Update on Loca
Just a little update on my FeLV+ kitten, Loca. We are giving her interferon 7 days on, 7 days off, plus acat vitamin supplement. She's on Royal Canin kitten food - unfortunately there's really not much of a variety of quality cat food here. So far I am very happy with her progress. She has actually been the healthiest of my 3 cats lately. It's winter here so it is common for cats to get respiratory infections. My adult cat and the other kitten both got sick. I isolated them from her to try to keep her from getting sick. She sneezed for about a day and then was fine while the others were pretty sick. I was happily surprised since I was very concerned that she would be more at risk of being the sickest.
something positive to report
It's been a while since I have written. I have my FeLV+ kitten Loca on interferon and a cat vitamin supplement. We had sort of a scare last week because my adult cat (Timi) got a respiratory infection. He's on antibiotics and quarantined to the guest bathroom. I was so worried that Loca was going to get sick too.For a few days both she and myother kittenFlaco, who tested negative, sneezed a bit. Hewas sneezing worse than her and has a runny nose, so he's on antibiotics too andinthe bathroom with Timi. Locahas stopped sneezing and seems fine. I am very encouraged to see that her body was able to throw off this infection.
Re: LOST OF OUR BELOVED [SASSY]
I am so sorry for your loss. We had a similar situation with one of our cats. She was completely fine one day and lethargic with little appetite and meowing constantly the next. There were no signs earlier that something was wrong. A few days later we had to put her to sleep since she was suffering and there was no hope of improving her condition. Transfusions might have prolonged her life, but not for long and her quality of life would have been bad. I learnedfrom that experience thatwe should do the FeLV blood test to see if the cat has it. My previous vet did not do that for Cleo and gave her theFeLV vaccine. Our current vet who took care of Cleoduring her last dayssuggested testing the kittens we have rescued since then. Unfortunately, one is positive. According to the new vet, vaccinating a cat that already has it (often transmitted from the mom in utero) can actually activate the leukemia. If you do the test and the cat is positive, the cat should not be vaccinated and this site will give a lot of information about what can be done to build up the cat's immune system. I have only been a member for about a month and I have learned a lot.
Interferon dosing and vitamin C
Hi again, I met with my vet and she put Loca on interferon, vitamin C and vitamin E. My neighbor who works at a vet clinic was able to point me to where I could buy the interferon and I got it today. Reading the document wendy sent me it sounds like I should be giving her 30 IU a day. The bottle says 30 IU per ml, so that should be easy to figure out. Unfortunately, she is a tough one to give medicine to. I know the idea is for it to absorb into the membranes of her mouth an throat. Does anyone have tips on thebest way to do this? I have also read that some people give the interferon continuously and others do7 days on, 7 days off. Any opinions on what I should do? Loca is about 5 months, I just found out she tested positive for FeLV, but she is not showing any symptoms at this point. Thanks.
Just joined
Hi Everyone, I just joined this list and thought I'd introduce myself. I lost a cat, Cleo, to leukemia last January. She was only 1 year old. She had been vaccinated, but the vet said she probably received in in utero from her mom so the vaccine ended up doing more harm than good. She was a rescue and the mother was not well cared for. Since then we have taken in two other rescued kittens. The vet weswitched to late last year recommended testing them for FeLV before vaccinating them. My other vet never mentioned this withCleo.One was okay, but the other, Loca,is a carrier. I just got the news today so I am pretty shaken up, having lost Cleo not too long ago. We are going to meet with the vet in the next few days to discuss Loca's situation in more detail. I'm joining this list in hopes of learning more about what I can do to keep her healthy and give her the best quality of life possible. - Noëlle
