Re: [Felvtalk] Bugsy
Sherry, I am so sorry you lost Bugaboo. Big black cats are very special to me, as they always seem so sweet and lovable. I lost my black cat, Voodoo, three years ago when he was only 3 years old. I still miss him so much. Lorrie On 06-29, Sherry DeHaan wrote: > My heart is heavy yet once again.Bugsy (Bugaboo) lost his battle > today.He was at the Sids sanctuary back when I started in 2005.He > was a sweet quiet big black boy.But in the last few months he > started to decline and was not so quite the big boy.But he had a > BIG BOY appetite.Just last night I fed him almost 2 cans of > friskies and some baby food.We sure did spoil him his last days > with us.I will miss you my Bugaboo,so happy I got to tell him I > loved him last night before I left. Sherry > > > "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives more temporary > than our own, > Live within a fragile circle,easily and often breached. > Unable to accept its awful gaps. > We still would have it no other way" ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update
Forgive me, but I'm not sure of Wolfie's history. With respect to hypercalcemia there are multiple causes.If you want to treat it you need to identify the underlying cause. This is often challenging and the treatment (at least the immediate way to decrease the Ca levels) is with diet, fluids and diuretics. You can try doing this, but if you don't identify the underlyling cause it may return to elevated levels. The question concerning his medical condition and whether or not to proceed is a tough one. Why does he have hind leg weakness. This can sometimes be a vascular issue (basically a blood clot in one of the large vessels) or felv involving the central nervous system, or an autoimmune process, etc. Are his kidneys okay (tested for with BUN and Creat.) and liver (AST, ALT, albumin, Bilirubin) and bone marrow (anemic? high or low WBC, presence of lymphoma?). Is his appetitie okay? These things would influence my personal decision of proceeding or not. It seems likely that the elevated Calcium is secondary to some other process, if that process cannot be treated, I would probably not proceed with trying to find out why the calcium is elevated and simply provide IV fluids and a change of diet to keep him comfortable while he is here. If the underlying problem can be treated, I would treat that first and change diet and possibly give IV fluids, then watch the calcium and see if it drops. This is a tough decision at times. Iwish you the best of luck and may God bless. Jenny On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Amy wrote: > I have not used Revolution on Wolfie. > > Wolfie is still acting himself, is eating fine but he is definitely getting > weaker in the back legs. It's really hard to see because I don't think > things are going to get better. He has food and litter on the main floor > but is still choosing to do stairs (making me a nervous wreck). He's > starting to have a tough time with the kitchen floor (linoleum) so I'm > putting carpets down to help. Wish I could do something more for him but I > always feel that way when my leuk positives start going downhill. I hate > this disease. > > Looking for opinions here. Wolfie's calcium was 11.6 when the blood work > was done. Normal is 8.2-11.5. The vet at Cornell wants me to draw another > sample to check his active or ionized calcium to see if his Calcium is > actually high. Would you put your cat through this if your gut is that he > doesn't have long? I asked what we would do if it's high. She said we'd > look at all causes and rule them out and if none of those applied, we'd > alter his diet to try bringing it down. He's anemic and having trouble with > his legs. Would you pursue something like this or let him be in peace? > > Amy > > --- On Sun, 6/27/10, Laurieskatz wrote: > > > From: Laurieskatz > > Subject: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > Cc: "'Carmen Conklin'" > > Date: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 2:06 PM > > > > > > From: Carmen Conklin [mailto:cwshel...@wildblue.net] > > > > Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 12:57 PM > > To: Laurieskatz > > Subject: felvgroup > > > > > > > > Hi, I can't seem to be able to email into the felv group > > today-could you ask > > them a question regarding the Re: weakness in hind legs > > thing?? > > > > I want to know if they had used Revolution on any of the > > cats that had that > > weakness in hind legs problem... Thanks, Carmen > > > > ___ > > 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 > ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update
