Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[grace mifsud]

Welcome to the group Sandy

Grace

 

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Sandy 
Noneofyourbusiness
Sent: 22 October 2014 17:19
To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction

 

Hi everyone! I am new here so if I do something wrong, let me know. This kind 
of group is set up different than what I am used to.

My male friend moved back to Wisconsin, from Tucson, AZ back in 2012. He 
brought with him ‘9’ of his cats. ALL had FeLV. Shortly after he moved here, 5 
of his cats died.(stress and fleas) A friend of his had to have brought them 
over with him when he was visiting.

We were friends back in the mid 70’s, and we ended up dating and now we have 
been living together for about a 

1 1/2 yrs. I had a FeLV free cat and 2 dogs. It was a HARD decision but all I 
could do is vaccinate my cat for FeLV and pray he does not get it.(it is about 
75% effective?)

Anyway, what I was going to say, that cats having FeLV is not a death sentence, 
so do not count on them to be dying early. One cat of my boyfriend’s,(Clyde) 
was 13 yrs. old before he died. 

Right now we have Oliver(4 years 4 mos.), Diamond(9 yrs. 10 months),Dora 
Jean(10 yrs. 4 mos.),Sheila(4 yrs.) and Wilma(3 yrs. 6 mos.). I also have 2 
dogs, Ryder(8 yrs. 6 mos.) and last but not least, Ozzie(12 yrs. 8 mos.). 

ALL cats are healthy and always have been, so far. Diamond does have a tumor in 
his throat(ear) area that just doing surgery would most likely kill him from 
stress.(it is not FeLV related) So as long as he eats and has no pain and no 
other issues, we will keep him alive. He is a very happy cat.  

My oldest dog,Ozzie, might have blastomycosis.(2nd dog of mine that has had it) 
The vet should be letting me know today/tomorrow. Since he is so old, I will 
not treat him and just put him to sleep.(UGH!) He also has an enlarged heart. 
So I may have to make that tough decision that we ALL hate.

Sorry this is so long, just wanted to do an intro.

Sandy

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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[Grant, Mary A.]

Sandy,

It is so good to hear some FeLV success stories.  Thank you.  We trapped our 
Sundae last year.  She was living in our yard and we brought her in at about 12 
weeks.  She has been on interferon for about a year now, and so far she’s good. 
 I take her for a wellness check up every three months.  I am hopeful that her 
immune system is built up enough for her to stay strong.  We also have 3 cats 
who are not FeLV+  we vaccinated them after they were exposed to Sundae (long 
story) but we had them tested twice and they are healthy.  My fur kids mean the 
world to my husband and I.  It’s so nice to hear of other cats living 
reasonably long lives.

Best,

Mary

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of grace 
mifsud
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 2:15 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

Welcome to the group Sandy
Grace

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Sandy 
Noneofyourbusiness
Sent: 22 October 2014 17:19
To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgmailto:Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction

Hi everyone! I am new here so if I do something wrong, let me know. This kind 
of group is set up different than what I am used to.
My male friend moved back to Wisconsin, from Tucson, AZ back in 2012. He 
brought with him ‘9’ of his cats. ALL had FeLV. Shortly after he moved here, 5 
of his cats died.(stress and fleas) A friend of his had to have brought them 
over with him when he was visiting.
We were friends back in the mid 70’s, and we ended up dating and now we have 
been living together for about a
1 1/2 yrs. I had a FeLV free cat and 2 dogs. It was a HARD decision but all I 
could do is vaccinate my cat for FeLV and pray he does not get it.(it is about 
75% effective?)
Anyway, what I was going to say, that cats having FeLV is not a death sentence, 
so do not count on them to be dying early. One cat of my boyfriend’s,(Clyde) 
was 13 yrs. old before he died.
Right now we have Oliver(4 years 4 mos.), Diamond(9 yrs. 10 months),Dora 
Jean(10 yrs. 4 mos.),Sheila(4 yrs.) and Wilma(3 yrs. 6 mos.). I also have 2 
dogs, Ryder(8 yrs. 6 mos.) and last but not least, Ozzie(12 yrs. 8 mos.).
ALL cats are healthy and always have been, so far. Diamond does have a tumor in 
his throat(ear) area that just doing surgery would most likely kill him from 
stress.(it is not FeLV related) So as long as he eats and has no pain and no 
other issues, we will keep him alive. He is a very happy cat.
My oldest dog,Ozzie, might have blastomycosis.(2nd dog of mine that has had it) 
The vet should be letting me know today/tomorrow. Since he is so old, I will 
not treat him and just put him to sleep.(UGH!) He also has an enlarged heart. 
So I may have to make that tough decision that we ALL hate.
Sorry this is so long, just wanted to do an intro.
Sandy



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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[Maya D'Alessio]

The studies I read indicate that only 15% of adult cats challenged with
felv will succumb to the disease and become long term positive.
On Oct 22, 2014 2:24 PM, Grant, Mary A. mgr...@mofo.com wrote:

  Sandy,



 It is so good to hear some FeLV success stories.  Thank you.  We trapped
 our Sundae last year.  She was living in our yard and we brought her in at
 about 12 weeks.  She has been on interferon for about a year now, and so
 far she’s good.  I take her for a wellness check up every three months.  I
 am hopeful that her immune system is built up enough for her to stay
 strong.  We also have 3 cats who are not FeLV+  we vaccinated them after
 they were exposed to Sundae (long story) but we had them tested twice and
 they are healthy.  My fur kids mean the world to my husband and I.  It’s so
 nice to hear of other cats living reasonably long lives.



 Best,



 Mary



 *From:* Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] *On Behalf
 Of *grace mifsud
 *Sent:* Wednesday, October 22, 2014 2:15 PM
 *To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 *Subject:* Re: [Felvtalk] introduction



 Welcome to the group Sandy

 Grace



 *From:* Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
 felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] *On Behalf Of *Sandy
 Noneofyourbusiness
 *Sent:* 22 October 2014 17:19
 *To:* Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 *Subject:* [Felvtalk] introduction



 Hi everyone! I am new here so if I do something wrong, let me know. This
 kind of group is set up different than what I am used to.

 My male friend moved back to Wisconsin, from Tucson, AZ back in 2012. He
 brought with him ‘9’ of his cats. ALL had FeLV. Shortly after he moved
 here, 5 of his cats died.(stress and fleas) A friend of his had to have
 brought them over with him when he was visiting.

 We were friends back in the mid 70’s, and we ended up dating and now we
 have been living together for about a

 1 1/2 yrs. I had a FeLV free cat and 2 dogs. It was a HARD decision but
 all I could do is vaccinate my cat for FeLV and pray he does not get it.(it
 is about 75% effective?)

 Anyway, what I was going to say, that cats having FeLV is not a death
 sentence, so do not count on them to be dying early. One cat of my
 boyfriend’s,(Clyde) was 13 yrs. old before he died.

 Right now we have Oliver(4 years 4 mos.), Diamond(9 yrs. 10 months),Dora
 Jean(10 yrs. 4 mos.),Sheila(4 yrs.) and Wilma(3 yrs. 6 mos.). I also have 2
 dogs, Ryder(8 yrs. 6 mos.) and last but not least, Ozzie(12 yrs. 8 mos.).

 ALL cats are healthy and always have been, so far. Diamond does have a
 tumor in his throat(ear) area that just doing surgery would most likely
 kill him from stress.(it is not FeLV related) So as long as he eats and has
 no pain and no other issues, we will keep him alive. He is a very happy
 cat.

 My oldest dog,Ozzie, might have blastomycosis.(2nd dog of mine that has
 had it) The vet should be letting me know today/tomorrow. Since he is so
 old, I will not treat him and just put him to sleep.(UGH!) He also has an
 enlarged heart. So I may have to make that tough decision that we ALL hate.

 Sorry this is so long, just wanted to do an intro.

 Sandy


 

 This message contains information which may be confidential and
 privileged. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the
 addressee), you may not use, copy or disclose to anyone the message or any
 information contained in the message. If you have received the message in
 error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail mgr...@mofo.com, and
 delete the message.

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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[Margo]

-Original Message- From: Maya D'Alessio <mde...@gmail.com>Sent: Oct 22, 2014 3:12 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction "The studies I read indicate that only 15% of adult cats challenged withfelv will succumb to the disease and become long term positive"..
Hi Maya,
 Would you please link to those studies, or tell me where I might find them?
Thanks!
Margo

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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[Maya D'Alessio]

Biology of Feline Leukemia in the natural environment
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/36/2_Part_2/582.full.pdf This
article mentions 12% of a test group of cats were infected when left with
FeLV+ cats.  I can't find the original article I saw the 15% number in, but
I know I read it in another article.



On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 4:12 PM, Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.net
wrote:



  -Original Message-
 From: Maya D'Alessio
 Sent: Oct 22, 2014 3:12 PM
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

 The studies I read indicate that only 15% of adult cats challenged with
 felv will succumb to the disease and become long term positive.
 .

 Hi Maya,

Would you please link to those studies, or tell me where I
 might find them?

 Thanks!

 Margo


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-- 
Maya D'Alessio
PhD student
B1 377B, x32320
Graduate Studies Endowment Fund Coordinator
Biology GSA Vice Chair
GSA Director At-Large
University of Waterloo
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[Matt Pardo]

Thanks for sharing that article Maya!

