Re: Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infections
It sounds like Buddha is a real fighter. I had success using a holistic vet to get one of my positives through upper respiratory problems as a young cat. I lost her at about 8 years old. The humidifier will help. Just don't put any kind of eucalyptus smelling stuff in it or anything like that. I'm sure others on the list will have some advice too. I think they have used 'little noses' or something like that. I know the emergency room used some kind of children's nose drops on CC when she was there as well. I hope Buddha turns this around and feels better soon! tonyachandra simms <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I have a few questions and hopefully some words ofhope and comfort about sharing your life with an FeLVpositive cat. My cat, Buddha, tested positive for FeLV 8 years ago. At the time I had him tested he was not sick orshowing any signs that he might be FeLV positive. Hehad been vaccinated regularly, however one of mymothers cats had recently been diagnosed with FeLV andwas quickly deteriorating. Although Buddha and I hadbeen away at college for 2 years, he had spent timewith the infected cat when we still lived at home so Iwent ahead and had him tested just to be on the safeside. When he tested positive it was like someone hadreached in and ripped out my heart. At the time hewas already 7 years old and I had hoped that he wouldlive to a ripe old age. Our family vet suggested thatI have him tested again in 60-90 days to rule out afalse positive, but he said that he probably wouldn'tlive that long. Since Buddha had never been sick a day in his life,Buddha and I decided then and there that he was goingto be one of the rare and lucky few that don't succumbto the disease. Over the next 8 years he lived a veryhappy, healthy and stress free life. He celebrated his 14th birthday on October 13, 2005and it seemed as if he would sail through another yearwithout any problems. However, on November 7th he began sneezing, which thenturned to a runny nose and an irritated, watery lefteye. My husband and I decided he needed to see thevet, but couldn't get an appointment until the 11th. On the morning of November 9th, I woke up to the soundof Buddha having a sneezing and coughing fit. Iquickly noticed that he also had a bloody nose. I hadnever even heard of cats getting bloody noses, so Icalled my vet and told them that it was an emergency. I rushed him to the vet, where after $300 worth oftests, I was given frustrating news. Although all ofBuddha's blood work came back perfect and his organfunction was normal, his red and white blood count wasnormal, and even his cholesterol was good, I was givena bottle of Clavimox for his upper respiratoryinfection and was told to take him home and wait forhim to die. Probably within a week. This was exactly the reason I had avoided taking himto the vet for the past 8 years, which some peoplemight see as irresponsible, however he was never sick,never went outdoors, was never exposed to otheranimals and I was concerned about injection sitesarcoma. Also, I had never found a vet who had apositive outlook on FeLV infected cats. For a month he seemed as if he was going to yet againprove the "vet of doom" wrong, however a little over aweek ago I once again awoke to the sound of Buddhacoughing and sneezing, this time much worse. He wasvery lethargic and could barely open his left eye. Hewas so limp and listless, I was worried we wouldn't beable to get him to the vet in time. This time my husband and I took him to an vet thatpractices alternative medicine, in addition toconventional veterinary medicine and also specializesin FeLV positive cats. It was as if an angel had come into our lives. (Ifanyone reading this has a cat and lives in the NorthTexas/DFW region, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Ballard atthe Alternative Veterinary Hospital)She immediately diagnosed him with Lymphatic Cancerand started him on steroid therapy supplemented withhomeopathic Immune System boosters, stress relievingdrops, Nutri-Cal vitamin gel, and more Clavimox. However, she did say that this was only going to be ashort-term solution and that IF he responded to thesteroid treatment and his tumors began to shrink, itwould only buy us a few weeks to months, a year at themost, which we were more than willing to take.By the time we got into the car to come home he wasalmost back to his old self. He was moving around,vocal and purring.I took Buddha back for his follow-up exam last Friday.His tumors had been responding very well to thesteroids and he seemed to be getting over his upperrespiratory infection. Which brings us to this week. At about 3am Mondaymorning I woke to the sound of him wheezing andsnorting. Like a person with a really stopped-upnose, who still tries to breath through their nose butcan't. I called the vet and she had me come in andpick up some nasal spray and drops for his water. We noticed Tuesday afternoon that he hadn't eaten allday. By Tuesday night he was breathing almostexclusively t
Re: Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infections
In a message dated 12/15/05 9:16:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: and if they're employed the sameway with cats as they are with humans, i'd think that'd be morestressful to a highly compromised cat I must agree. Nebulizers can be VERY stressful on sick fur-kids. Also, I must admit, stressful to the human having to administer it! I think vaporizers are just as effective, although medication is put in nebulizer along with waterI just forget what it was we put in.. (senior moment) Patti
Re: Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infections
Hi Chandra, Thank you for sharing your story about Buddha. What a wonderful story. I hope that Buddha pulls through and will keep him in my prayers. I also live in the Dallas area-Rockwall. I looked up that clinic and have added the information to my favorites in case I need to take one of my kitties. Thank you for the recommendation. I wish I would have known about this vet two months ago, when my Cricket started getting sick. I lost him on November 10th. I am sorry that I don't have any advice on URI's, but I do want to encourage you to continue hoping for the best. I know you are probably beside yourself right now worrying about Buddha, but it sounds as if you have a great outlook on this situation. And praise to you for taking such wonderful care of him for the past 14 years. Please keep us posted on Buddha's condition and if you need anything, just ask. :) Wendy __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infections
