Re: [Felvtalk] Trying to do the right thing for Avis who is FeLV+
I am a new member to the FeLV talk site, so please pardon me if I am not following the correct protocol. We found the cat on our doorstep. My daughter found him there when she came home from the high school homecoming football game Friday night. It was starving, and she could not let is suffer. She took it into our garage and fed it. I told her we could let it stay in there the night, but explained to her cats wander, and we need to let it go in the morning to see if it would find its way home. Well, it obviously had no place to go and spent the entire day in our bushes. That evening, it was crying at our front door to come in the house, so we decided to put him up in the garage and give him some food(that poor thing was starving to death). We thought possibly it had a micro chip, so we opted to take it to the vet (he had no chip). We had him vaccinated with all his shots, tested for disease, worms, parasites, ticks, etc (yes, we invested a few bucks...). He is a completely healthy +/- 1 year old with one exception; is has is it tested positive for stage 1 FeLV. The vet gave it some sort of immunization and was optimistic it could test neg when re-tested again, and did not recommend putting him down. Our problem is we really cannot keep it long term. I've posted signs in the neighborhood, went door to door, contacted I can't tell you how many different rescue services, organizations, and people. Our guess was he was dumped in our neighborhood. I know that if we call our local animal control (MADACC), having tested positive for FeLV, they will put him down immediately. He is still a healthy young cat, and he deserves a chance at life. He is an extremely friendly cat that likes to sit in your lap. It has no fear whatsoever of our dog, does not even raise a cackle. He wants to come in the house so bad, and it is tough to sit and listen to him cry to come in. But, we feel staying in the garage is better than the bushes, or euthanization. Please, I need help. This is tearing me and my family apart inside. If you anyone who can/would like a loving cat, please let me know. Brian J ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Trying to do the right thing for Avis who is FeLV+
Brian, it would help us know where you are located. -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Brian Joslin Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 10:16 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Trying to do the right thing for Avis who is FeLV+ I am a new member to the FeLV talk site, so please pardon me if I am not following the correct protocol. We found the cat on our doorstep. My daughter found him there when she came home from the high school homecoming football game Friday night. It was starving, and she could not let is suffer. She took it into our garage and fed it. I told her we could let it stay in there the night, but explained to her cats wander, and we need to let it go in the morning to see if it would find its way home. Well, it obviously had no place to go and spent the entire day in our bushes. That evening, it was crying at our front door to come in the house, so we decided to put him up in the garage and give him some food(that poor thing was starving to death). We thought possibly it had a micro chip, so we opted to take it to the vet (he had no chip). We had him vaccinated with all his shots, tested for disease, worms, parasites, ticks, etc (yes, we invested a few bucks...). He is a completely healthy +/- 1 year old with one exception; is has is it tested positive for stage 1 FeLV. The vet gave it some sort of immunization and was optimistic it could test neg when re-tested again, and did not recommend putting him down. Our problem is we really cannot keep it long term. I've posted signs in the neighborhood, went door to door, contacted I can't tell you how many different rescue services, organizations, and people. Our guess was he was dumped in our neighborhood. I know that if we call our local animal control (MADACC), having tested positive for FeLV, they will put him down immediately. He is still a healthy young cat, and he deserves a chance at life. He is an extremely friendly cat that likes to sit in your lap. It has no fear whatsoever of our dog, does not even raise a cackle. He wants to come in the house so bad, and it is tough to sit and listen to him cry to come in. But, we feel staying in the garage is better than the bushes, or euthanization. Please, I need help. This is tearing me and my family apart inside. If you anyone who can/would like a loving cat, please let me know. Brian J ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org __ NOD32 5495 (20101001) Information __ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Immunity to Felv once exposed then test neg?
Hello All, This question is for a foster kitten I know of that tested felv+. Her name is Sally and she is only 6 weeks old. Happily the rescue that Sally is with knows enough to test again and Sally is being fostered in the meantime. I'm wondering this, if Sally has tested pos once, (assuming it was a true pos), then that means she has been exposed to the disease. If she later tests neg, does that mean she would be immune to felv in the same way she would had she been vaccinated against it? The reason I ask is Sally has a potential adopter waiting for her based on her next test result. This woman already has an felv+ kitty. I'm wondering if there have been any studies done indicating a cat previously testing pos, then throwing the virus and testing neg, is less susceptible to contracting felv when exposed to known positive cats. Nina ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Immunity to Felv once exposed then test neg?
