get it") and I had no computer access.
Although I'm still way behind with the list email please know my thoughts are with all of you who have suffered losses, and I'm sending positive thoughts for all sick kitties.
love and hugs
Kerry
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 12:40 PM
Subject: Re: Please add Flavia to CLS Belinda

Kerry,
 
I am so sorry.  I know how much you cared for her and she sensed she could make you understand that it was time for her to leave.  I know she is in a better place, not suffering, but missing you as well.
 
Joan
 
 

Kerry MacKenzie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dear all
My sweet, gorgeous little girl Flavia is gone.
It all happened so quickly. When I went in to check on her at 9.30am (she
had seemed fine at 6am and later), she was hiding in the carrier, and seemed
to be breathing more rapidly than the others. I also noticed than someone
had vomited--a first, if my memory serves me right, since they all arrived
in December 2003. I figured it was probably Flavia. Someone else has also
been urinating a little over the past few days out of the box--again, a
first. I thought it was probably Flavia.
So, seeing her fast breathing, I panicked, and took her immediately to the
vet I saw yesterday, Dr Teuber, and she confirmed that her respiratory rate
had increased since yesterday. We ran a PCV, and it had plummeted to 10,
from 16 1/2 at 4pm yesterday.
I actually think Flavia was ready. She didn't want to play at all last night
(she hasn't been able to play the way she used to--leaping in the air to
catch the "bug"--for a few weeks, presumably because she hasn't had the
energy). Her quality of life was going downhill. It's a pity we didn't get a
chance to use the IR, which I had had fedexed to 2 clinics. (Her IR would
have probably begun later this week--I had the housecall vet set up, and
just had to set a schedule.)
I was/am a mess, but Flavia and I had a long cuddle, which was really
lovely, and helped a lot, for which I am very grateful. The vet was a
wonderful woman, who I only met yesterday (Dr Teuber at Higgins, Belinda--do
tell your Chicago friend.). Looks like I may not have terminated my
relationship with Higgins after all...
I am grateful that Flavia gave me the signs today, while I was still here
and able to help her.act on it immediately. The thought of her fighting for
breath for hours, or suffering in any way, while I was gone, and no one here
apart from the petsitter 30 mins a day, was not something I could accept. (I
did not want to hospitalize her.)
I'm going to miss her terribly. I loved that little soul. I've been a bit of
a mess over the thought of losing her for the last 2 weeks, and shed more
tears than I thought humanly possible. She was a tabby, very feminine,
elfin-faced, with streaks of auburn and coffee and cream on her underside
and a long, beautiful, elegant tail. Last night I stroked her with a feather
for a long time and she really enjoyed it--stretching luxuriously. And, of
course, she became much more willing to be stroked and held over the past
few days.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and good wishes. If I'm not in touch
again today, I send lots of healing vibes for all the sick kitties, and I'll
be in touch again the weekend of the 23rd.
Goodbye, my gorgeous Flavia.
Kerry





----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 10:52 AM
Subject: Re: Felvtalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 3...for Michelle L.


> Dear Michelle L.:
>
> There is no point (and much risk) in vaccinating an immune-compromised cat
> who is FIV+ or FeLV+. Vaccinations are an assault of sorts to the immune
system
> and can be detrimental to even a cat with a normal immune system. There
is
> much good info about the risks of vaccines on the website Holisticat.com,
or I
> would recommend highly the book by Dr. Martin Goldstein, The Nature of
Animal
> Healing.
>
> Some vets do still believe that the FIV and FeLV viruses are related, but
> more recent research tends to show they are not just substrains of the
same
> virus. The best that we can do for immune-compromised cats is to provide
them with
> the healthiest possible diet, provide immune support and protect them from
> exposure as best we can to undue stress to their immune system due to
emotional
> challenges, enviromental toxins or other cats that may carry pathogens
that
> their immune system cannot withstand. Other cats are really more of a
threat to
> the FIV+ or FeLV+ cat than vice versa.
>
> I have not done much research on FIV, but got a crash course on FeLV in
> '03-04 with two unrelated kittens I rescued in Oct. and Nov. '02 who
turned out to
> be FeLV+. The strain of FeLV virus (call it FeLV-A) that cats pass one to
> another causes significant immune suppression, but little else. It is
through
> recombining with a cat's DNA and mutating that the more virulent subgroups
> occur, the FeLV-A+B that is associated with lymphoma or other cancers and
FeLV-A+C
> that is associated with nonregenerative anemia/leukemia. In the worse
case
> scenario it is possible for both subgroups to develop to FeLV-A+B+C. At
present
> the mechanism which prompts such mutations is not known. This explains
why
> some cats live for years, even with the virus in their bone marrow, while
> others crash and succumb early on. Have you found out there is a similar
> progression for cats who are FIV+? In general, they seem to have a better
prognosis
> for long-term survival than do FeLV+ cats and I have always wondered if
there is
> any research out there to suggest why this may be the case. I also wonder
if
> the concept of viral load is a pertinent one with FIV and FeLV, as it is
> where corona viruses like Panleukopenia and FIP are concerned.
>
> Since your three cats have already been together long-term, unless they
are
> hostile toward each other and prone to fighting, I would not separate them
but
> just keep the stress in their lives as minimal as possible, provide a
healthy
> natural diet with immune support and supplements to address any symptoms
they
> may have. And, of course, LOVE them one day at a time. I would NOT
vaccinate
> them for FeLV or FIV, respectively. The FeLV vaccine has been implicated
in
> causing a latent infection to become an active one. Most holistic vets
whose
> books I've read do not consider the FIV vaccine to be safe, either.
>
> Sally in San Jose
>


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