No idea why he has hind leg weakness. I'll researched all the causes and none seem to apply other than the leukemia. He has had routine blood work every 6 months of his life and we have monitored him very closely as we do all our positive cats. No major problems other than some weight loss and IBD over the past couple years. I don't think I've ever taken one of my positive cats to the vet that some level hasn't been off. Historically when I've drawn more blood or done further testing, it always ends up being nothing. I spend lots of money and put the cats through lots of testing and then 6 months later, the value is normal again. I've just grown to step back and not flip out every time I see a low or high value for that reason. I have to say I still feel sick every time I see the HCT drop in one of them though. So that's my hesitation with taking 3 ml of blood from a non-regenerative anemic cat. He just had a full CBC/Chem which is not a small amount of blood and I'm afraid to draw so much blood again when I think his time with me is limited to begin with. The only thing I can come up with as a cause of the hind leg weakness is long term steroid use. I read that it's more common with injectable steroids so not sure if it even applies to pred. He's been on pred for almost a year. However, I have no doubt that it is the one thing that has kept him alive. Neither me or the specialist I'm seeing are even considering taking him off that as I have no doubt he will crash. We tried weaning him off it a year ago after treating him for hemobart and he started going downhill quickly. That said, his bone marrow is shot. He's been non-regenerative for over a year and making red blood cells from his spleen or elsewhere. We knew he couldn't do this forever so I'm not shocked at where we are, just sad. Since he's been anemic for a year and holding steady, I guess the weakness could be a result of the anemia as well. Yet he doesn't seem weak otherwise really. He sleeps a lot and yes it's obvious he doesn't keep up with the other cats but not so weak that it takes too much energy to walk in my opinion. His liver and kidney values are all normal. Appetite is normal. No signs of lymphoma after 2 ultrasounds, probably has IBD and is on EVO which seems to have helped keep that in check. His calcium is just over normal - 11.6 with normal being 8.2-11.5. I looked at blood work from all my other cats and they all run towards the high end, 10 or higher. So I'm weighing the risk worth the benefit of drawing another 3 ml of blood to see if he's really got a high calcium vs just waiting it out and if he's around in a month or so, rechecking it then. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. My gut tells me that he is close to the point of losing his battle with this disease. I always try to keep hope and remain optimistic but watching one cat after another be taken down by this disease, it's hard to keep the faith sometimes. Fingers crossed, Wolfie will pull through this and defy the odds as he has until now. Amy > Why does he have hind leg weakness. This can > sometimes be a vascular issue > (basically a blood clot in one of the large vessels) or > felv involving the > central nervous system, or an autoimmune process, > etc. Are his kidneys okay > (tested for with BUN and Creat.) and liver (AST, ALT, > albumin, Bilirubin) > and bone marrow (anemic? high or low WBC, presence of > lymphoma?). Is his > appetitie okay? These things would influence my > personal decision of > proceeding or not. It seems likely that the elevated > Calcium is secondary > to some other process, if that process cannot be treated, I > would probably > not proceed with trying to find out why the calcium is > elevated and simply > provide IV fluids and a change of diet to keep him > comfortable while he is > here. If the underlying problem can be treated, I > would treat that first > and change diet and possibly give IV fluids, then watch the > calcium and see > if it drops. > > This is a tough decision at times. Iwish you the best > of luck and may God > bless. > > Jenny > > On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Amy > wrote: > > > I have not used Revolution on Wolfie. > > > > Wolfie is still acting himself, is eating fine but he > is definitely getting > > weaker in the back legs. It's really hard to see > because I don't think > > things are going to get better. He has food and > litter on the main floor > > but is still choosing to do stairs (making me a > nervous wreck). He's > > starting to have a tough time with the kitchen floor > (linoleum) so I'm > > putting carpets down to help. Wish I could do > something more for him but I > > always feel that way when my leuk positives start > going downhill. I hate > > this disease. > > > > Looking for opinions here. Wolfie's calcium was > 11.6 when the blood work > > was done. Nor
Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update
Amy, based on what you have written I wouldn't worry about the high Ca right now. What was his phos level? There is an issue when both Ca and Phos are high but again that wouldn't affect his hind legs. It could be the anemia. In the end we do what we can with the resources we have. He's lucky to have you loving him. Sharyl --- On Wed, 6/30/10, Amy wrote: > From: Amy > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 12:12 PM > No idea why he has hind leg > weakness. I'll researched all the causes and none seem > to apply other than the leukemia. He has had routine > blood work every 6 months of his life and we have monitored > him very closely as we do all our positive cats. No > major problems other than some weight loss and IBD over the > past couple years. > > I don't think I've ever taken one of my positive cats to > the vet that some level hasn't been off. Historically > when I've drawn more blood or done further testing, it > always ends up being nothing. I spend lots of money > and put the cats through lots of testing and then 6 months > later, the value is normal again. I've just grown to > step back and not flip out every time I see a low or high > value for that reason. I have to say I still feel sick > every time I see the HCT drop in one of them though. > So that's my hesitation with taking 3 ml of blood from a > non-regenerative anemic cat. He just had a full > CBC/Chem which is not a small amount of blood and I'm afraid > to draw so much blood again when I think his time with me is > limited to begin with. > > The only thing I can come up with as a cause of the hind > leg weakness is long term steroid use. I read that > it's more common with injectable steroids so not sure if it > even applies to pred. He's been on pred for almost a > year. However, I have no doubt that it is the one > thing that has kept him alive. Neither me or the > specialist I'm seeing are even considering taking him off > that as I have no doubt he will crash. We tried > weaning him off it a year ago after treating him for > hemobart and he started going downhill quickly. That > said, his bone marrow is shot. He's been > non-regenerative for over a year and making red blood cells > from his spleen or elsewhere. We knew he couldn't do > this forever so I'm not shocked at where we are, just > sad. Since he's been anemic for a year and holding > steady, I guess the weakness could be a result of the anemia > as well. Yet he doesn't seem weak otherwise > really. He sleeps a lot and yes it's obvious he > doesn't keep > up with the other cats but not so weak that it takes too > much energy to walk in my opinion. > > His liver and kidney values are all normal. Appetite is > normal. No signs of lymphoma after 2 ultrasounds, > probably has IBD and is on EVO which seems to have helped > keep that in check. His calcium is just over normal - > 11.6 with normal being 8.2-11.5. I looked at blood > work from all my other cats and they all run towards the > high end, 10 or higher. So I'm weighing the risk worth > the benefit of drawing another 3 ml of blood to see if he's > really got a high calcium vs just waiting it out and if he's > around in a month or so, rechecking it then. Any > thoughts or suggestions are welcome. > > Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. My gut > tells me that he is close to the point of losing his battle > with this disease. I always try to keep hope and > remain optimistic but watching one cat after another be > taken down by this disease, it's hard to keep the faith > sometimes. Fingers crossed, Wolfie will pull through > this and defy the odds as he has until now. > > Amy ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] FELV Shelter Insurance HELP!
I need Liability insurance. I tried Kennel Pack and they sent me an apology letter. They won't insure me because I adopt out healthy cats and keep FELV positive cats in the same building. It's not like I keep them together. They each have their own cageless room. I also had to promise never to adopt out the FELV positive cats for them to even consider me and still they wouldn't insure me. I know some of you do this, so I'm hoping you can point me in the direction of people who are a little more understanding to the needs of these kitties. It isn't fair to discriminate against me or these animals. I just want to provide a no kill place for them to live and help find homes for all of the kitties if possible. :-( THANKS!! ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Shelter Insurance HELP!