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Maya 
D'Alessio
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 4:32 PM
To: Margo; felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

Biology of Feline Leukemia in the natural 
environmenthttp://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/36/2_Part_2/582.full.pdf 
This article mentions 12% of a test group of cats were infected when left with 
FeLV+ cats.  I can't find the original article I saw the 15% number in, but I 
know I read it in another article.



On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 4:12 PM, Margo 
toomanykitti...@earthlink.netmailto:toomanykitti...@earthlink.net wrote:


-Original Message-
From: Maya D'Alessio
Sent: Oct 22, 2014 3:12 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgmailto:felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

The studies I read indicate that only 15% of adult cats challenged with
felv will succumb to the disease and become long term positive.
.

Hi Maya,

   Would you please link to those studies, or tell me where I might 
find them?

Thanks!

Margo

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--
Maya D'Alessio
PhD student
B1 377B, x32320
Graduate Studies Endowment Fund Coordinator
Biology GSA Vice Chair
GSA Director At-Large
University of Waterloo
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction

[dlgegg]

sANDY, NEVER APOLIGISE.  ANYTHING WE LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER IS TO OUR GAIN.  I 
HAVE HAD 2 POSITIVE FELV CATS.  ONE DIED AFTER ABOUT 2 YEARS, BUT SHE HAD MANY 
OTHER ISSUES INCLUDING A RACCON BITING OFF HER TAIL.  ANNIE IS STIL FIT AS A 
FIDDLE AND GIVING EVERYONE ELSE FITS.  THE OTHERS ARE ALL VACCINATED AGAINST 
FELV AND SO FAR, ALL END UP DYING OF OLD AGE, USUALLY 18  OR SO.  i THIN THAT 
GIVING THEM LOTS OF LOVE, GOOD FOOD AND MEDICAL TREATMENT WHEN NEEDED COUNTS 
FOR SO MUCH.  KEEP ON ADOPTING, YOUR LIFE WILL BE FULL.
DORLIS


 Sandy Noneofyourbusiness furkids2...@live.com wrote: 
 Hi everyone! I am new here so if I do something wrong, let me know. This kind 
 of group is set up different than what I am used to.
 My male friend moved back to Wisconsin, from Tucson, AZ back in 2012. He 
 brought with him ‘9’ of his cats. ALL had FeLV. Shortly after he moved here, 
 5 of his cats died.(stress and fleas) A friend of his had to have brought 
 them over with him when he was visiting.
 We were friends back in the mid 70’s, and we ended up dating and now we have 
 been living together for about a 
 1 1/2 yrs. I had a FeLV free cat and 2 dogs. It was a HARD decision but all I 
 could do is vaccinate my cat for FeLV and pray he does not get it.(it is 
 about 75% effective?)
 Anyway, what I was going to say, that cats having FeLV is not a death 
 sentence, so do not count on them to be dying early. One cat of my 
 boyfriend’s,(Clyde) was 13 yrs. old before he died. 
 Right now we have Oliver(4 years 4 mos.), Diamond(9 yrs. 10 months),Dora 
 Jean(10 yrs. 4 mos.),Sheila(4 yrs.) and Wilma(3 yrs. 6 mos.). I also have 2 
 dogs, Ryder(8 yrs. 6 mos.) and last but not least, Ozzie(12 yrs. 8 mos.). 
 ALL cats are healthy and always have been, so far. Diamond does have a tumor 
 in his throat(ear) area that just doing surgery would most likely kill him 
 from stress.(it is not FeLV related) So as long as he eats and has no pain 
 and no other issues, we will keep him alive. He is a very happy cat.  
 My oldest dog,Ozzie, might have blastomycosis.(2nd dog of mine that has had 
 it) The vet should be letting me know today/tomorrow. Since he is so old, I 
 will not treat him and just put him to sleep.(UGH!) He also has an enlarged 
 heart. So I may have to make that tough decision that we ALL hate.
 Sorry this is so long, just wanted to do an intro.
 Sandy


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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Beth]

Hi Shelley -
First of all, thanks for giving this guy a chance  not immediately putting him 
down.

1) A negative IFA does NOT mean the cat is not FeLV positive. It simply means 
the virus is not replicating in his bone marrow.
    If a cat has a positive SNAP test, he is still positive.
    If you do get an IFA  it is positive, it simply means he will not throw 
the virus off.
2) Those 3-way SNAP tests that test for heartworms are notoriously unreliable. 
Our
 shelter stopped using them after we had a slew of cats test 
 postitive for FeLV. They were retested on the 2-way test twice,  and came 
up negative.
3) It is too late now, but I would never give an FelV cat an FVRCP vaccine. I 
did that once to 2 sisters I had. One immediately became ill (she had 
    been healthy up until then)  died shortly afterward. Her sister died soon 
after. I have heard of other FeLV cats getting sick right after FVRCP 
    vaccines. Not need to stress their immune systems out unless there is some 
seriously good reason why you need to vaccinate. 

4) I don't think L-Lysine can hurt. It's pretty cheap  you can get it in a 
powder form you can sprinkle over their food.
5) I have used Interferon in the past, but from what I understand it takes a 
long time to work. I stopped because I felt like I was stressing the cats out 

    too much with the daily medicine routine. Plus you have to give it to them 
the right way. You can't just squirt it randomly in their mouths.
6) I think the best thing you can do is feed a high-quality food  keep stress 
down.

Good luck!

Beth
 
Don't Litter, Fix Your Critter! www.Furkids.org
 



 From: Shelley Theye ve...@bellsouth.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 9:12 AM
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions
 

Hi,

I finally was able to join your list and am so excited to be able to check in 
for advice and any questions I might have for my cat Leo.

Some history-
I trapped Leo last summer to TNR for a neighbor who offered to keep/feed him 
outdoors.  He seemed feral, and was an elusive neighborhood stray for about 3 
years prior.  We think we know where he was born, as we rescued kittens that 
were probably younger than him at that time, and they look very similar, from a 
house where the owners moved and left the cats behind. :-(  He has been chased 
out of yards and finally had a yard to call home with this person, but he 
tested positive for FeLV last summer and the neighbor would not commit to more 
in-depth care even though he said he would continue to feed him outdoors in his 
yard.

So, I ended up keeping him as an indoor cat,  and he is tame now after housing 
him in a taming cage that I learned about from the feral cat yahoo group.  He 
is afraid of new things, but is very sweet and gentle.
Right now I am keeping him separate from my other 3 indoor cats who are not 
vaccinated for FeLV, and one has some
pretty bad aggression issues

Back on July 19, 2012, he was tested with a snap test for FeLV/FIV/heartworm, 
he tested weak positive for FeLV, neg for the others.
The test used was slightly expired by a few months (was a test kit from our 
rescue group, and I would have liked to have retested that day with a fresh in 
date kit, but I didn't find out results until the end of that day when he was 
wide awake and still assumed to be feral...)

I tried to bring him in a few days after that to a different vet to get 
retested, but the vet clinic shook him out of the carrier and freaked him out 
chasing him around the room, and he bit the tech through a towel and had to be 
quarantined for 10 days for rabies, since his vacc. was less than 10 days old.  
I was so upset wondering if that was the time he could maybe throw the virus 
off, and he would be under so much stress as a feral cat in quarantine.  :-( 

He had to go to a vet again, in Nov, 2012 because I thought he had a urinary 
blockage, but he ended up being OK.  Anyway, this vet retested him because he 
was very cooperative, with a SNAP 2 test (no heartworm), and I asked them to 
use serum, assuming first vet used blood but I was not certain of that at the 
time.  It was positive again.

So, now it's a year later, he is seemingly healthy, teeth look good, good 
appetite, he is about 4 years old.  
I am wanting to do an IFA test.   Do you think that he could still be negative 
after this long?

At his check up yesterday, he received a Rabies Purevax vaccine, and I haven't 
done an FVRCP booster yet.  He had one FVRCP last summer.  The vet suggested 
adding Lysine powder, so I have that now, and she mentioned that they can add 
Interferon to ringers solution and that one bag would last a long time, haven't 
done that yet.

Just would love to get some thoughts on retesting and Interferon.  Also, he 
initially was said to have a grade 3 heart murmur while under anesthesia for 
his neuter, but it hasn't been heard since...

So, with 2 positive SNAP tests 

Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Shelley Theye]

Hi Beth,

Thank you so much for the fast reply!
I should give credit to the vet that neutered him too.  She said that she would 
never 
put a cat down just because he/she tests positive.  I guess that is why she 
didn't call me right
after she tested him that morning, and waited until I went in to pick him up at 
the end of the day
to let me know.  That is not the same mindset as other vets around here.  

So, just to follow up, if IFA turned out to be negative, does that mean he 
could still possibly throw off the virus?
Or does that only happen very early on?  I was reading a flow chart for 
testing, and it sounds like 
testing can go on for months and months if the SNAP and IFA don't match with 
either both pos. or both 
neg. results?

Thank you so much for letting me know about the FVRCP vaccine.  He was given 
that vaccine at his
initial visit last year.  She actually wanted to give him a 4 week booster back 
then, but I didn't go back
and do it at that time, because he was still 'feral' and I didn't want to add 
any stress, and wasn't really
sure if more than one was needed for an adult.

Now I will NOT get him another FVRCP at all.  I only asked for Purevax Rabies 
yesterday, not wanting to do 2 vaccines
in one office visit either way.  I will try to bring him in again for the IFA 
test, since this clinic is only a few miles away, and 
they also blend holistic and traditional, which is why I am also trying them 
for Leo.