i have never heard of any reason NOT to use a hudifier for a FeLV cat, nor for one with cancer--i'd think, speaking as a nonprofessional!, that having unobstructed airways could only be a benefit in any condition! what WAS suggested to me by a persian expert was to get a nebulizer rather than a humidifier to be sure you were getting the correct effect. i've never used one of those, and if they're employed the same way with cats as they are with humans, i'd think that'd be more stressful to a highly compromised cat sounds like you have a great vet, now! GLOW for you and for buddha (i hated cats til i was 26, and one of my shelties became best friends with a beautiful, black, part-persian girl named buddha.. she became FirstCat, and i haven't had a dog since--so any kitty named buddha has a special place in my heart) MC -- MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infections
I have a few questions and hopefully some words of hope and comfort about sharing your life with an FeLV positive cat. My cat, Buddha, tested positive for FeLV 8 years ago. At the time I had him tested he was not sick or showing any signs that he might be FeLV positive. He had been vaccinated regularly, however one of my mothers cats had recently been diagnosed with FeLV and was quickly deteriorating. Although Buddha and I had been away at college for 2 years, he had spent time with the infected cat when we still lived at home so I went ahead and had him tested just to be on the safe side. When he tested positive it was like someone had reached in and ripped out my heart. At the time he was already 7 years old and I had hoped that he would live to a ripe old age. Our family vet suggested that I have him tested again in 60-90 days to rule out a false positive, but he said that he probably wouldn't live that long. Since Buddha had never been sick a day in his life, Buddha and I decided then and there that he was going to be one of the rare and lucky few that don't succumb to the disease. Over the next 8 years he lived a very happy, healthy and stress free life. He celebrated his 14th birthday on October 13, 2005 and it seemed as if he would sail through another year without any problems. However, on November 7th he began sneezing, which then turned to a runny nose and an irritated, watery left eye. My husband and I decided he needed to see the vet, but couldn't get an appointment until the 11th. On the morning of November 9th, I woke up to the sound of Buddha having a sneezing and coughing fit. I quickly noticed that he also had a bloody nose. I had never even heard of cats getting bloody noses, so I called my vet and told them that it was an emergency. I rushed him to the vet, where after $300 worth of tests, I was given frustrating news. Although all of Buddha's blood work came back perfect and his organ function was normal, his red and white blood count was normal, and even his cholesterol was good, I was given a bottle of Clavimox for his upper respiratory infection and was told to take him home and wait for him to die. Probably within a week. This was exactly the reason I had avoided taking him to the vet for the past 8 years, which some people might see as irresponsible, however he was never sick, never went outdoors, was never exposed to other animals and I was concerned about injection site sarcoma. Also, I had never found a vet who had a positive outlook on FeLV infected cats. For a month he seemed as if he was going to yet again prove the "vet of doom" wrong, however a little over a week ago I once again awoke to the sound of Buddha coughing and sneezing, this time much worse. He was very lethargic and could barely open his left eye. He was so limp and listless, I was worried we wouldn't be able to get him to the vet in time. This time my husband and I took him to an vet that practices alternative medicine, in addition to conventional veterinary medicine and also specializes in FeLV positive cats. It was as if an angel had come into our lives. (If anyone reading this has a cat and lives in the North Texas/DFW region, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Ballard at the Alternative Veterinary Hospital) She immediately diagnosed him with Lymphatic Cancer and started him on steroid therapy supplemented with homeopathic Immune System boosters, stress relieving drops, Nutri-Cal vitamin gel, and more Clavimox. However, she did say that this was only going to be a short-term solution and that IF he responded to the steroid treatment and his tumors began to shrink, it would only buy us a few weeks to months, a year at the most, which we were more than willing to take. By the time we got into the car to come home he was almost back to his old self. He was moving around, vocal and purring. I took Buddha back for his follow-up exam last Friday. His tumors had been responding very well to the steroids and he seemed to be getting over his upper respiratory infection. Which brings us to this week. At about 3am Monday morning I woke to the sound of him wheezing and snorting. Like a person with a really stopped-up nose, who still tries to breath through their nose but can't. I called the vet and she had me come in and pick up some nasal spray and drops for his water. We noticed Tuesday afternoon that he hadn't eaten all day. By Tuesday night he was breathing almost exclusively through his mouth. I was able to force a little water down with an eye dropper, but not enough to be of much use to him. We took him in to the vet this afternoon and the vet gave him intravenous fluids and a booster shot of antibiotics and vitamins. She also gave us a can of liquid cat food, which can be fed with with a syringe if necessary. We have been home for several hours and he seems to be feeling somewhat better. He not only ate 1/4 of the can of the liquid cat food, he also had a few bites of