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=567324sk=date=pageID=2 http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=567324sk=date=pageID=2 I did a quick search and found the above link that talks about exposure and reversion (paragraph excerpt below from 2008). I've been away from felv for a while and am not at all up to date on the research. Apparently they now suspect that once a cat is exposed and tests a true pos, (Sally may have tested false pos), then they are considered infected for life whether or not they are symptomatic. If my head weren't hurting so much I might be able to do a better job of translating their veterinary speak. It does appear that they wouldn't quantitatively know the answer to my question at this point anyway. What do you think? Ideas on possible outcomes of infection with FeLV are currently undergoing re-evaluation. In the past, it was believed that about 1/3 of cats became persistently viremic and about 2/3 would clear infection. New research using PCR technologies suggests that most cats remain infected for life following exposure to FeLV. However, they may revert to a non-viremic state that is termed regressive infection. In regressive infections, there is no antigen present in the blood and virus cannot be cultured from blood. But FeLV proviral DNA can be detected in blood using PCR (Pepin, Tandon et al. 2007). The significance of PCR-positive but antigen-negative regressive infections is not yet clear. These cats are unlikely to shed infectious virus in saliva, but may transmit proviral DNA via blood transfusion if used as a blood donor. Prior to the advent of PCR technology, the term latency was used for antigen-negative cats where virus could not be cultured from blood, but could be cultured from bone marrow or other tissues. It now appears that latency is a phase through which cats pass during regressive infection. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Update on our Lydia
Anndrea, First, my greatest sympathy for your current situation. Second, this is the first email I've seen concerning Lydia so I don't know anymore than what's in this email. Here's what I can tell you: 1. felv, especially in younger cats and kittens can be horrible. 2. The main problems Lydia has, according to lab work, are severe anemia (hematocrit of 16%) with a very minimal to almost non regenerative anemia and a lymphocytosis (lots of lymphocytes) Anemia is defined as low red blood cells - red blood cells carry oxygen and carbon dioxide, without them you're in trouble. Regenerative anemia is when your bone marrow is making new red blood cells (this is evidenced by the presence of nucleated red blood cells i.e. NRBCs). The problem Lydia has is that her red blood cell count is very low and her bone marrow is not effectively making new ones. The hard part about felv is that the virus infects the cells of the bone marrow and basically kills their ability to make new cells or causes them to make cancerous cells. Red blood cells only live on average three months. If Lydia does not make new rbcs her old ones will die and she will become more anemic. This is why some people chose to do blood transfusions. You will have to do transfusions multiple times and unless there is some way to inhibit the virus or kill it, the bone marrow will continue to not make healthy rbcs. There are some variations on this theme and nothing in medicine is one hundred percent, but I have seen this stage in a felv cat more than once. I have never successfully beaten it for any decent period of time. 3. The additional remarks at the end of your lab work are really just describing features of rbcs or platelets. Rouleax means the rbcs are sticking together, poikliocytosis means the rbcs are irregular in size and shape. 4. The elevated lymphocytes suggest either they are attempting to kill the virus or that there could be a lymphoma. 5. The bilirubin levels are barely elevated. If higher they could suggest liver problems or a process of hemolytic anemia (felv cats often get this from a hemobartonella infection that infects the rbcs and destroys them) It is barely elevated and there was no mention of agglutination of the cells so I don't think she has this infection. 6. How you chose to proceed is a difficult question. Different people have had different experiences, but mine have never been good once they have gotten to this point. You could try all kinds of things like LTCI injections, mannitol, transfusions, epogen, anemoaid, pet-tinic and others people in this group could suggest. For me, I believe we have to try something new since theses seem to only sporadically work. If they work for Lydia that would be absolutely fabulous and I would love to know, step by step, exactly what you did. 7. There is something that hasn't been tried, to the best of my knowledge, by anyone in this group. It is an herbal tonic comprised of four herbs known to fight cancer and have multiple other medicinal properties. There is no guarantee, but I don't think it would hurt to try. Unfortunately, you don't have a whole lot of time to come to a decision. She is at a low hematocrit and will need some form of intervention shortly. I am sorry I don't have more to offer than this, but I pray that it helps you in some way. God bless you in this one and if I can help you in any other way, please let me know. Jenny On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 12:12 AM, Anndrea DeLozier unspecifie...@gmail.comwrote: I asked some questions a couple days or so ago, and got some wonderful responses! However, I have not figured out how to reply to messages on here, so I am starting a new thread.hope that's ok. I got Lydia's lab work and it reads as follows (I am only posting the tests that came up outside the normal range): Globulin=2.8 (should be between 3.0-5.6) Total Bilirubin=0.5 (should be between 0.0-0.4) Direct Bilirubin=0.4 (should be between 0.0-0.2) Cholesterol=68 (should be between 82-218) Glucose=153 (should be between 70-150) Potassium-3.6 (should be between 3.9-5.3) A/G Ratio=1.2 (should be between 0.4-0.8) RBC=3.44 (should be between 6.0-10.0) HCT=16.0 (should be between 29-45) NRBC=5 (should be between 0-2/100 WBC.WBC=9.1 - should be between 4.2-15.6) Neutrophil Seg=18 (should be between 35-75) Lymphocytes=57 (should be between 20-55) Monocytes=5 (should be between 1-4) Eosinophil=20 (should be between 2-12) Auto Platelet=70 (should be between 170-600) Then there's these, I have no clue what these (and most of the above) are. Poikilocytosis - Slight Platelet Comments - Platelets appear moderately decreased (50,000-120,000) Remarks: WBC Corrected for presence of nucleated RBC's Acanthocytes - slight Rouleaux Slide reviewed microscopically Absolute Neutrophil Seg = 1638 (should be between 2500-12500) Everything else
[Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!!