Thanks so much!  By the way, if Leo was related to the other kittens from the 
abandoned house, they all were negative 
when tested.  That owner took the 2 mom cats with him eventually, so I don't 
know if they both were neg.  But I am guessing
that he acquired this as an adult or he wouldn't have lived this long?

Shelley

Shelley Theye
ve...@bellsouth.net



On Aug 8, 2013, at 9:45 AM, Beth wrote:

 Hi Shelley -
 First of all, thanks for giving this guy a chance  not immediately putting 
 him down.
 
 1) A negative IFA does NOT mean the cat is not FeLV positive. It simply means 
 the virus is not replicating in his bone marrow.
 If a cat has a positive SNAP test, he is still positive.
 If you do get an IFA  it is positive, it simply means he will not throw 
 the virus off.
 2) Those 3-way SNAP tests that test for heartworms are notoriously 
 unreliable. Our shelter stopped using them after we had a slew of cats test 
  postitive for FeLV. They were retested on the 2-way test twice,  and 
 came up negative.
 3) It is too late now, but I would never give an FelV cat an FVRCP vaccine. I 
 did that once to 2 sisters I had. One immediately became ill (she had 
 been healthy up until then)  died shortly afterward. Her sister died 
 soon after. I have heard of other FeLV cats getting sick right after FVRCP 
 vaccines. Not need to stress their immune systems out unless there is 
 some seriously good reason why you need to vaccinate. 
 4) I don't think L-Lysine can hurt. It's pretty cheap  you can get it in a 
 powder form you can sprinkle over their food.
 5) I have used Interferon in the past, but from what I understand it takes a 
 long time to work. I stopped because I felt like I was stressing the cats out 
 too much with the daily medicine routine. Plus you have to give it to 
 them the right way. You can't just squirt it randomly in their mouths.
 6) I think the best thing you can do is feed a high-quality food  keep 
 stress down.
 
 Good luck!
 
 Beth
  
 Don't Litter, Fix Your Critter! www.Furkids.org
  
 
 From: Shelley Theye ve...@bellsouth.net
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
 Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 9:12 AM
 Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions
 
 Hi,
 
 I finally was able to join your list and am so excited to be able to check in 
 for advice and any questions I might have for my cat Leo.
 
 Some history-
 I trapped Leo last summer to TNR for a neighbor who offered to keep/feed him 
 outdoors.  He seemed feral, and was an elusive neighborhood stray for about 3 
 years prior.  We think we know where he was born, as we rescued kittens that 
 were probably younger than him at that time, and they look very similar, from 
 a house where the owners moved and left the cats behind. :-(  He has been 
 chased out of yards and finally had a yard to call home with this person, but 
 he tested positive for FeLV last summer and the neighbor would not commit to 
 more in-depth care even though he said he would continue to feed him outdoors 
 in his yard.
 
 So, I ended up keeping him as an indoor cat,  and he is tame now after 
 housing him in a taming cage that I learned about from the feral cat yahoo 
 group.  He is afraid of new things, but is very sweet and gentle.
 Right now I am keeping him separate from my other 3 indoor cats who are not 
 vaccinated for FeLV, and one has some
 pretty bad aggression issues
 
 Back on July 19, 2012, he was tested with a snap test for FeLV/FIV/heartworm, 
 he tested weak positive for FeLV, neg for the 

Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Lee Evans]

Hi. I have had experience with three FeLv+ cats turning to negative. You
 have to keep them for about 3 months, then retest with the SNAP non 
heartworm test. I had no idea that the three way test can cause a false 
positive. Anyway, have him retested with a fresh SNAP test and if it's 
negative, it's negative. I have three mixed in with my other cats and no
 problems so far. One has been there for six years and is getting old 
but that's the only problem he has experienced in his entire life after I
 took him in about 5 years ago. As for Interferon or any other major 
medication, if Leo is not having any symptoms, you don't have to stress 
him out with a whole lot of medication. The Lysine is a good preventive 
for several problems in cats so do give him that. There is a formula 
made just for cats. I tried dumping a 500mg capsule divided into their
 4 water bowls and the result was a boycott of the water. I tasted some 
of the lysine powder and it was awful, bitter. So much for an easy 
solution.




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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Beth]

The Lysine powder for cats can actually come in flavors. The gel is not bad 
tasting at all, either. In fact I wouldn't mind taking it. I sprinkle the 
powder on the dry food  they have no problem with it.

Beth


 
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 From: Lee Evans moonsiste...@yahoo.com
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions
 



Hi. I have had experience with three FeLv+ cats turning to negative. You
 have to keep them for about 3 months, then retest with the SNAP non 
heartworm test. I had no idea that the three way test can cause a false 
positive. Anyway, have him retested with a fresh SNAP test and if it's 
negative, it's negative. I have three mixed in with my other cats and no
 problems so far. One has been there for six years and is getting old 
but that's the only problem he has experienced in his entire life after I
 took him in about 5 years ago. As for Interferon or any other major 
medication, if Leo is not having any symptoms, you don't have to stress 
him out with a whole lot of medication. The Lysine is a good preventive 
for several problems in cats so do give him that. There is a formula 
made just for cats. I tried dumping a 500mg capsule divided into their
 4 water bowls and the result was a boycott of the water. I tasted some 
of the lysine powder and it was awful, bitter. So much for an easy 
solution.





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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Beth]

Kudos to your vet. I was lucky to have a great vet when I found my 1st FeLV 
cat. She never even mentioned euthanizing. She just laid out a plan for 
integrating them into the household.


If the IFA is negative he could still throw off the virus.
In my experience most cats born with FeLV do not live much more than a year. 
I do have one right now that I got as a 3 month old kitten. I don't know for 
sure if she was born with it. She lived outside an empty house. No idea what 
happened to mom. But she is about 3 years old  doing great. Fingers crossed :)


 Beth


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 From: Shelley Theye ve...@bellsouth.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions
 

Hi Beth,

Thank you so much for
 the fast reply!
I should give credit to the vet that neutered him too.  She said that she would 
never 
put a cat down just because he/she tests positive.  I guess that is why she 
didn't call me right
after she tested him that morning, and waited until I went in to pick him up at 
the end of the day
to let me know.  That is not the same mindset as other vets around here.  

So, just to follow up, if IFA turned out to be negative, does that mean he 
could still possibly throw off the virus?
Or does that only happen very early on?  I was reading a flow chart for 
testing, and it sounds like 
testing can go on for months and months if the SNAP and IFA don't match with 
either both pos. or both 
neg. results?

Thank you so much for letting me know about the FVRCP vaccine.  He was given 
that vaccine at his
initial visit last year.  She actually wanted to give him a 4 week booster back 
then,
 but I didn't go back
and do it at that time, because he was still 'feral' and I didn't want to add 
any stress, and wasn't really
sure if more than one was needed for an adult.

Now I will NOT get him another FVRCP at all.  I only asked for Purevax Rabies 
yesterday, not wanting to do 2 vaccines
in one office visit either way.  I will try to bring him in again for the IFA 
test, since this clinic is only a few miles away, and 
they also blend holistic and traditional, which is why I am also trying them 
for Leo.

Thanks so much!  By the way, if Leo was related to the other kittens from the 
abandoned house, they all were negative 
when tested.  That owner took the 2 mom cats with him eventually, so I don't 
know if they both were neg.  But I am guessing
that he acquired this as an adult or he wouldn't have lived this long?

Shelley

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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction and some questions

[Shelley Theye]

For some reason I did not receive the latest messages, so I am just sending a 
new email since 
I saw that Lee and Beth responded in the archives...

Thanks Lee and Beth.  I don't think my L- Lysine is the cat only version, but I 
sprinkled some on Leo's canned
food and he ate it right up.  Afterwards, he licked and licked the little peel 
off part of the lid that came on the new 
container, so he must like the flavor OK!

Thanks for sharing about your kitties, and I hope they continue to thrive.  :-)
Glad to hear the there might be a chance Leo can still throw this virus.

Shelley



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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

If your other cats are vaccinated for FELV, why not let him in with them?  
Annie is now 8 and doing fine.  Her only problem is she was an only cat in 
her previous home and does not like to share with other cats.   (Nitnoy died 
after  1-1/2 years but she had been feral and lost her tail to a raccoon which 
really left her stressed out)   But Annie only meows at them and swats them so 
no problem there.  She and the others all think they have to sit on my lap 
every time I sit down and even though I have an ample lap, it is not big enough 
for 6 cats.  That creates a problem.

