[Felvtalk] Rosie and Murphy Update-LTCI
We just got the results back from the lastest blood tests-They are still doing great on the Imulan LTCI. We began them in Sept after losing 4 kitties in 5 months (Rosie's brothers). Only one made it to a year old. They developed the anemia so quickly and died within a week of showing symptoms of slowing down. We were desperate to save the last 2 and found references to the Imulan product and begged our vet to order it for us. They have had 6 injections so far (1st 4 were a week apart, then 2 weeks apart. We are at 4 weeks apart now-the next is Dec 4th-then we go to 6 weeks apart-very easy, we give the injections at home to save money) and their HCT levels are great-they have s much more energy and race around the house-I have never seen them play so much. We didn't want to wait until they showed signs of becoming anemic to try it, I hold onto hope that maybe, just maybe they can beat this blasted disease. But they have always tested positive (4 tests in the past year) the last test June 3rd at UC Davis. I am almost afraid to get them tested again and probably won't for awhile. But their HCT levels range from 36-41 and Murphy has gained a half pound since Sept-Now up to 11 lbs 15.5 oz and little Rosie is a solid 10 lbs 1 oz-she surprises us because she is so petite-her paws look like kitten feet! But then you pick her up and get surprised, you expect maybe 5-6 pounds, not 10! Our vets are really excited about the product, this is their first experience with it. We are still giving the Interferon 1 cc orally 2x a day for good measure, since it is relatively cheap and is also somewhat anti-viral. (I'm on the fence with the Interferon...we were giving it to the other 4 that died..I think the dose is really low to have much effect on the virus when it ramps up) I am just glad we didn't wait to start. Even if we just gain months or even a year or two, it will be worth it-losing the 4 siblings in such a short time was heartbreaking. Another thing we noticed...knock on wood firstthey have not had a sneeze, vomited or had the runs since we began the LTCI, even Murphy's bad molar is pefectly fine, no gingivitus. We had open prescriptions for antibiotics in the past because of the constant infections. We are still very anxious over their health, but are beginning to relax a little bit. __._,_.___ ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Rosie and Murphy Update-LTCI
Alice I am so glad to hear this news. I have been thinking about you. I am splitting the first 10 dose supply with a woman who used to be on this list. MeMe has been stable for almost two years but I am heading your (and Jenny's) advise to act now and not wait until things go south. I am hoping it will help her stomatitis. I do not have allusions of this being a cure but anything that improves the quality of her life is so worth it to me. Thanks for updating us and enjoy watching your kitties thrive. I am sure it is a great feeling after the helplessness you felt when loosing those 4 babies at the same time. Jane On Nov 22, 2009, at 3:19 PM, Alice Flowers wrote: We just got the results back from the lastest blood tests-They are still doing great on the Imulan LTCI. We began them in Sept after losing 4 kitties in 5 months (Rosie's brothers). Only one made it to a year old. They developed the anemia so quickly and died within a week of showing symptoms of slowing down. We were desperate to save the last 2 and found references to the Imulan product and begged our vet to order it for us. They have had 6 injections so far (1st 4 were a week apart, then 2 weeks apart. We are at 4 weeks apart now-the next is Dec 4th-then we go to 6 weeks apart-very easy, we give the injections at home to save money) and their HCT levels are great-they have s much more energy and race around the house-I have never seen them play so much. We didn't want to wait until they showed signs of becoming anemic to try it, I hold onto hope that maybe, just maybe they can beat this blasted disease. But they have always tested positive (4 tests in the past year) the last test June 3rd at UC Davis. I am almost afraid to get them tested again and probably won't for awhile. But their HCT levels range from 36-41 and Murphy has gained a half pound since Sept-Now up to 11 lbs 15.5 oz and little Rosie is a solid 10 lbs 1 oz-she surprises us because she is so petite- her paws look like kitten feet! But then you pick her up and get surprised, you expect maybe 5-6 pounds, not 10! Our vets are really excited about the product, this is their first experience with it. We are still giving the Interferon 1 cc orally 2x a day for good measure, since it is relatively cheap and is also somewhat anti- viral. (I'm on the fence with the Interferon...we were giving it to the other 4 that died..I think the dose is really low to have much effect on the virus when it ramps up) I am just glad we didn't wait to start. Even if we just gain months or even a year or two, it will be worth it-losing the 4 siblings in such a short time was heartbreaking. Another thing we noticed...knock on wood firstthey have not had a sneeze, vomited or had the runs since we began the LTCI, even Murphy's bad molar is pefectly fine, no gingivitus. We had open prescriptions for antibiotics in the past because of the constant infections. We are still very anxious over their health, but are beginning to relax a little bit. __._,_.___ ___ 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] Bridget - new positive kitten - questions about treatment
Thanks Jenny. A few questions: Bridget is currently asymptomatic. Could - should - these treatments be used on asymptomatic cats? Would they be detrimental or would they simply have no benefit? And could any of them be used simultaneously with each other? I found some info online on LTCI and immunoregulin and I've printed it out to take to my vet. I'd appreciate any links to studies, info etc. that he might find useful. As for the tortoises - let's just say it's a learning experience for the cats. They have discovered the hard way that not all turtles are slow, and not all have gentle dispositions. Everybody generally gets along well, though. I'll never forget the day that Duncan, my first FeLV cat (he has since passed) met my big Burmese brown tortoises, who'd never seen a cat before. He stood in the center of their pen and just stared as several of the big guys approached, just as curious about him as he was about them. They all touched noses for just a moment, then went their separate ways. I would frequently find Duncan curled up around Jack, my deformed ornate box turtle. And Baby Girl loves to sleep in my hingeback tortoise pen. Laura --- On Fri, 11/20/09, jbero tds.net jb...@tds.net wrote: From: jbero tds.net jb...@tds.net Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Bridget - new positive kitten - questions about treatment To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Friday, November 20, 2009, 5:00 PM Laura, I am glad to hear your vet is willing to try something. It is so hard to watch these healthy young beautiful felv kittens and cats deteriorate so rapidly and die. The treatments I am aware of include interferon - an oral preparation most vets are familiar with and cheap, LTCI (an immunomodulator produced by Imulan, it is a subcutaneous injection - you can check their website and contact them or have your vet do so), Acemannan or ambotrose (either a intraperitoneal injection or oral supplement made by Mannetech I believe is their name you can google ambotrose). I have heard that early on in the disease high dose iv vitamin c can change viral status. Other holistic approaches/alternative meds include Wei Qi Booster (chinese herbal) and raw diet. There are other things out there, but I am not too familiar with them, a group A strep product (it's a bacterial derivative tried in the past with some success, but I haven't seen or heard much recently about it) You really have 50 pound tortoises, wow, that's something else. That is a world I am utterly unfamiliar with. Do they all get along? Well good luck and God bless. If you need any more specifics just let me know. Jenny ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