We just got back from Murphy's vet check. The end of July, he was crashing with anemia-(in office PCV 18) HCT 22.3 RBC 3.5 HGB 5.1 even his Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200 and the lab notation said a count of over 5 was evidence of regenerative anemia-which he was below that level. Our vet had us give him Procrit 3x a week, Doxy, Cypro and an iron supplement. He was getting Interferon 2x a day and we bumped the LTCI to every 2 weeks. He rebounded from that-in 2 months he went to HCT 38.7 RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6. Then 2 weeks ago he seemed to be breathing really fast-I took him in and his lung sounds were raspy and an ultrasound showed lots of fluid pockets, so much that she couldn't see his heart or lungs-she suspected Lymphoma-sent us home with Lasix and Prednisolone to add to his meds 2x a day, lowered the Procrit to 2x a week and we bumped his LTCI to once a week. Dawn on this list said Rutin helped-I immediately went to the health food store and bought the tablets and a pill grinder and put the powder into #3 gel caps and gave him 2 a day. She thought that he may not make 2 weeks judging by the fluid and how much trouble he was having with his fast breathing-it's 2 weeks today and his lung sounds are good-the fluid is 99.5% gone!!! His gums are still nice and pink. We did not do a CBC, but the in office PCV was 36!! I told her about the Rutin and she was impressed (thank you Dawn!!!) and said that they had used it for other conditions, but didn't think of using it on FeLV cats-now she will!! We will stay on the same meds for now but drop the Procrit to only once a week since he seems to be regenerating now. I am so grateful for this list and all of the selfless people out there trying to give these kitties a good life, no matter how short. I have learned so much from all of you and I am no longer afraid to ask my vet questions and to do what I feel is good for my babies. We are all in a limbo trying keep our cats healthy and happy. This disease is horrible-we lost the 4 brothers a year agoI was not ready to lose Murphy-he is such a happy and silly cat-he's a poly with 3 thumbs-he goes click click when trotting down the hallway and acts more like a puppy than a cat. He's not a lap cat, but is right there and likes to lay nearby and reach out and keep a paw on you-just likes to touch. He and Rosie automatically come into the kitchen morning and night and wait for their meds-she is just on Interferon and LTCI monthly-her HCT was 44.7 a few weeks ago. Our vet said to come back in a month for CBCs!! Purrayers and positive thoughts-at least today.Alice and the furry cats that own us!! ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Update on foster cat with FeLV
Hi everyone- A few days ago I posted about a foster cat who tested positive via a SNAP test for FeLV. We brought him in for the IFA test and I just found out that he tested negative! This is certainly very welcome news. I understand that we will have to have him retested, but this result is certainly more encouraging than a positive result! From what I understand, FeLV cats are usually only infectious when they reach stage 5 of the disease. Oscar got in a very brief (30 second) fight with another foster cat about a week ago. I had her SNAP tested (negative) and have confined her ever since pending a retest in 30 days. Since Oscar is not infectious, is it safe to let her out of her confinement or would you recommend keeping her quarantined for another month? Thanks, Rachel ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!!
AliceI'm thrilled for you. I've been concerned...things didn't look too good not so long ago. Congratulations! Sara -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Alice Flowers Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 1:13 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!! We just got back from Murphy's vet check. The end of July, he was crashing with anemia-(in office PCV 18) HCT 22.3 RBC 3.5 HGB 5.1 even his Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200 and the lab notation said a count of over 5 was evidence of regenerative anemia-which he was below that level. Our vet had us give him Procrit 3x a week, Doxy, Cypro and an iron supplement. He was getting Interferon 2x a day and we bumped the LTCI to every 2 weeks. He rebounded from that-in 2 months he went to HCT 38.7 RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6. Then 2 weeks ago he seemed to be breathing really fast-I took him in and his lung sounds were raspy and an ultrasound showed lots of fluid pockets, so much that she couldn't see his heart or lungs-she suspected Lymphoma-sent us home with Lasix and Prednisolone to add to his meds 2x a day, lowered the Procrit to 2x a week and we bumped his LTCI to once a week. Dawn on this list said Rutin helped-I immediately went to the health food store and bought the tablets and a pill grinder and put the powder into #3 gel caps and gave him 2 a day. She thought that he may not make 2 weeks judging by the fluid and how much trouble he was having with his fast breathing-it's 2 weeks today and his lung sounds are good-the fluid is 99.5% gone!!! His gums are still nice and pink. We did not do a CBC, but the in office PCV was 36!! I told her about the Rutin and she was impressed (thank you Dawn!!!) and said that they had used it for other conditions, but didn't think of using it on FeLV cats-now she will!! We will stay on the same meds for now but drop the Procrit to only once a week since he seems to be regenerating now. I am so grateful for this list and all of the selfless people out there trying to give these kitties a good life, no matter how short. I have learned so much from all of you and I am no longer afraid to ask my vet questions and to do what I feel is good for my babies. We are all in a limbo trying keep our cats healthy and happy. This disease is horrible-we lost the 4 brothers a year agoI was not ready to lose Murphy-he is such a happy and silly cat-he's a poly with 3 thumbs-he goes click click when trotting down the hallway and acts more like a puppy than a cat. He's not a lap cat, but is right there and likes to lay nearby and reach out and keep a paw on you-just likes to touch. He and Rosie automatically come into the kitchen morning and night and wait for their meds-she is just on Interferon and LTCI monthly-her HCT was 44.7 a few weeks ago. Our vet said to come back in a month for CBCs!! Purrayers and positive thoughts-at least today.Alice and the furry cats that own us!! ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org __ NOD32 5496 (20101001) Information __ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Immunity to Felv once exposed then test neg?