 Betheny Laubenthal bailleyspetc...@gmail.com wrote: 
 Hi.  My name is Beth.  I run a feral cat rescue.  That's how I ended up
 with Mozart, a 10 month old kitten.  April 18, I took him to a spay clinic
 to get neutered, his rabies vaccination and for a Felv/FIV test.  He tested
 positive for Felv.  It was recommended that he immediately be euthanized.
  I refused.
 I contacted my vet.  She agreed with my decision to allow him to live out
 his life.  She retested him May 17.  Again, he tested positive.  This
 surprised me because he is a healthy cat.  No symptoms at all.  None of his
 brothers tested positive.  His mom took off with his two sisters when he
 was 5 weeks old.  Mom was feral.  Have not found her or the missing kittens.
 My vet is awesome (which is great because my rescue takes in cats with
 medical issues and behavioral issues as well as ferals that cannot stay
 where they are).  That's a lot for me to say since I have a general
 distrust of vets for various reasons.  Anyways, she is looking for another
 felv cat for me to introduce to Mozart as a playmate.  Mozart is locked in
 my bedroom.  Other cats in my home were tested.  They were negative.  We
 are vaccinating with a 4 way vaccine with leukemia.  I am in the process of
 ordering more vaccination-with and without leukemia.
 I have him on a raw diet. Been raw feeding for over 3 years-not the least
 bit concerned about bacteria.  I feel as if it is safe and beneficial to
 feed Mozart this diet.
 I am looking into this treatment for him:
 http://tcyte.com/cat-owner-information/
 
 Anyone have any luck with it?  Anyone hear of it?  Does anyone have any
 advice they can give to me?  Also, what about vaccines?  I am concerned
 about the increase chance of vaccine related sarcomas.
 Thank you!
 --Beth Laubenthal


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

I have a question re vaccinations   I have 2 15 year olds, one never goes out, 
she is terrified of outside and the other goes down on the ground to potty and 
then back to the deck for a snooze in the sun.  Another 8 year old goes out 
very little and another tht stays on the deck.  Do they need vaccinations?  
FELV they need as I have 1 positive cat, but do they need the others as their 
chances of contracting anything from strays, etc are very slim
 
 Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.net wrote: 
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Beth]

I only maintained FVRCP vaccines when I fosterd kittens  non- FeLV cats for 
the rescue I work with. They typically came from animal control facilites, so 
there was much more risk. Unless your cats are exposed to other cats, I really 
don't  see a reason for the FVRCP vaccine. And I definitely would never 
vaccinate an FeLV+ cat for FVRCP. I did that once  the cat got sick the next 
day  died soon after.

Beth


 
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 From: Sharyl cline...@yahoo.com
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 


It depends on your State.  Many States require the rabies vax every 3 years.  
Some feel older cats do not need the FVRCP vax - that previous vaccines should 
still be in effect.  The FVRCP is recommended by the cat vaccine guidelines 
every 3 yrs.
 
Sharyl  

From: dlg...@windstream.net dlg...@windstream.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 5:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 

I have a question re vaccinations   I have 2 15 year olds, one never goes out, 
she is terrified of outside and the other goes down on the ground to potty and 
then back to the deck for a snooze in the sun.  Another 8 year old goes out 
very little and another tht stays on the deck.  Do they need vaccinations?  
FELV they need as I have 1 positive cat, but do they need the others as their 
chances of contracting anything from strays, etc are very slim

 Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.net wrote: 
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Beth]

I agree. Once your other cats are fully vaccinated, there is no reason to 
separate. I have mixed my healthy (even FIV+) cats with my FeLV cats for years 
with no problems. You might want to search the archives on mixing for more 
info on this, but many of us mix our positives  negative, fully vaccinate 
cats. By fully vaccinated I mean initial vaccine, booster,  wait at least 2 
weeks before mixing.

Beth


Don't Litter, Fix Your Critter! www.Furkids.org
 



 From: dlg...@windstream.net dlg...@windstream.net
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 4:52 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 

If your other cats are vaccinated for FELV, why not let him in with them?  
Annie is now 8 and doing fine.  Her only problem is she was an only cat in 
her previous home and does not like to share with other cats.   (Nitnoy died 
after  1-1/2 years but she had been feral and lost her tail to a raccoon which 
really left her stressed out)   But Annie only meows at them and swats them so 
no problem there.  She and the others all think they have to sit on my lap 
every time I sit down and even though I have an ample lap, it is not big enough 
for 6 cats.  That creates a problem.

 Betheny Laubenthal bailleyspetc...@gmail.com wrote: 
 Hi.  My name is Beth.  I run a feral cat rescue.  That's how I ended up
 with Mozart, a 10 month old kitten.  April 18, I took him to a spay clinic
 to get neutered, his rabies vaccination and for a Felv/FIV test.  He tested
 positive for Felv.  It was recommended that he immediately be euthanized.
  I refused.
 I contacted my vet.  She agreed with my decision to allow him to live out
 his life.  She retested him May 17.  Again, he tested positive.  This
 surprised me because he is a healthy cat.  No symptoms at all.  None of his
 brothers tested positive.  His mom took off with his two sisters when he
 was 5 weeks old.  Mom was feral.  Have not found her or the missing kittens.
 My vet is awesome (which is great because my rescue takes in cats with
 medical issues and behavioral issues as well as ferals that cannot stay
 where they are).  That's a lot for me to say since I have a general
 distrust of vets for various reasons.  Anyways, she is looking for another
 felv cat for me to introduce to Mozart as a playmate.  Mozart is locked in
 my bedroom.  Other cats in my home were tested.  They were negative.  We
 are vaccinating with a 4 way vaccine with leukemia.  I am in the process of
 ordering more vaccination-with and without leukemia.
 I have him on a raw diet. Been raw feeding for over 3 years-not the least
 bit concerned about bacteria.  I feel as if it is safe and beneficial to
 feed Mozart this diet.
 I am looking into this treatment for him:
 http://tcyte.com/cat-owner-information/
 
 Anyone have any luck with it?  Anyone hear of it?  Does anyone have any
 advice they can give to me?  Also, what about vaccines?  I am concerned
 about the increase chance of vaccine related sarcomas.
 Thank you!
 --Beth Laubenthal


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Margo]

Hi Beth,

Welcome, but sorry you have to be here.Just have time for a quick note, but I'll be back later when I have a bit more time. As for the vaccines, I have chosen to go with the Merial recombinant FeLV vaccine, and i'll link to some articles which will help explain why. If you go back to fanciers and search for rFeLV, you should get Stephanie's amazing discussions...Oh! I saved it G

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/fanciershealth/message/141570

 I'm in the same situation, but I just get more confused as I learn more. Warning, if you try to but the vaccine yourself, it's VERY expensive. Through a Vet it seems to be much less.

HTH,

Margo

-Original Message- From: Betheny Laubenthal Sent: May 20, 2013 2:37 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction 
Hi. My name is Beth. I run a feral cat rescue. That's how I ended up with Mozart, a 10 month old kitten. April 18, I took him to a spay clinic to get neutered, his rabies vaccination and for a Felv/FIV test. He tested positive for Felv. It was recommended that he immediately be euthanized. I refused.

I contacted my vet. She agreed with my decision to allow him to live out his life. She retested him May 17. Again, he tested positive. This surprised me because he is a healthy cat. No symptoms at all. None of his brothers tested positive. His mom took off with his two sisters when he was 5 weeks old. Mom was feral. Have not found her or the missing kittens.
My vet is awesome (which is great because my rescue takes in cats with medical issues and behavioral issues as well as ferals that cannot stay where they are). That's a lot for me to say since I have a general distrust of vets for various reasons. Anyways, she is looking for another felv cat for me to introduce to Mozart as a playmate. Mozart is locked in my bedroom. Other cats in my home were tested. They were negative. We are vaccinating with a 4 way vaccine with leukemia. I am in the process of ordering more vaccination-with and without leukemia.
I have him on a raw diet. Been raw feeding for over 3 years-not the least bit concerned about bacteria. I feel as if it is safe and beneficial to feed Mozart this diet.
I am looking into this treatment for him:
http://tcyte.com/cat-owner-information/

Anyone have any luck with it? Anyone hear of it? Does anyone have any advice they can give to me? Also, what about vaccines? I am concerned about the increase chance of vaccine related sarcomas.
Thank you!
--Beth Laubenthal

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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Amanda K. Payne]

Hi Beth,

I, too, looked into LTCI from Tcyte when I found out my ten month old
kitten, Polli, was FeLV+.  We have a vet and a very experienced vet tech,
both of which work in cat only clinics, in the family.  When I asked for
their opinions, neither one of them had heard of LTCI but said it a very
specialized and new medication and wanted me to give feedback if I decided
to use it on Polli.  I also talked to several (at least ten) vets in the
Los Angeles area as well as a cat rescue operator and a scientist from
Tycte laboratories.  They all gave the medication rave reviews. However,
each person told me that it works better in cats who contract the disease
(over the age of 2) than kittens who are either born with it or contract it
at an early age.  The operator of the cat rescue said that each of the
FeLV+ kittens they treated succumbed to complications from the disease
before the age of one (the average mortality rate for positive kittens).
 With adult cats, they even had one seroconvert after treating it with
LTCI!  So, from my research, it works well in cats but the results aren't
promising in kittens.

Keep in mind, though, that the medication reportedly has no side effects
and I haven't read about any either.  Because of that, treating Mozart with
LTCI may be an option you choose to explore.  If you want to survey vets
like I did, Tcyte has a link on their website that shows the names and
locations of vets who have used it in the area you live.  If you do decided
to use it, it can cost anywhere from $40 to $120 a shot.  The typical
protocol is a shot each day for a week then one shot a week for four weeks
followed by a shot every four to six weeks.  The vets also have to do blood
work regularly.  For these reasons, I chose not to treat Polli.  I didn't
want to stress her out for her remaining time on earth especially since
there isn't much success treating kittens with LTCI.

Sorry, I know this may not be the sort of information you're looking for
but I just wanted to share my research with you. If you do decided to use
LTCI, please document your experiences.  I know there are many cat owners
and vets who are curious about this medication.