You might want to try some of the places that do keep AND adopt out FELV + and neg cats. Sounds a bit crazy to me that they wouldn't give you insurance. -Original Message- >From: Marnie Miszewski >Sent: Jun 30, 2010 1:57 PM >To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >Subject: [Felvtalk] FELV Shelter Insurance HELP! > >I need Liability insurance. I tried Kennel Pack and they sent me an apology >letter. They won't insure me because I adopt out healthy cats and keep FELV >positive cats in the same building. It's not like I keep them together. They >each have their own cageless room. I also had to promise never to adopt out >the FELV positive cats for them to even consider me and still they wouldn't >insure me. I know some of you do this, so I'm hoping you can point me in the >direction of people who are a little more understanding to the needs of >these kitties. It isn't fair to discriminate against me or these animals. I >just want to provide a no kill place for them to live and help find homes >for all of the kitties if possible. :-( > > > >THANKS!! > >___ >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] FELV Shelter Insurance HELP!
Marnie, It sounds like you are doing the same thing I am.I also have a building, and I also keep FelV cats in a separate room, but I had no problem getting liability insurance. My cats don't attack people. I only worried about someone falling on the sidewalk out front, or having some other accident while on my property. I simply asked for liability and fire insurance and got it. The insurance company didn't ask me what the building was going to be used for, and I saw no reason to mention the cats, because they aren't like dogs that attack people. I don't understand why your cats INSIDE the building would keep you from getting liability insurance. It sounds like your insurance company thinks you are insuring the cats not your building. > On 06-30, Marnie Miszewski wrote: I need Liability insurance. I tried > Kennel Pack and they sent me an apology letter. They won't insure > me because I adopt out healthy cats and keep FELV positive cats in > the same building. It's not like I keep them together. They each > have their own cageless room. I also had to promise never to adopt > out the FELV positive cats for them to even consider me and still > they wouldn't insure me. I know some of you do this, so I'm hoping > you can point me in the direction of people who are a little more > understanding to the needs of these kitties. It isn't fair to > discriminate against me or these animals. I just want to provide a > no kill place for them to live and help find homes for all of the > kitties if possible. :-( > > THANKS!! > ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update
Amy, I have to agree with Sharyl. Taking everything into consideration I probably would not proceed with evaluating the levels. In human medicine we don't treat unless the value is at least 1.0 greater than the upper limit of norma. My understanding in fact is that steroids can help lower levels of ca. in some individuals. Felv cats are so hard because when they get sick you just end up chasing one symptom after another and we can't seem to cure the underlying cause. I think your fears are founded in the anemia and repeated blood draws. Wolfie is a lucky cat and I will keep him in my prayers. Jenny On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Sharyl wrote: > Amy, based on what you have written I wouldn't worry about the high Ca > right now. What was his phos level? There is an issue when both Ca and > Phos are high but again that wouldn't affect his hind legs. It could be the > anemia. > > In the end we do what we can with the resources we have. He's lucky to > have you loving him. > Sharyl > > --- On Wed, 6/30/10, Amy wrote: > > > From: Amy > > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness- Revolution used? and update > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 12:12 PM > > No idea why he has hind leg > > weakness. I'll researched all the causes and none seem > > to apply other than the leukemia. He has had routine > > blood work every 6 months of his life and we have monitored > > him very closely as we do all our positive cats. No > > major problems other than some weight loss and IBD over the > > past couple years. > > > > I don't think I've ever taken one of my positive cats to > > the vet that some level hasn't been off. Historically > > when I've drawn more blood or done further testing, it > > always ends up being nothing. I spend lots of money > > and put the cats through lots of testing and then 6 months > > later, the value is normal again. I've just grown to > > step back and not flip out every time I see a low or high > > value for that reason. I have to say I still feel sick > > every time I see the HCT drop in one of them