Nina, I don't want to give you any false hope. It is more likely that an adult cat will throw off the virus than a kitten. There is always a chance the test result was an error. Do you know what became of Sally's littermates. My experience with kittens is that all in the litter tested positive at 4 weeks of age and remained positive. The Momma cat was also positive. It's great that you have a home lined up for Sally if she remains positive. My four positive babies were adorable and I loved every day I had with them. Sharyl --- On Fri, 10/1/10, vixen...@verizon.net vixen...@verizon.net wrote: From: vixen...@verizon.net vixen...@verizon.net Subject: [Felvtalk] Immunity to Felv once exposed then test neg? To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Friday, October 1, 2010, 1:54 PM Hello All, This question is for a foster kitten I know of that tested felv+. Her name is Sally and she is only 6 weeks old. Happily the rescue that Sally is with knows enough to test again and Sally is being fostered in the meantime. I'm wondering this, if Sally has tested pos once, (assuming it was a true pos), then that means she has been exposed to the disease. If she later tests neg, does that mean she would be immune to felv in the same way she would had she been vaccinated against it? The reason I ask is Sally has a potential adopter waiting for her based on her next test result. This woman already has an felv+ kitty. I'm wondering if there have been any studies done indicating a cat previously testing pos, then throwing the virus and testing neg, is less susceptible to contracting felv when exposed to known positive cats. Nina ___ 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] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!!
What a great update. Glad Murphy responded so well to your treatment plan. Hugs to everybody. Sharyl --- On Fri, 10/1/10, Alice Flowers aliceflow...@sbcglobal.net wrote: From: Alice Flowers aliceflow...@sbcglobal.net Subject: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!! To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Friday, October 1, 2010, 4:13 PM We just got back from Murphy's vet check. The end of July, he was crashing with anemia-(in office PCV 18) HCT 22.3 RBC 3.5 HGB 5.1 even his Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200 and the lab notation said a count of over 5 was evidence of regenerative anemia-which he was below that level. Our vet had us give him Procrit 3x a week, Doxy, Cypro and an iron supplement. He was getting Interferon 2x a day and we bumped the LTCI to every 2 weeks. He rebounded from that-in 2 months he went to HCT 38.7 RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6. Then 2 weeks ago he seemed to be breathing really fast-I took him in and his lung sounds were raspy and an ultrasound showed lots of fluid pockets, so much that she couldn't see his heart or lungs-she suspected Lymphoma-sent us home with Lasix and Prednisolone to add to his meds 2x a day, lowered the Procrit to 2x a week and we bumped his LTCI to once a week. Dawn on this list said Rutin helped-I immediately went to the health food store and bought the tablets and a pill grinder and put the powder into #3 gel caps and gave him 2 a day. She thought that he may not make 2 weeks judging by the fluid and how much trouble he was having with his fast breathing-it's 2 weeks today and his lung sounds are good-the fluid is 99.5% gone!!! His gums are still nice and pink. We did not do a CBC, but the in office PCV was 36!! I told her about the Rutin and she was impressed (thank you Dawn!!!) and said that they had used it for other conditions, but didn't think of using it on FeLV cats-now she will!! We will stay on the same meds for now but drop the Procrit to only once a week since he seems to be regenerating now. I am so grateful for this list and all of the selfless people out there trying to give these kitties a good life, no matter how short. I have learned so much from all of you and I am no longer afraid to ask my vet questions and to do what I feel is good for my babies. We are all in a limbo trying keep our cats healthy and happy. This disease is horrible-we lost the 4 brothers a year agoI was not ready to lose Murphy-he is such a happy and silly cat-he's a poly with 3 thumbs-he goes click click when trotting down the hallway and acts more like a puppy than a cat. He's not a lap cat, but is right there and likes to lay nearby and reach out and keep a paw on you-just likes to touch. He and Rosie automatically come into the kitchen morning and night and wait for their meds-she is just on Interferon and LTCI monthly-her HCT was 44.7 a few weeks ago. Our vet said to come back in a month for CBCs!! Purrayers and positive thoughts-at least today.Alice and the furry cats that own us!! ___ 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] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!!