Best,
-Amanda


On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 12:21 PM, Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.netwrote:


  Hi Beth,



Welcome, but sorry you have to be here. Just have time for a
 quick note, but I'll be back later when I have a bit more time. As for the
 vaccines, I have chosen to go with the Merial recombinant FeLV vaccine, and
 i'll link to some articles which will help explain why. If you go back to
 fanciers and search for rFeLV, you should get Stephanie's amazing
 discussions...Oh! I saved it G



 http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/fanciershealth/message/141570



  I'm in the same situation, but I just get more confused as I
 learn more. Warning, if you try to but the vaccine yourself, it's VERY
 expensive. Through a Vet it seems to be much less.



 HTH,



 Margo



 -Original Message-
 From: Betheny Laubenthal **
 Sent: May 20, 2013 2:37 PM
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction

 Hi.  My name is Beth.  I run a feral cat rescue.  That's how I ended up
 with Mozart, a 10 month old kitten.  April 18, I took him to a spay clinic
 to get neutered, his rabies vaccination and for a Felv/FIV test.  He tested
 positive for Felv.  It was recommended that he immediately be euthanized.
  I refused.
 I contacted my vet.  She agreed with my decision to allow him to live out
 his life.  She retested him May 17.  Again, he tested positive.  This
 surprised me because he is a healthy cat.  No symptoms at all.  None of his
 brothers tested positive.  His mom took off with his two sisters when he
 was 5 weeks old.  Mom was feral.  Have not found her or the missing kittens.
 My vet is awesome (which is great because my rescue takes in cats with
 medical issues and behavioral issues as well as ferals that cannot stay
 where they are).  That's a lot for me to say since I have a general
 distrust of vets for various reasons.  Anyways, she is looking for another
 felv cat for me to introduce to Mozart as a playmate.  Mozart is locked in
 my bedroom.  Other cats in my home were tested.  They were negative.  We
 are vaccinating with a 4 way vaccine with leukemia.  I am in the process of
 ordering more vaccination-with and without leukemia.
 I have him on a raw diet. Been raw feeding for over 3 years-not the least
 bit concerned about bacteria.  I feel as if it is safe and beneficial to
 feed Mozart this diet.
 I am looking into this treatment for him:
 http://tcyte.com/cat-owner-information/

 Anyone have any luck with it?  Anyone hear of it?  Does anyone have any
 advice they can give to me?  Also, what about vaccines?  I am concerned
 about the increase chance of vaccine related sarcomas.
 Thank you!
 --Beth Laubenthal


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Betheny Laubenthal]

Thank you.  I love that group!  Stephanie is wonderful!  Thank you for the
link.
As for vaccinating, I order two different vaccines: with and without-4
ways.  I found a cheaper source.  From a vet catalog.  Local pet store-the
owner is a vet tech and she offers vaccinations at her store.  Running a
cat rescue, I cannot afford to have the vet vaccinate the 30 cats we have
in our care.  We're foster based.
With Mozart, I just want the best for him.  I still have a hard time
accepting that he has feline leukemia.  At least now I know it is not a
death sentence.
My vet is research T-Cyte therapy for me.  She never heard of it.  I hope
it can be of use for Mozart.

--Beth


On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 3:21 PM, Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.netwrote:


  Hi Beth,



Welcome, but sorry you have to be here. Just have time for a
 quick note, but I'll be back later when I have a bit more time. As for the
 vaccines, I have chosen to go with the Merial recombinant FeLV vaccine, and
 i'll link to some articles which will help explain why. If you go back to
 fanciers and search for rFeLV, you should get Stephanie's amazing
 discussions...Oh! I saved it G



 http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/fanciershealth/message/141570



  I'm in the same situation, but I just get more confused as I
 learn more. Warning, if you try to but the vaccine yourself, it's VERY
 expensive. Through a Vet it seems to be much less.



 HTH,



 Margo


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Betheny Laubenthal]

Amanda (and everyone else),
Have you heard of RetroMAD1?  A friend of mine suggested it.
http://blog.lepak.com/2011/02/au-tests-retromad1-new-wonder-drug.html
Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I cannot give up without a good fight.
 There has got to be something that works.

--Beth
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Amanda K. Payne]

Yes!  I actually have heard of RetroMAD1.  I believe it's currently only
available in Malaysia and is still in the trial stages.  It sounds very
promising but would be rather difficult to get ahold of in the States... if
you're in the States, of course.  Like LTCI, there isn't a lot of
scientifically backed research on it. Yet.  They are both newer medications
and funding for research and trials is very limited.  Unfortunately, if
there isn't a lot of money to be made from it, the research gets dismal
funding.


On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 1:13 PM, Betheny Laubenthal 
bailleyspetc...@gmail.com wrote:

 Amanda (and everyone else),
 Have you heard of RetroMAD1?  A friend of mine suggested it.
 http://blog.lepak.com/2011/02/au-tests-retromad1-new-wonder-drug.html
 Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I cannot give up without a good fight.
  There has got to be something that works.

 --Beth

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There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge Bertrand
Russell
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Margo]

Hi Beth,

 I ran a rescue for 30+ years, so I understand about the expense of "Vet" vaccinating. I still buy mine (usually thru KVVet) for the sanctuary cats, but ran into expense problems with the Merial recombinant FeLV vaccine. My Vet used it previously, but the owner changed to a standard killed FeL. I wanted the rFeLV to avoid the problem of possible feline injection site sarcoma, as the one I was most concerned about is three legged. In his case he can't afford a problem in another leg. I found it two places, where they run around $500 for a flat of twenty-five, so $20 per dose. My Vet went to another clinic, and got them for me for $12 each. That's why I suggested going thru your Vet, if s/he has a Merial account, it should be cheaper still. Now that I just take occasional kittens (8 right now) and have no local 501c3 affiliation, I have my Vet o the vaccinating, so it can be documented. Cost is high, but if I want them to get good homes, it's needed.

 I have also looked into the T-cyte, but Gribble also is young, so I went elsewhere. I'm now re-thinking that, but for now, we're using Interferon. 

All the best

Margo

-Original Message- From: Betheny Laubenthal <bailleyspetc...@gmail.com>Sent: May 20, 2013 4:08 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction 
Thank you. I love that group! Stephanie is wonderful! Thank you for the link.
As for vaccinating, I order two different vaccines: with and without-4 ways. I found a cheaper source. From a vet catalog. Local pet store-the owner is a vet tech and she offers vaccinations at her store. Running a cat rescue, I cannot afford to have the vet vaccinate the 30 cats we have in our care. We're foster based.
With Mozart, I just want the best for him. I still have a hard time accepting that he has feline leukemia. At least now I know it is not a death sentence.
My vet is research T-Cyte therapy for me. She never heard of it. I hope it can be of use for Mozart.

--Beth

On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 3:21 PM, Margo toomanykitti...@earthlink.net wrote:



Hi Beth,

Welcome, but sorry you have to be here.Just have time for a quick note, but I'll be back later when I have a bit more time. As for the vaccines, I have chosen to go with the Merial recombinant FeLV vaccine, and i'll link to some articles which will help explain why. If you go back to fanciers and search for rFeLV, you should get Stephanie's amazing discussions...Oh! I saved it G

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/fanciershealth/message/141570

 I'm in the same situation, but I just get more confused as I learn more. Warning, if you try to but the vaccine yourself, it's VERY expensive. Through a Vet it seems to be much less.

HTH,

Margo


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

And this is also our reward.  They enrich our lives every minute of their lives.


 Lorrie felineres...@frontier.com wrote: 
 Dear Laura,
 Thank you for giving Dani a chance for life.  I also have a lot
 of cats (15 at home)  plus a FelV sanctuary in my building in
 town.  Sometimes these FelV kittens can live long lives, and others
 will die.  I have found there is really nothing you can do to cure
 the cat of FelV, but some will throw off the virus when they have
 lots of love, a good diet, and no stress. I do not believe in heroic
 measures or invasive proceedures.
 
 In July I took in a litter of 4 FelV kittens, and they were happy
 playful babies until November when one of my calico girls named
 Molly died of anemia.  Her calico sister Maggie died of the same 
 thing one month later. Now their brother, a precious silver tabby
 male, Willie, my very favorite, is becoming anemic and soon there 
 will only be one left from this litter.  It is heart breaking each 
 time I lose one, but we gave them a wonderful home and lots of love 
 during their short lives and this is my consolation.
 
 Lorrie
 
  
 Hi everyone,
 I am new to this group--and new to FeLV. I just took in an FeLV+ kitty
 from the shelter where I am a volunteer. Her name is Dani
 
 
 
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Lorrie]

Dear Laura,
Thank you for giving Dani a chance for life.  I also have a lot
of cats (15 at home)  plus a FelV sanctuary in my building in
town.  Sometimes these FelV kittens can live long lives, and others
will die.  I have found there is really nothing you can do to cure
the cat of FelV, but some will throw off the virus when they have
lots of love, a good diet, and no stress. I do not believe in heroic
measures or invasive proceedures.

In July I took in a litter of 4 FelV kittens, and they were happy
playful babies until November when one of my calico girls named
Molly died of anemia.  Her calico sister Maggie died of the same 
thing one month later. Now their brother, a precious silver tabby
male, Willie, my very favorite, is becoming anemic and soon there 
will only be one left from this litter.  It is heart breaking each 
time I lose one, but we gave them a wonderful home and lots of love 
during their short lives and this is my consolation.

