[Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver
Hello. Our boy Oliver, has been doing well since his brothers passing due to CRF last Feb but in the past year or so we have seen some signs that we had been reading as old age (less grooming, weight loss...he just turned 15 this August). Thursday night he was acting lethargic and seemed to be warm to the touch. I dropped him off at our vet who suggest it might just be a virus (most of this blood panel was good, except a low white blood cell count, now 2% below normal HCT values since July, and a 105 F temperature). He suggested we might test him for leukemia and FIV as he wanted to rule it out even though Oliver has always been an indoor cat (he used a ELISA snap test...as far as we know he has never been tested for feLV or FIV). The bad news came later when he called to say he was positive for both. He said the FIV could be false if Oliver was every given an FIV vaccination (he has), but the other was likely true (and also explained the low white count and the fever, and now in retrospect some of the other issues). The vet thinks he may have had this all his life and is just now experiencing the symptoms. So now he is home and although I have read up some and don't see much hope, I wondered if anyone can offer any advice. We have sent the blood off to get the more sophisticated test but won't hear back until next week. Our vet, who is the best I have had, suggested perhaps he will last a few weeks or months, given that he is showing signs that his body might be losing the battle (low white cells, anemia). I'm trying to be optimistic, but with no treatments I know this is probably a battle we cannot win. Here are my questions: 1. We have 2 other cats who we think have had the feLV booster recently (they are 14 and 16 years old and got the immunization as kittens). Are they in danger? If they got shots as kittens would they be still safe? We have Oliver with his own litter box and am making sure they use separate water and food bowls. There is not grooming among them. 2. Is there anyway to know if Oliver can still fight off the virus and become free of it? If he did have it for 14-15 years, then why does he have symptoms now? If it was a recent exposure (we cannot think of any way he would have gotten it) then could he still be fine? 3. He seems fine now (no fever, eating, drinking, using the litter box, etc.) so is this a good sign that perhaps he is able to fight it off or is this just a false hope. 4. If the other test is positive, would anyone suggest using the LTCI treatment? I have not found good scientific info on it's effectiveness although there appear to be no major side effects. Thanks. Don and Oliver ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver
I'm sorry you're going through this unhappy experience with Oliver. First of all, I would just like to mention that the FIV vaccine is always a bad idea. It turns the cat positive on testing. If the cat gets lost, picked up by someone who tests him and is not aware that FIV is NOT contagious by any way but deep biting, usually in a fight for mating superiority, then the cat would be killed by a vet or by Animal Control. So please don't use this vaccine. It does nothing to protect your cat because neutering is what protects most cats from FIV, no mating, no fighting, no biting into blood vessels. OK. Back to Oliver. Since you didn't have him tested when you originally offered him your home, he may have been a carrier of FeLv all these years and your other cats, who have been living with him are still healthy so don't worry yourself too much. One of my cats, Tiger, lived to be 14. He had been tested twice for FeLv but tested negative. The disease sometimes hides in the bone marrow and does not show up on the test. He did become very ill towards the end, but it was renal failure that caused his death. Because he was showing symptoms of anorexia and anemia, the vet tested him and he was FeLv+. However, my vet said that if he hadn't had renal failure, he may have survived another year with good nutrition and antibiotics. Tiger lived with 12 other cats. They ate, drank together and used each others litter boxes. They groomed each other and slept together. They were like one big family. None of the other cats ever tested positive for anything even several years after Tiger passed. The very best that you can do now for Oliver is allow him to live whatever the rest of his life is as he has lived the past 15 years, happily and peacefully with not a whole lot of vet visits or stress. Whatever medication you want to try, is OK as long as you research it. This is only my own opinion. You have to take into account what your vet tells you also. It may or may not be FeLv that has become active. It could be an ordinary virus or bacterial infection. Vets tend to jump on the first thing that they are taught might be fatal. I have quite a few FIV+ cats. Every time they get an upper resp. infection, the vet tells me that of course, they are more prone to get infections than ordinary cats. Which isn't true because my regular cats get the sneezes and runny noses more often than the FIV+ cats. I have learned not to do battle with old fashioned thinking in veterinarians. But I do gently remind them that I have had a lot of cats in for URI who were not positive for anything but URI. I will keep Oliver and you in my thoughts. Just keep on loving him and try to lower your own stress level so he won't feel something is wrong. Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty neighbors too! From: Don mosquito.d...