Alice, This is fantastic news. I think you are the first person I know to have reversed a nonregenerative anemia without transfusion. There are probably others but I do not know of them. I would love to recreate your success. To recap since the anemia (was this hemolytic - sounds like since doxy and cipro were added - this dampens my enthusiasm a little but that's okay). 1. Anemia - started on Procrit (3x/week) (doxy and cipro) iron supplement Interferon 2x/day (you said he had been on this already?) LTCI injections every two weeks (I know he's been on this for awhile) 2. This combination caused rebound in HCT - was there evidence of regeneration (I mean obviously there was - but what was the reticulocyte count at that time) 3. Pleural edema or effusion (? lymphoma) added: Lasix (diruetic) Prednisolone (steroid) cut back on procrit (2x/week) LTCI up to once/week (is there a concern with injections this frequently - has the manufacturer any warnings on this?) Rutin 4. Currently HCT good - is his appetite and behavior normal. What is his lymphocyte and platelet count - do you know? So this has all occured in the span of two months. The fact that the bone marrow responded to the procrit suggests to me that at least the bone marrow is capable to responding. The question is, is it the addition of LTCI and interferon that is putting the virus at bay enough for the bone marrow to respond. Are you going to continue with the LTCI injections weekly or planning on cutting back? I am so happy. I really hope that his success continues. If this is reproducible I will be estatic. God bless you for your endurance. Jenny On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 3:13 PM, Alice Flowers aliceflow...@sbcglobal.netwrote: We just got back from Murphy's vet check. The end of July, he was crashing with anemia-(in office PCV 18) HCT 22.3 RBC 3.5 HGB 5.1 even his Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200 and the lab notation said a count of over 5 was evidence of regenerative anemia-which he was below that level. Our vet had us give him Procrit 3x a week, Doxy, Cypro and an iron supplement. He was getting Interferon 2x a day and we bumped the LTCI to every 2 weeks. He rebounded from that-in 2 months he went to HCT 38.7 RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6. Then 2 weeks ago he seemed to be breathing really fast-I took him in and his lung sounds were raspy and an ultrasound showed lots of fluid pockets, so much that she couldn't see his heart or lungs-she suspected Lymphoma-sent us home with Lasix and Prednisolone to add to his meds 2x a day, lowered the Procrit to 2x a week and we bumped his LTCI to once a week. Dawn on this list said Rutin helped-I immediately went to the health food store and bought the tablets and a pill grinder and put the powder into #3 gel caps and gave him 2 a day. She thought that he may not make 2 weeks judging by the fluid and how much trouble he was having with his fast breathing-it's 2 weeks today and his lung sounds are good-the fluid is 99.5% gone!!! His gums are still nice and pink. We did not do a CBC, but the in office PCV was 36!! I told her about the Rutin and she was impressed (thank you Dawn!!!) and said that they had used it for other conditions, but didn't think of using it on FeLV cats-now she will!! We will stay on the same meds for now but drop the Procrit to only once a week since he seems to be regenerating now. I am so grateful for this list and all of the selfless people out there trying to give these kitties a good life, no matter how short. I have learned so much from all of you and I am no longer afraid to ask my vet questions and to do what I feel is good for my babies. We are all in a limbo trying keep our cats healthy and happy. This disease is horrible-we lost the 4 brothers a year agoI was not ready to lose Murphy-he is such a happy and silly cat-he's a poly with 3 thumbs-he goes click click when trotting down the hallway and acts more like a puppy than a cat. He's not a lap cat, but is right there and likes to lay nearby and reach out and keep a paw on you-just likes to touch. He and Rosie automatically come into the kitchen morning and night and wait for their meds-she is just on Interferon and LTCI monthly-her HCT was 44.7 a few weeks ago. Our vet said to come back in a month for CBCs!! Purrayers and positive thoughts-at least today.Alice and the furry cats that own us!! ___ 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] Immunity to Felv once exposed then test neg?