though. > > So that's my hesitation with taking 3 ml of blood from a > > non-regenerative anemic cat. He just had a full > > CBC/Chem which is not a small amount of blood and I'm afraid > > to draw so much blood again when I think his time with me is > > limited to begin with. > > > > The only thing I can come up with as a cause of the hind > > leg weakness is long term steroid use. I read that > > it's more common with injectable steroids so not sure if it > > even applies to pred. He's been on pred for almost a > > year. However, I have no doubt that it is the one > > thing that has kept him alive. Neither me or the > > specialist I'm seeing are even considering taking him off > > that as I have no doubt he will crash. We tried > > weaning him off it a year ago after treating him for > > hemobart and he started going downhill quickly. That > > said, his bone marrow is shot. He's been > > non-regenerative for over a year and making red blood cells > > from his spleen or elsewhere. We knew he couldn't do > > this forever so I'm not shocked at where we are, just > > sad. Since he's been anemic for a year and holding > > steady, I guess the weakness could be a result of the anemia > > as well. Yet he doesn't seem weak otherwise > > really. He sleeps a lot and yes it's obvious he > > doesn't keep > > up with the other cats but not so weak that it takes too > > much energy to walk in my opinion. > > > > His liver and kidney values are all normal. Appetite is > > normal. No signs of lymphoma after 2 ultrasounds, > > probably has IBD and is on EVO which seems to have helped > > keep that in check. His calcium is just over normal - > > 11.6 with normal being 8.2-11.5. I looked at blood > > work from all my other cats and they all run towards the > > high end, 10 or higher. So I'm weighing the risk worth > > the benefit of drawing another 3 ml of blood to see if he's > > really got a high calcium vs just waiting it out and if he's > > around in a month or so, rechecking it then. Any > > thoughts or suggestions are welcome. > > > > Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. My gut > > tells me that he is close to the point of losing his battle > > with this disease. I always try to keep hope and > > remain optimistic but watching one cat after another be > > taken down by this disease, it's hard to keep the faith > > sometimes. Fingers crossed, Wolfie will pull through > > this and defy the odds as he has until now. > > > > Amy > > > > > > ___ > 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] rear leg weakness
Sharyl, Wolfie's phos was 2.8 (3-6.6). Amy > Amy, based on what you have written I > wouldn't worry about the high Ca right now. What was > his phos level? There is an issue when both Ca and > Phos are high but again that wouldn't affect his hind > legs. It could be the anemia. > > In the end we do what we can with the resources we > have. He's lucky to have you loving him. > Sharyl > > - ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness
Amy, that sure would cause a problem. Hope he is feeling better Sharyl --- On Wed, 6/30/10, Amy wrote: > From: Amy > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 10:30 PM > Sharyl, > > Wolfie's phos was 2.8 (3-6.6). > > Amy > > > Amy, based on what you have written I > > wouldn't worry about the high Ca right now. What > was > > his phos level? There is an issue when both Ca and > > Phos are high but again that wouldn't affect his hind > > legs. It could be the anemia. > > > > In the end we do what we can with the resources we > > have. He's lucky to have you loving him. > > Sharyl > > > > - > > > > > ___ > 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] rear leg weakness
Sharyl, Are you saying that phos level would cause a problem? Neither of my vets seemed concerned with that level as it was just a tad below normal. Amy --- On Wed, 6/30/10, Sharyl wrote: > From: Sharyl > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 11:19 PM > Amy, that sure would cause a > problem. Hope he is feeling better > Sharyl > > --- On Wed, 6/30/10, Amy > wrote: > > > From: Amy > > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] rear leg weakness > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 10:30 PM > > Sharyl, > > > > Wolfie's phos was 2.8 (3-6.6). > > > > Amy > > > > > Amy, based on what you have written I > > > wouldn't worry about the high Ca right now. > What > > was > > > his phos level? There is an issue when both Ca > and > > > Phos are high but again that wouldn't affect his > hind > > > legs. It could be the anemia. > > > > > > In the end we do what we can with the resources > we > > > have. He's lucky to have you loving him. > > > Sharyl > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > ___ > > 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 > ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