@gmail.com To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, September 8, 2012 8:51 PM Subject: [Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver Hello. Our boy Oliver, has been doing well since his brothers passing due to CRF last Feb but in the past year or so we have seen some signs that we had been reading as old age (less grooming, weight loss...he just turned 15 this August). Thursday night he was acting lethargic and seemed to be warm to the touch. I dropped him off at our vet who suggest it might just be a virus (most of this blood panel was good, except a low white blood cell count, now 2% below normal HCT values since July, and a 105 F temperature). He suggested we might test him for leukemia and FIV as he wanted to rule it out even though Oliver has always been an indoor cat (he used a ELISA snap test...as far as we know he has never been tested for feLV or FIV). The bad news came later when he called to say he was positive for both. He said the FIV could be false if Oliver was every given an FIV vaccination (he has), but the other was likely true (and also explained the low white count and the fever, and now in retrospect some of the other issues). The vet thinks he may have had this all his life and is just now experiencing the symptoms. So now he is home and although I have read up some and don't see much hope, I wondered if anyone can offer any advice. We have sent the blood off to get the more sophisticated test but won't hear back until next week. Our vet, who is the best I have had, suggested perhaps he will last a few weeks or months, given that he is showing signs that his body might be losing the battle (low white cells, anemia). I'm trying to be optimistic, but with no treatments I know this is probably a battle we cannot win. Here are my questions: 1. We have 2 other cats who we think have had the feLV booster recently (they are 14 and 16 years old and got the immunization as kittens). Are they in danger? If they got shots as kittens would they be
Re: [Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver
Thanks for your note Lee. I am an old hand when it comes to long term care for a sick cat. We nursed Oliver's brother, Milo, for 3 years with CRF and a heart condition. I cannot count the number of subQ sessions, pills, and assisted feedings I did. Through all of it I educated myself on every aspect of the disease and treatments. Our first vet told us we have 3-6 months, and we had that and a lot more. I also went through several vets until I found one who seemed not only to understand but to try. All of what you said makes sense, but I also wonder about his fever. On Thursday it was 105 but tonight it is normal. What could be made from this? He did get a antibiotic shot. I assumed that the fever was being caused by the virus, but I guess it could have been due to something else. Thanks again. Don and Oliver On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 9:21 PM, Lee Evans moonsiste...@yahoo.com wrote: I'm sorry you're going through this unhappy experience with Oliver. First of all, I would just like to mention that the FIV vaccine is always a bad idea. It turns the cat positive on testing. If the cat gets lost, picked up by someone who tests him and is not aware that FIV is NOT contagious by any way but deep biting, usually in a fight for mating superiority, then the cat would be killed by a vet or by Animal Control. So please don't use this vaccine. It does nothing to protect your cat because neutering is what protects most cats from FIV, no mating, no fighting, no biting into blood vessels. OK. Back to Oliver. Since you didn't have him tested when you originally offered him your home, he may have been a carrier of FeLv all these years and your other cats, who have been living with him are still healthy so don't worry yourself too much. One of my cats, Tiger, lived to be 14. He had been tested twice for FeLv but tested negative. The disease sometimes hides in the bone marrow and does not show up on the test. He did become very ill towards the end, but it was renal failure that caused his death. Because he was showing symptoms of anorexia and anemia, the vet tested him and he was FeLv+. However, my vet said that if he hadn't had renal failure, he may have survived another year with good nutrition and antibiotics. Tiger lived with 12 other cats. They ate, drank together and used each others litter boxes. They groomed each other and slept together. They were like one big family. None of the other cats ever tested positive for anything even several years after Tiger passed. The very best that you can do now for Oliver is allow him to live whatever the rest of his life is as he has lived the past 15 years, happily and peacefully with not a whole lot of vet visits or stress. Whatever medication you want to try, is OK as long as you research it. This is only my own opinion. You have to take into account what your vet tells you also. It may or may not be FeLv that has become active. It could be an ordinary virus or bacterial infection. Vets tend to jump on the first thing that they are taught might be fatal. I have quite a few FIV+ cats. Every time they get an upper resp. infection, the vet tells me that of course, they are more prone to get infections than ordinary cats. Which isn't true because my regular cats get the sneezes and runny noses more often than the FIV+ cats. I have learned not to do battle with old fashioned thinking in veterinarians. But I do gently remind them that I have had a lot of cats in for URI who were not positive for anything but URI. I will keep Oliver and you in my thoughts. Just keep on loving him and try to lower your own stress level so he won't feel something is wrong. Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty neighbors too! -- *From:* Don mosquito.d...@gmail.com *To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org *Sent:* Saturday, September 8, 2012 8:51 PM *Subject:* [Felvtalk] Need advice for our cat Oliver Hello. Our boy Oliver, has been doing well since his brothers passing due to CRF last Feb but in the past year or so we have seen some signs that we had been reading as old age (less grooming, weight loss...he just turned 15 this August). Thursday night he was acting lethargic and seemed to be warm to the touch. I dropped him off at our vet who suggest it might just be a virus (most of this blood panel was good, except a low white blood cell count, now 2% below normal HCT values since July, and a 105 F temperature). He suggested we might test him for leukemia and FIV as he wanted to rule it out even though Oliver has always been an indoor cat (he used a ELISA snap test...as far as we know he has never been tested for feLV or FIV). The bad news came later when he called to say he was positive for both. He said the FIV could be false if Oliver was every given an FIV vaccination (he has), but the other was likely true (and also explained the low white