Hi Sharyl, I'm sorry for your loss. I can relate to the heartbreak. My first experience with felv was with tiny babies too. Happily one of the 6 kittens was neg, so I got to keep my special Timmy boy with me, (he's over six yrs old and sitting on my lap as I type this). The person who is fostering Sally has no idea what has become of her Momma or her littermates. I asked that question too. I'm hoping if Sally's test was a true pos and her subsequent test is neg, she might be safe from felv in a home with another pos kitten. I called a veterinary Internist I have used and asked the question. I'll let everyone know what they have to say when they get back to me. Nina Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:41:31 -0700 Nina, I don't want to give you any false hope. It is more likely that an adult cat will throw off the virus than a kitten. There is always a chance the test result was an error. Do you know what became of Sally's littermates. My experience with kittens is that all in the litter tested positive at 4 weeks of age and remained positive. The Momma cat was also positive. It's great that you have a home lined up for Sally if she remains positive. My four positive babies were adorable and I loved every day I had with them. Sharyl ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Update on our Lydia
I also never saw your original post on Lydia, so I don't know what her condition is or what led you to have these tests to begin with. My Fuji had an HCT of 17 about 8 weeks ago. I was very concerned she would need a transfusion. She has since bounced back and hasn't had the anemia since. She does get chemotherapy for lymphoma, but because of a low wbc/neu count cannot get treatments. She has only had two treatments since the beginning of August. At the point where her HCT was so low, I was convinced it was non-regerative because it had been steadily declining. It seems that wasn't the case! Don't give up on your kitty yet! I personally believe that each one has their own special ability to fight. On Oct 2, 2010, at 5:09 AM, jbero tds.net wrote: Anndrea, First, my greatest sympathy for your current situation. Second, this is the first email I've seen concerning Lydia so I don't know anymore than what's in this email. Here's what I can tell you: 1. felv, especially in younger cats and kittens can be horrible. 2. The main problems Lydia has, according to lab work, are severe anemia (hematocrit of 16%) with a very minimal to almost non regenerative anemia and a lymphocytosis (lots of lymphocytes) Anemia is defined as low red blood cells - red blood cells carry oxygen and carbon dioxide, without them you're in trouble. Regenerative anemia is when your bone marrow is making new red blood cells (this is evidenced by the presence of nucleated red blood cells i.e. NRBCs). The problem Lydia has is that her red blood cell count is very low and her bone marrow is not effectively making new ones. The hard part about felv is that the virus infects the cells of the bone marrow and basically kills their ability to make new cells or causes them to make cancerous cells. Red blood cells only live on average three months. If Lydia does not make new rbcs her old ones will die and she will become more anemic. This is why some people chose to do blood transfusions. You will have to do transfusions multiple times and unless there is some way to inhibit the virus or kill it, the bone marrow will continue to not make healthy rbcs. There are some variations on this theme and nothing in medicine is one hundred percent, but I have seen this stage in a felv cat more than once. I have never successfully beaten it for any decent period of time. 3. The additional remarks at the end of your lab work are really just describing features of rbcs or platelets. Rouleax means the rbcs are sticking together, poikliocytosis means the rbcs are irregular in size and shape. 4. The elevated lymphocytes suggest either they are attempting to kill the virus or that there could be a lymphoma. 5. The bilirubin levels are barely elevated. If higher they could suggest liver problems or a process of hemolytic anemia (felv cats often get this from a hemobartonella infection that infects the rbcs and destroys them) It is barely elevated and there was no mention of agglutination of the cells so I don't think she has this infection. 6. How you chose to proceed is a difficult question. Different people have had different experiences, but mine have never been good once they have gotten to this point. You could try all kinds of things like LTCI injections, mannitol, transfusions, epogen, anemoaid, pet-tinic and others people in this group could suggest. For me, I believe we have to try something new since theses seem to only sporadically work. If they work for Lydia that would be absolutely fabulous and I would love to know, step by step, exactly what you did. 7. There is something that hasn't been tried, to the best of my knowledge, by anyone in this group. It is an herbal tonic comprised of four herbs known to fight cancer and have multiple other medicinal properties. There is no guarantee, but I don't think it would hurt to try. Unfortunately, you don't have a whole lot of time to come to a decision. She is at a low hematocrit and will need some form of intervention shortly. I am sorry I don't have more to offer than this, but I pray that it helps you in some way. God bless you in this one and if I can help you in any other way, please let me know. Jenny On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 12:12 AM, Anndrea DeLozier unspecifie...@gmail.comwrote: I asked some questions a couple days or so ago, and got some wonderful responses! However, I have not figured out how to reply to messages on here, so I am starting a new thread.hope that's ok. I got Lydia's lab work and it reads as follows (I am only posting the tests that came up outside the normal range): Globulin=2.8 (should be between 3.0-5.6) Total Bilirubin=0.5 (should be between 0.0-0.4) Direct Bilirubin=0.4 (should be between 0.0-0.2) Cholesterol=68 (should be between 82-218) Glucose=153 (should be between 70-150) Potassium-3.6 (should be between 3.9-5.3)