Lorrie

 
Hi everyone,
I am new to this group--and new to FeLV. I just took in an FeLV+ kitty
from the shelter where I am a volunteer. Her name is Dani



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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Sharyl]

Laura. I'm afraid with a positive IFA test there isn't a chance Dani will shed 
the virus.  Here is the link to a chart that explains the meaning of the test 
results
http://www.felineleukemia.org/felvhlth.html
 
I have rescued several FeLV kittens.  They lived from 1-4 yrs.  I didn't find 
supplements helpful but others may have had better luck.  Many FeLV kitties on 
this list have lived for several years.
 
You are already on top of what will be best for Dani - good food, lots of love 
and a stress free environment.  Try to stay on top of any health issues.  Since 
her immune system is compromised she may be more susceptible to URIs, etc.
 
By the way I had all my FeLV babies spayed or neutered.  I felt it was more 
stressful for them if left unfixed.  
 
It broke my heart when I lost each of them but I would change what I did.  Each 
was special and brought joy to my heart.  My other rescues were adults.  I had 
them all vaccinated for FeLV and let my positives have the run of the house.  
With 17 other cats that may be hard for you to do.  
 
Bless you for caring and giving Dani a home
Sharyl
  


 From: laurak...@aol.com laurak...@aol.com
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Sent: Sunday, February 3, 2013 5:57 PM
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction
  

Hieveryone, 

I am new to this group--and new to FeLV. I just took in an FeLV+ kitty from the 
shelter where I am a volunteer.Her name is Dani and she is beautiful. Long 
story short, she and her three siblings were found outside in a box when they 
were about a week old. They came to the shelter and tested positive for FeLV 
(ELISA).  They were retested and again it was positive. At 9 weeks,they had an 
IFA test, all positive. During this time, they were bottle fed until about 8 
weeks, shuttled to and from the shelter by a staff member. They were also 
treated for URIswith azithromycin. The shelter cultures all incoming cats for 
ringworm and unfortunately theirs came back positive, so they were dipped in 
lyme a couple of times a week for a while and put on Itraconazole. Dani took 
longer to shake it off and so was completely alone for some time. During their 
time at the shelter they were vaccinated with 2 rounds of FVRCP, a rabies 
vaccine and spayed/neutered. Sadly, Dani's
 littermates all came down with different issues(I don't know all the details, 
but I know the vet suspected FIP) and were euthanized. Little Dani was left 
alone, in a bathroom with no windows, and not many visitors. The second I found 
out about her, I set up thesun room off my bedroom (it was unheated but fixed 
that fast) and took her home. 

Anyway, I wanted to give the whole background so you know just how much she has 
been through in her short life. While even here it is not optimal--she is 
isolated--it is so much better than being stuck in the stuffy bathroom. Here, 
she bird watches, has a ton of toys, a much better diet and a ton of cuddles 
(though not as much as I wish. I have 17 other cats.) 

I have two big questions: is it possible for her to become negative with a 
positive IFA result at 9 weeks? And, second: how do I best care for her? I have 
her on a high quality canned only diet (wellness and weruva--no fish) and 
minimize stress as much as possible. Are there supplements I should be giving? 
Are NuCat vitamins recommended? Are my food choices OK for her?  I will never 
vaccinate or even take her to a vet (I'd have one come to me if necessary to 
minimize stress.) I feel terrible she is alone alot of the timeand I have 
thought about bringing in another young FeLV + kitty for her, but I am worried 
about causing stress, having it backfire. Ihave all the patience in the world 
when it comes to having cats work out issues, but I'm also very careful when 
bringing in a new cat, quarantining for a couple of weeks, letting her explore 
while I put othersin other rooms, etc. But I wouldn't have that ability to do 
so with a companion for Dani as I
 literally don't have any rooms left. 

Sorry for such a long post! I really want to do right by her. I love her to 
pieces.

Thank you!

Laura and Dani girl
 

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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Cindy McHugh]

Hi Laura,

I don’t have a lot of advice for you, as my experience with FeLV is somewhat 
limited. I joined the list when one of the ferals I was feeding tested positive 
when I had him neutered. He lived in our spare room until I found him a forever 
home 10 months later. During this time, he shared the room with another feral 
from the colony. I first tried keeping him by himself, but he was too stressed. 
Our vet didn’t think the other cat had a high risk of contracting the disease 
since he was an adult and they had already lived together, shared food bowls, 
etc. I had the other cat tested months after the FeLV cat was adopted and he 
was fine. 

I think it’s an excellent idea to try integrating another cat with your wee 
kitten. Sadly, most FeLV cats are euthanized and never given the chance you’re 
giving Dani. So an addition would save another life. Since she’s so young, I 
think she’d most likely welcome the company. (But this is just my opinion.)

I just wanted to say thank you for looking past Dani’s disease and loving her 
for who she is. I’m praying she fights off the virus and lives a long and 
healthy life.

Cindy

From: laurak...@aol.com 
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 5:57 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction

Hi everyone, 

I am new to this group--and new to FeLV. I just took in an FeLV+ kitty from the 
shelter where I am a volunteer. Her name is Dani and she is beautiful. Long 
story short, she and her three siblings were found outside in a box when they 
were about a week old. They came to the shelter and tested positive for FeLV 
(ELISA).  They were retested and again it was positive. At 9 weeks, they had an 
IFA test, all positive. During this time, they were bottle fed until about 8 
weeks, shuttled to and from the shelter by a staff member. They were also 
treated for URIs with azithromycin. The shelter cultures all incoming cats for 
ringworm and unfortunately theirs came back positive, so they were dipped in 
lyme a couple of times a week for a while and put on Itraconazole. Dani took 
longer to shake it off and so was completely alone for some time. During their 
time at the shelter they were vaccinated with 2 rounds of FVRCP, a rabies 
vaccine and spayed/neutered. Sadly, Dani's littermates all came down with 
different issues (I don't know all the details, but I know the vet suspected 
FIP) and were euthanized. Little Dani was left alone, in a bathroom with no 
windows, and not many visitors. The second I found out about her, I set up the 
sun room off my bedroom (it was unheated but fixed that fast) and took her 
home. 

Anyway, I wanted to give the whole background so you know just how much she has 
been through in her short life. While even here it is not optimal--she is 
isolated--it is so much better than being stuck in the stuffy bathroom. Here, 
she bird watches, has a ton of toys, a much better diet and a ton of cuddles 
(though not as much as I wish. I have 17 other cats.) 

I have two big questions: is it possible for her to become negative with a 
positive IFA result at 9 weeks? And, second: how do I best care for her? I have 
her on a high quality canned only diet (wellness and weruva--no fish) and 
minimize stress as much as possible. Are there supplements I should be giving? 
Are NuCat vitamins recommended? Are my food choices OK for her? I will never 
vaccinate or even take her to a vet (I'd have one come to me if necessary to 
minimize stress.) I feel terrible she is alone a lot of the time and I have 
thought about bringing in another young FeLV + kitty for her, but I am worried 
about causing stress, having it backfire. I have all the patience in the world 
when it comes to having cats work out issues, but I'm also very careful when 
bringing in a new cat, quarantining for a couple of weeks, letting her explore 
while I put others in other rooms, etc. But I wouldn't have that ability to do 
so with a companion for Dani as I literally don't have any rooms left. 

Sorry for such a long post! I really want to do right by her. I love her to 
pieces.

Thank you!

Laura and Dani girl
 




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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

Hi, Laura,
back again.  just read the rest of your story.  My top number has been 7, don't 
know how you do it with 17.  It sems we all agree that giving love, reducing 
stress and feeding hihg quality food is the best route to go. Annie was also 
very stressed before I got her.  She lost her owner of 4 years, was left alone 
in a trailer for 3 weeks with somjeone to change her box and feed her, no 
interaction.  Then they stuffed her in a box, brought her to the vet and then I 
brought her home to a 2 story house, another cat and 2 new humans.  She spent 
the first week or so in the basement with midnight trips up for food and water. 
 She is still skittish, especially when Harley, Casey or Homie decide to stalk 
her, but other than that, is doing very well.  
By all means, if you wat to, adopt another positive cat to give her company, 
but you might also want to consider allowing her into the house with the others 
- providing everyone gets along

 Cindy McHugh ci...@furangels.org wrote: 
 Hi Laura,
 
 I don’t have a lot of advice for you, as my experience with FeLV is somewhat 
 limited. I joined the list when one of the ferals I was feeding tested 
 positive when I had him neutered. He lived in our spare room until I found 
 him a forever home 10 months later. During this time, he shared the room with 
 another feral from the colony. I first tried keeping him by himself, but he 
 was too stressed. Our vet didn’t think the other cat had a high risk of 
 contracting the disease since he was an adult and they had already lived 
 together, shared food bowls, etc. I had the other cat tested months after the 
 FeLV cat was adopted and he was fine. 
 
 I think it’s an excellent idea to try integrating another cat with your wee 
 kitten. Sadly, most FeLV cats are euthanized and never given the chance 
 you’re giving Dani. So an addition would save another life. Since she’s so 
 young, I think she’d most likely welcome the company. (But this is just my 
 opinion.)
 
 I just wanted to say thank you for looking past Dani’s disease and loving her 
 for who she is. I’m praying she fights off the virus and lives a long and 
 healthy life.
 
