Taylor,
I must have missed your introduction post. What is your baby's name
with the lymphoma? Are you absolutely sure of the diagnosis? How old
are the triplets now? It's always so hard to hear such terrible news.
Being a mom of a litter of felv bottle babies myself, I really do get
the guilt and responsibility you feel for these guys. Raising kits
without a kitty mom is always precarious. The 3am feedings, watching
them so close for any sign of illness, all the prayers and fears you go
through. The relief when they seem out of the woods, eating on their
own, seemingly strong and self sufficient. Then after all the
painstaking care and nurturing to get the devastating news that they
have a heinous, life threatening illness like felv and one of them,
lymphoma. You must be reeling. I hope you do realize that no matter
what the circumstances that led to them contracting the disease, it's
not your fault. You would never have put your fur kids in harms way had
you known about the dangers. There's really no way to know for sure
when and how they got felv anyway. Being little orphans tells me they
probably didn't come from the best environment in the first place.
Maybe they lost their fur mom so young because she had felv and
succumbed to the stress of giving birth. I guess I'm trying to say,
don't beat yourself up for not being able to control what's happened.
All we can do is all we can do.
Have the other two triplets tested pos as well? What about your other
two cats? How about the "feral" cats of your mother's, how are they
doing? Welcome to the list, we're here for you to support you in any
way we can. Tell us more.
Nina
Taylor Scobie Humphrey wrote:
Taylor Scobie Humphrey
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It is desperation. It's the way aids was before they invented all
those drugs for it. I am having the same problem with one of my
darling triplets I raised without a mommy from two days old. Not only
is he FelV pos but also a diag of lymphoma. It has just been a comedy
of errors, TIME, and $$$$ to get to the right (I hope) oncologist.
This is the horrible part: he got it from my mother's two feral cats
because apparently she never bothered to tame them, which could have
been done at the time--they were babies--or take them to the vet. I'm
an only child and divorced and she won't leave her home and now she
can't see so I moved it and this is what has happened. I feel the
triplets and my other two cats have so nightmarishly betrayed. The
vet screwed up, too, because I always vaccinate my cats for FelV on
general principles--once you'ce seen a beloved FelV pos cat pass away
(at ten--but STILL. . . .) you never, ever want to see that again.
Cassandra, go to the felinelymphomacaregivers.org site.
On Apr 13, 2007, at 6:08 PM, C & J wrote:
I took Tomi to the vet today to have his PCV rechecked. He's been
lethargic again lately. The PCV has gone down to 11 from 17 in the
last week and a half.
I just don't understand it. After his transfusion, his blood count
went up on its own from 13, to 17, then 19. Now in the last few
weeks, its gone down to 17, and now 11.
I've been giving him prednisone again for the last week and a half,
and now all the vet could suggest was to up his prednisone from 1 to
2 tablets a day.
I guess his hemobartonella wasn't the only problem with his blood.
The vet says that its likely his bone marrow is shutting down, and
she didn't think another transfusion would be worth it.
I don't know what the heck else to do. Maybe I should stop his
interferon while giving him the prednisone.
This is so hard, just when I had a glimmer of hope that he might
actually pull through this, now my hope is pretty much gone :( It's
such a feeling of desperation to see him slowly getting worse, and
not being able to do anything about it.
Cassandra