Re: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!! jbero tds.net (Jenny)
Hi Jenny! OK-we live at the vet-LOL With FeLV, the sooner you can nip anything in the bud, the better. Murphy was put on Cyproheptadine in April for sneezing-we thought allergies because he liked to hang out at the screen door to watch the birds. I had been giving fewer LTCI shots-went to 8 weeks-dumb.the end of July he became anemic-still sneezing and now lethargic, he had lost almost a pound in the 3 months. July 23-He has always tested negative for FHM (formerly known as Hemobartonella). We added the Doxy 2x a day (1/4 of a 100mg tab that I put in a gel cap with the 1/2 tab of 4 mg Cypro) on July 23, along with Procrit 3x a week and the iron capsule 1x a day. Still on Interferon 1cc 2x a day (both he and Rosie). I think the Doxy as more of a preventative measure. He had lots of URIs his first year. Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200. Autoplatelet 744..Large platelets present, Slight Howell jolly bodies persent. No FHM seen. Went to every 2 wks with the LTCI. Aug 6 he had a temp of 104.7 and was given a shot of .5 ml PennG which I repeated every 5 days at home. But his in-office PCV was up to 27 from 18 in July. CBCs- RBC 3.07 HGB 6.9 HCT 22.5 Autoplatelet 897 Platelets appear increased Large platelets present Absolute Reticulocyte count 70610 Marked degree of regeneration. Sept 18-Breathing too fast-103.5 temp ultrasound showed fluid in the chest cavity and she could not see his heart and lungs on the test-his breathing was raspy. Added Prednisolone 5mg 2x a day and Lasix 1/2 tab 2x a day (I put both in one gelcap) CBC showed RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6 HCT 38.7 (no reticulocyte done) Auto Platelet 621 Platelets appear increased. Decreased Procrit to 2x a week and Iron capsule to one every other night. Added Rutin when Dawn wrote about using it and it helped her cat-1 gel cap 2x a day. LTCI once a week. Today Oct 1 Marked Improvements! ultrasound showed very scant fluid -lung sounds great. In office PCV 36 TP 6-continue the meds except decrease the Procrit (21 units in an insulin syringe) to once a week-mucous membranes nice and pink, temp 101.1, up to 11 lbs 1/2 oz (from 10 lbs Aug 6 but he was 12 lbs a year ago) Come back in a month for CBC (Hahahaha-we didn't know if he was going to make it to this appt and now it's see ya in a month!!) Wooo Hooo!! He has a good appetite-loves the AD wet food from the vet, strained ham is his favorite baby food-he eats dry food really well also-blue buffalo with probiotics and a few other premium grain free holistic foods without fishmeal (some fishmeal is preserved with carcinogens). I do let him have some junk food-LOL cuz he loves the hairball control treats in the silver package, and he is a fluffy boy. I hope you can make sense of the numbers. It's one heck of a roller coaster ride. Alice ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!! jbero tds.net (Jenny)
Hi Alice, Thanks so much for sharing all this. I'm learning a lot following your posts and am so happy that Murphy is having a comeback. If you don't mind answering some more questions, I would very much appreciate it. Just this week I found out by pure accident that the awesome Avis is FeLV+. His counts show nonregenerative anemia: RBC 4.37, HCT 21%. I'd love to get these numbers up a little, or at least keep them from going down for as long as possible. Because right now, he is loving life: eats well, plays with Max the Dog, stalks all those critters on the other side of the window purrs purrs purrs. So, the questions: 1) How long have Murphy Rosie been taking LTCI shots how have they benefited from them? 2) Ditto Interferon -- how long what benefits. Also, do you use the feline Interferon (omega) version if so, how do you get it? Because my understanding is that feline interferon is only available in Europe, maybe Canada, and that there are some risks to using human interferon. 3) Procit -- I was under the impression that Procrit/Epogen is used when the anemia is a result of chronic renal failure. Does Murphy have CRF? 4) Any experience/thoughts on ImmunoRegulin Staph Protein A? I am struggling with what treatments to try and when to start. Is sooner better or should I keep these treatments in reserve for when HCT goes under 20%? Thanks again, hearing your real world experience helps tremendously! Kris B. From: Alice Flowers aliceflow...@sbcglobal.net To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Fri, October 1, 2010 8:01:24 PM Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Murphy's little comeback-he definitely has 9 lives!! jbero tds.net (Jenny) Hi Jenny! OK-we live at the vet-LOL With FeLV, the sooner you can nip anything in the bud, the better. Murphy was put on Cyproheptadine in April for sneezing-we thought allergies because he liked to hang out at the screen door to watch the birds. I had been giving fewer LTCI shots-went to 8 weeks-dumb.the end of July he became anemic-still sneezing and now lethargic, he had lost almost a pound in the 3 months. July 23-He has always tested negative for FHM (formerly known as Hemobartonella). We added the Doxy 2x a day (1/4 of a 100mg tab that I put in a gel cap with the 1/2 tab of 4 mg Cypro) on July 23, along with Procrit 3x a week and the iron capsule 1x a day. Still on Interferon 1cc 2x a day (both he and Rosie). I think the Doxy as more of a preventative measure. He had lots of URIs his first year. Absolute Reticulocyte count was 35200. Autoplatelet 744..Large platelets present, Slight Howell jolly bodies persent. No FHM seen. Went to every 2 wks with the LTCI. Aug 6 he had a temp of 104.7 and was given a shot of .5 ml PennG which I repeated every 5 days at home. But his in-office PCV was up to 27 from 18 in July. CBCs- RBC 3.07 HGB 6.9 HCT 22.5 Autoplatelet 897 Platelets appear increased Large platelets present Absolute Reticulocyte count 70610 Marked degree of regeneration. Sept 18-Breathing too fast-103.5 temp ultrasound showed fluid in the chest cavity and she could not see his heart and lungs on the test-his breathing was raspy. Added Prednisolone 5mg 2x a day and Lasix 1/2 tab 2x a day (I put both in one gelcap) CBC showed RBC 