 Cindy
 
 From: laurak...@aol.com 
 Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 5:57 PM
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org 
 Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 
 Hi everyone, 
 
 I am new to this group--and new to FeLV. I just took in an FeLV+ kitty from 
 the shelter where I am a volunteer. Her name is Dani and she is beautiful. 
 Long story short, she and her three siblings were found outside in a box when 
 they were about a week old. They came to the shelter and tested positive for 
 FeLV (ELISA).  They were retested and again it was positive. At 9 weeks, they 
 had an IFA test, all positive. During this time, they were bottle fed until 
 about 8 weeks, shuttled to and from the shelter by a staff member. They were 
 also treated for URIs with azithromycin. The shelter cultures all incoming 
 cats for ringworm and unfortunately theirs came back positive, so they were 
 dipped in lyme a couple of times a week for a while and put on Itraconazole. 
 Dani took longer to shake it off and so was completely alone for some time. 
 During their time at the shelter they were vaccinated with 2 rounds of FVRCP, 
 a rabies vaccine and spayed/neutered. Sadly, Dani's littermates all came down 
 with different issues (I don't know all the details, but I know the vet 
 suspected FIP) and were euthanized. Little Dani was left alone, in a bathroom 
 with no windows, and not many visitors. The second I found out about her, I 
 set up the sun room off my bedroom (it was unheated but fixed that fast) and 
 took her home. 
 
 Anyway, I wanted to give the whole background so you know just how much she 
 has been through in her short life. While even here it is not optimal--she is 
 isolated--it is so much better than being stuck in the stuffy bathroom. Here, 
 she bird watches, has a ton of toys, a much better diet and a ton of cuddles 
 (though not as much as I wish. I have 17 other cats.) 
 
 I have two big questions: is it possible for her to become negative with a 
 positive IFA result at 9 weeks? And, second: how do I best care for her? I 
 have her on a high quality canned only diet (wellness and weruva--no fish) 
 and minimize stress as much as possible. Are there supplements I should be 
 giving? Are NuCat vitamins recommended? Are my food choices OK for her? I 
 will never vaccinate or even take her to a vet (I'd have one come to me if 
 necessary to minimize stress.) I feel terrible she is alone a lot of the time 
 and I have thought about bringing in another young FeLV + kitty for her, but 
 I am worried about causing stress, having it backfire. I have all the 
 patience in the world when it comes to having cats work out issues, but I'm 
 also very careful when bringing in a new cat, quarantining for a couple of 
 weeks, letting her explore while I put others in other rooms, etc. But I 
 wouldn't 

Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

Will keep you and Kong in my prayers, for you to get a job and Kong to get 
better.  Keep us posted on both fronts.
 Ashley Vanover ashley.vano...@gmail.com wrote: 
 Hi, everyone, I have been actively reading this list for a month or so now,
 so I figured it was time I join.
 
 My cat, Kong, just turned 3 in October. I found him in a Wal-Mart parking
 lot when he was 12 weeks old. He was mostly feral, had been starved, most
 likely abused, and had a nasty case of lung worm.
 
 It was love at first sight.
 
 He had his initial kitten vaccinations, and was declared to be in good
 health once the lung worm cleared up. He has come such a long way in
 socialization--he is not a lap cat, and really doesn't even like to be
 petted for long periods of time, but I can tell he adores me in his special
 Kong way. He also has an incredibly intense bond with my 4 year old cat,
 Gonzo. I've never seen two unrelated cats take to each other they way they
 did.
 
 Around October 15, I noticed Kong wasn't acting like himself. I am a law
 student, and I am gone most of the day, so I kept an eye on him and told
 myself if he didn't perk up I'd take him to the vet (I was hoping he would
 perk up, because I am unemployed, live on a very limited student loan budget
 and live in an incredibly expensive area of Chicago--money is VERY tight). I
 noticed he wasn't eating or drinking much, and when I saw him wobble as he
 stood up, I knew he had to get to the vet right away.
 
 To make a long story shorter, he ended up at an Emergency treatment
 facility. He had many tests done, and 3 blood transfusions. He was diagnosed
 with FeLV, and non regenerative anemia. His ELISA was negative, but the IFV
 was positive. The emergency vet charged me over $5K and sent Kong home with
 me to die.
 
 A vet in my neighborhood is now treating him, and I have him on prednisolone
 and interferon. It's been over a month since his diagnosis, but he is
 hanging in there. He has a healthy appetite, and occasionally feels well
 enough to play with his favorite string. I call him my miracle cat, because
 according to every vet I've spoken to, he should be dead right now.
 
 He is my world, and I am going to continue to do every thing I possibly can
 for him. I've currently spent about $7K on his treatment, which is about the
 amount of loan money I will get for my spring semester starting in January
 (so I've got to find a paying job pronto, or I'm in big trouble) I'm
 terrified that he will require more transfusions or expensive treatments
 that I can't afford.
 
 So, that's Kong's story. I look forward to talking with you all and learning
 from your experience.
 
 --Ashley
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Verna Monson]

Ashley, your story is so moving. Kong is a very lucky kitty. You are an angel 
for caring for him. 

I found my Gabby (or he found me) when I was visiting on a farm down south this 
summer. He simply showed up on Sunday morning underneath my car, meowing for 
attention. The vet thought he was about 10 weeks old. It had been a 
particularly difficult weekend -- arguing intensely with my then-husband -- I 
was at a low point in my life. Gabby -- short for Gabriel -- was like a 
miracle. He is the most loving, huggable kitten I've ever had. He tested FeLV+ 
but is now happy and healthy at 7 months.

It is very likely someone dumped him in the country, as he was clearly not a 
feral and had been tamed to the point that he was perfectly content tucked into 
my bib overall while I worked on my computer. He would have very likely been 
killed by coyotes or hawks had he not found me. I've left my husband. It was as 
if Gabby showed up to help me. We need these guys in our lives, FeLV+ or not. 

Take care, and best of luck with law school. You'll make a terrific lawyer -- 
complete with heart and conscience. 
Verna



 Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:54:11 -0500
 From: ashley.vano...@gmail.com
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 
 Hi, everyone, I have been actively reading this list for a month or so now,
 so I figured it was time I join.
 
 My cat, Kong, just turned 3 in October. I found him in a Wal-Mart parking
 lot when he was 12 weeks old. He was mostly feral, had been starved, most
 likely abused, and had a nasty case of lung worm.
 
 It was love at first sight.
 
 He had his initial kitten vaccinations, and was declared to be in good
 health once the lung worm cleared up. He has come such a long way in
 socialization--he is not a lap cat, and really doesn't even like to be
 petted for long periods of time, but I can tell he adores me in his special
 Kong way. He also has an incredibly intense bond with my 4 year old cat,
 Gonzo. I've never seen two unrelated cats take to each other they way they
 did.
 
 Around October 15, I noticed Kong wasn't acting like himself. I am a law
 student, and I am gone most of the day, so I kept an eye on him and told
 myself if he didn't perk up I'd take him to the vet (I was hoping he would
 perk up, because I am unemployed, live on a very limited student loan budget
 and live in an incredibly expensive area of Chicago--money is VERY tight). I
 noticed he wasn't eating or drinking much, and when I saw him wobble as he
 stood up, I knew he had to get to the vet right away.
 
 To make a long story shorter, he ended up at an Emergency treatment
 facility. He had many tests done, and 3 blood transfusions. He was diagnosed
 with FeLV, and non regenerative anemia. His ELISA was negative, but the IFV
 was positive. The emergency vet charged me over $5K and sent Kong home with
 me to die.
 
 A vet in my neighborhood is now treating him, and I have him on prednisolone
 and interferon. It's been over a month since his diagnosis, but he is
 hanging in there. He has a healthy appetite, and occasionally feels well
 enough to play with his favorite string. I call him my miracle cat, because
 according to every vet I've spoken to, he should be dead right now.
 
 He is my world, and I am going to continue to do every thing I possibly can
 for him. I've currently spent about $7K on his treatment, which is about the
 amount of loan money I will get for my spring semester starting in January
 (so I've got to find a paying job pronto, or I'm in big trouble) I'm
 terrified that he will require more transfusions or expensive treatments
 that I can't afford.
 
 So, that's Kong's story. I look forward to talking with you all and learning
 from your experience.
 
 --Ashley
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[jbero tds.net]

Hello Joyce,

You have a kind heart.  It's hard to take in a felv cat and sounds
like everyone in your world is going through alot.

With respect to felv, it's true, stress is tough on these guys.

There's alot of variables, opinions and conflicting ideas about the
disease.  Some cats do fine, some become carriers but do fine, and
some die fast and young.  Since yours is two years old already, that's
a start since many of the young ones (usually less than a year) die
from the disease early on.  The older they are the better their
chances of survival.

General recommendations I think almost universally accepted are - feed
high quality diets i.e. those high in protein, some good ones are evo
and nature's variety instinct (be careful when initially switching to
these foods mix with the old).  Some people suggest using raw diets
(these are excellent for healthy cats as it mimics their normal diet -
good ones are nature's variety and stella and chewy's) - other people
advice against it as there is the possibility of introducing bacteria
into their gut and they fear infection.  Personally from what I have
read and seen I think raw diet is better.

Next, try to reduce stress as much as possible - rescue remedy, a
flower essence extract has been used in both humans and animals to
reduce anxiety - it's easy to use and can be found in most herbal type
stores.  As far as him not leaving the crate, that's okay, small
enclosed areas are often comforting to a scared cat, I wouldn't force
him out, let him take his time.  Routines are very welcome by most
animals so try to maintain a routine if possible - this is less
important for cats than dogs but still helpful.