6.48 HGB 11.6 HCT 38.7 (no reticulocyte done) Auto Platelet 621 Platelets appear increased. Decreased Procrit to 2x a week and Iron capsule to one every other night. Added Rutin when Dawn wrote about using it and it helped her cat-1 gel cap 2x a day. LTCI once a week. Today Oct 1 Marked Improvements! ultrasound showed very scant fluid -lung sounds great. In office PCV 36 TP 6-continue the meds except decrease the Procrit (21 units in an insulin syringe) to once a week-mucous membranes nice and pink, temp 101.1, up to 11 lbs 1/2 oz (from 10 lbs Aug 6 but he was 12 lbs a year ago) Come back in a month for CBC (Hahahaha-we didn't know if he was going to make it to this appt and now it's see ya in a month!!) Wooo Hooo!! He has a good appetite-loves the AD wet food from the vet, strained ham is his favorite baby food-he eats dry food really well also-blue buffalo with probiotics and a few other premium grain free holistic foods without fishmeal (some fishmeal is preserved with carcinogens). I do let him have some junk food-LOL cuz he loves the hairball control treats in the silver package, and he is a fluffy boy. I hope you can make sense of the numbers. It's one heck of a roller coaster ride. Alice ___ 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] Kris re: Murphy and Rosie's meds so far
Aww Kris-I am so sorry you are going through this and we all have to meet here-Avis' numbers are so similar to Murphy's in July. I am so glad your little terrier has found his soulmate-LOL I'll try and remember the questions I tend to wander: Interferon-we had caught a litter of 5 wild little ferals, (Oct 2008 about 8 wks old) all with snotty faces, some had eyes glued shut with yellow mucous, one had sores inside his mouth (calici virus?)-treated all for URIs, ear mites, fleas, ear and eye infections, worms-you name it-we got them all well after days and nights of taming, cuddling, washing snotty faces and scrubbing butts-original goal was to tame, neuter, vaccinate and adopt out the kitties. Got them their kitten shots-they looked nice and healthy-took them to be tested-all 5 positive. That vet kinda just stared at us and asked what are you going to do with them?-I said we just got them healthy-look at them, purring little fur balls-she said some people opted to euthanize FeLV+ cats and you don't want them around non FeLV cats...well, I didn't know about the disease-we went home and rather than adopt them out and take a chance they be let outdoors, kept them-I guess I showed her LOL. Got them all neutered. We found a nice vet clinic-cats only and got them on the Interferon when they were about 4-5 months old. It was 1cc once a day. With their bad immune systems, someone was always sick-we had a constant prescription for Zithromax at the Walmart pharmacy-we'd get the bigger bottle and add our own water at home so we could mix up 1/2 at a time as needed-the kittens got really used to the strawberry flavor! Then we found Murphy in with the feral colony the kittens came from-he was such a sweet kitty-fluffy tuxedo with all those toes! 7 on the fronts, he looked like he was wearing ov-gloves. Unfortunately we left him there while we posted photo ads in the paper and on-line-surely someone was missing him-a month, not one call. We decided to take him to clinic and get neutered and vaccinated to adopt out-we got the call, he was positive and they were going to euthanize him unless I wanted to add him to my gang. So being Murphy's law-he got a name! The 4 brothers died a month apart, beginning when Buster was 8 months old-the anemia hits so fast. One day he was playing hard-somersaults, running-2 days later he was at the vet with PCV of 8. The second one, Jack we rushed to UC Davis in the middle of the night-we opted to try a transfusion-he had a bad reaction during the procedure, we told them to stop and let him go to his brother. You know, we took the remaining 4 to UC Davis, thinking they would be more advanced and have something great to treat them-got all the blood work done and exams. Nothing more to tell us than we had already been learning. I was so desperate to find help.Then Oni, he became anemic and died at home in my son's arms-horrible.The last was almost a year old when he became anemic-had trouble breathing and was crying out-he went to Davis at midnight, when they gave him the shot, fluid bubbled out of his nose. Anemia seems to hit so darn quickly. That was Aug 09. After finding some articles on line regarding the peak anti viral qualities of Interferon (Alpha) not lasting 24 hours, we discussed with our vet the 2x a day and she did not think it would hurt them. We found the articles on LTCI and took them to our vet and asked her to order it for us. She spoke with their vets and thought it may help boost their immune systems. We began in Sept 09 with once a week for a month, then every 2 weeks for a month, then monthly etc. We kept tabs on their CBCs and they seemed to be doing well, so I decided to go to 6 and 8 weeks on the injections. Then Murphy became anemic in July and he actually, 2 weeks after beginning the Procrit, stopped eating and moving-I was using a little syringe to give him canned AD and strained baby food (chicken and ham). I'd give him a syringe full (only 3cc) of water every half hour or so. On the 3rd or 4th day he became more alert and began to eat on his own but I'd still give him water now and then to keep him hydrated. It takes time to get the body working again-I do not know for sure how the Procrit (Epogen) works but I think the kidneys have a role in RBC production and it stimulates the kidneys to produce that element (a hormone?? I don't know) in case the kidneys have quit making it. He is not CRF as far as I know and the fact that we can reduce the Procrit so quickly seems to point to his kidneys functioning ok. This is a horrible disease-your babies can be sleek, shiny pictures of health and energy one day and be on death's door the next-I have never cried so much in my lifeand I was not really a cat person...I guess I is one now! LOL. Rosie is now a year and 2 months-she is the survivor of the litter, a small sleek tabby-very hyper-busy and Murphy is about 2 months older-the polar