Medical treatment - this is a huge source of debate for most.  Some
say there is no treatment, give them as happy a life as possible until
they pass on.  Others say treat.  The big treatments include
interferon, imulan and acemannan.  None are 100% effective from what I
can tell.  There are stories to support and refute each.  I am
currently looking to find a combination of things that might be
effective.  Other less talked about treatments include high dose
vitamin c, NAC and vitamin E.  Some other natural remedies and immune
boosters (Wei Qui Booster)  are out there.  I have never heard of a
cure, but I continue to search.

With respect to the clavamox, I would be very suspicious.
Prophylactic treatment with an antibiotic is risky.  It can lead to GI
problems (diarrhea and vomiting as you kill off the healthy normal
bacterial flora of the gut and leave it wide open for bad bacteria),
kidney and liver failure, and development of bacteria resistant to the
antibiotic.  If there are no symptoms of infection and have not been
for some time I would seriously be cautious about this.  If there are
upper respiratory type symptoms; sneezing, clear runny nose and eyes,
lysine can be very effective at treating this - this can be ordered
online in a cat formula or purchased over the counter at walgreens or
similar store.

Lots of info, sorry.  You will certainly get lots more advice.  The
individuals in this group are intelligent, well read, and caring cat
lovers.

May God bless you and good luck.

Jenny

On 11/10/09, stargazer 12 stargaze...@q.com wrote:

 A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey has
 feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a spare
 room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my
 friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is
 there any special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this
 disease. I have been during research  says the cat should not be stressed.
 Unfortunately, Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital
 since last Tuesday. A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the
 couch as he is very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be
 very stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I
 do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I
 think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel like I am keeping
 my friend alive too.



 Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.



 Thanks,

 Joyce  Spicey










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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[Laurieskatz]

Jenny, thanks for providing this great information! 
Laurie

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of jbero tds.net
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:30 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

Hello Joyce,

You have a kind heart.  It's hard to take in a felv cat and sounds
like everyone in your world is going through alot.

With respect to felv, it's true, stress is tough on these guys.

There's alot of variables, opinions and conflicting ideas about the
disease.  Some cats do fine, some become carriers but do fine, and
some die fast and young.  Since yours is two years old already, that's
a start since many of the young ones (usually less than a year) die
from the disease early on.  The older they are the better their
chances of survival.

General recommendations I think almost universally accepted are - feed
high quality diets i.e. those high in protein, some good ones are evo
and nature's variety instinct (be careful when initially switching to
these foods mix with the old).  Some people suggest using raw diets
(these are excellent for healthy cats as it mimics their normal diet -
good ones are nature's variety and stella and chewy's) - other people
advice against it as there is the possibility of introducing bacteria
into their gut and they fear infection.  Personally from what I have
read and seen I think raw diet is better.

Next, try to reduce stress as much as possible - rescue remedy, a
flower essence extract has been used in both humans and animals to
reduce anxiety - it's easy to use and can be found in most herbal type
stores.  As far as him not leaving the crate, that's okay, small
enclosed areas are often comforting to a scared cat, I wouldn't force
him out, let him take his time.  Routines are very welcome by most
animals so try to maintain a routine if possible - this is less
important for cats than dogs but still helpful.

Medical treatment - this is a huge source of debate for most.  Some
say there is no treatment, give them as happy a life as possible until
they pass on.  Others say treat.  The big treatments include
interferon, imulan and acemannan.  None are 100% effective from what I
can tell.  There are stories to support and refute each.  I am
currently looking to find a combination of things that might be
effective.  Other less talked about treatments include high dose
vitamin c, NAC and vitamin E.  Some other natural remedies and immune
boosters (Wei Qui Booster)  are out there.  I have never heard of a
cure, but I continue to search.

With respect to the clavamox, I would be very suspicious.
Prophylactic treatment with an antibiotic is risky.  It can lead to GI
problems (diarrhea and vomiting as you kill off the healthy normal
bacterial flora of the gut and leave it wide open for bad bacteria),
kidney and liver failure, and development of bacteria resistant to the
antibiotic.  If there are no symptoms of infection and have not been
for some time I would seriously be cautious about this.  If there are
upper respiratory type symptoms; sneezing, clear runny nose and eyes,
lysine can be very effective at treating this - this can be ordered
online in a cat formula or purchased over the counter at walgreens or
similar store.

Lots of info, sorry.  You will certainly get lots more advice.  The
individuals in this group are intelligent, well read, and caring cat
lovers.

May God bless you and good luck.

Jenny

On 11/10/09, stargazer 12 stargaze...@q.com wrote:

 A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey
has
 feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a spare
 room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my
 friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is
 there any special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this
 disease. I have been during research  says the cat should not be
stressed.
 Unfortunately, Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital
 since last Tuesday. A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the
 couch as he is very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to
be
 very stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I
 do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I
 think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel like I am
keeping
 my friend alive too.



 Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.



 Thanks,

 Joyce  Spicey










  EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[dlgegg]

Joyce,  yes, you have taken on a bit of a job, but i think you will find it is 
worthwhile.  i took in Annie 3 weeks after her owner went into hospice.  she 
was locked up in her trailer all that time with the owner's sister coming once 
a day to put out food and change her litter box.  she had no understanding of 
what happened, why her person left her alone and then the sister stuffed her 
into a box and brought her to our vet.  then i put her in my carrier and 
brought her home and suddenly instead of being an only cat, she was one of 2.  
i tried keeping her in one room, but no one got any sleep.  so i let her out.  
we had some hissing, screaming fits, and she spent many dys and night in the 
basement, but she eventually came around and now is a very sweet, healthy felv 
positive cat.  i have since brought in more cats (6 now) and each time we have 
to restablish who is top cat, but everyone has survived and now we are fairly 
comfortable with our roommates.  It just takes time for her to learn tht she 
can trust you and to work out her place in the family.  be patient, love on her 
every time you get a chance.  dorlis
 stargazer 12 stargaze...@q.com wrote: 
 
 A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey has 
 feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a spare 
 room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my friend. 
  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is there any 
 special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this disease. I have 
 been during research  says the cat should not be stressed. Unfortunately, 
 Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital since last Tuesday. 
 A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the couch as he is very 
 timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be very stressed. It 
 has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I do not know if he 
 will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I think I maybe taking 
 on too much but in a small way I feel like I am keeping my friend alive too.
 
  
 
 Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
  
 
 Thanks,
 
 Joyce  Spicey
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[Debbie Bates]

The wonderful people here will give you great information...all I can tell you 
is to have patienceit must be extremely stressful for poor Spicey.  Give 
him time and a safe place to hide until he is ready to deal with the world on 
his own terms.  My heart breakes for him losing his mom...and I bless you for 
taking this baby into your home (and hopefully your heart)this disease is 
cruel and unforgiving.  I wish you all luck possible.

Debbie (COL)
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle  Philo


 
 From: stargaze...@q.com
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:38:17 +
 Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey
 
 
 A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey has 
 feline leukemia going on 2 years. I took the cat in  have him in a spare 
 room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my friend. 
 I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is there any 
 special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this disease. I have 
 been during research  says the cat should not be stressed. Unfortunately, 
 Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital since last Tuesday. 
 A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the couch as he is very 
 timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be very stressed. It 
 has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I do not know if he 
 will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I think I maybe taking 
 on too much but in a small way I feel like I am keeping my friend alive too.
 
 
 
 Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
 
 
 Thanks,
 
 Joyce  Spicey
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[gary]

I would be a bit concerned about why he has been on clavamox for a year.
That is a LONG time to be on any antibiotic.  A decent quality food, as
little stress as possible -not much you can do about the situation - and
lots of love and careful attention to his health.  Many of us give various
supplements in hopes it will help keep the immune system strong.  I don't
think there is any hard data that most of what we give is not more for us
than it is for the cat.  I'm sure you will hear about a lot of different
supplements, personally, I use Moducare.

You are a good person for taking in this kitty.

Gary

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of stargazer 12
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:38 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey


A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey has
feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a spare
room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my
friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is
there any special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this
disease. I have been during research  says the cat should not be stressed.
Unfortunately, Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital
since last Tuesday. A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the
couch as he is very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be
very stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I
do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I
think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel like I am keeping
my friend alive too.

 

Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Joyce  Spicey












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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[Cougar Clan]

Try Rescue Remedy in Spicey's water and the water of your other cats.   
Also add Willow (another Bach Remedy) and Feliway spray.  I've tried  
the room atomizer but don't care for it.  I have had wonderful luck  
with the Feliway spray and so have my vets.


Don't press Spicey.  The Royal Princess Kitty Katt (FeLV-) took about  
three months to come out from under the couch and be comfortable.  I  
slept on the floor most of that time to reduce my threat to her (size,  
ability to move etc).


Do the best you can to relax yourself.  Your stress, which is very  
understandable, transfers to all the cats.  Give them all the best  
food you can and follow your heart on supplements.  The first stop I  
made after determining that Dixie Louise Doodle Katt, JP was going to  
stay in this world was to a wonderful holistic vet named Betty  
Boswell.  She worked with my regular vets, Middletown Animal Clinic,  
and Dixie lived three wonderful, healthy years.  She had everything  
possible during her life.a big bed, doll, travel, love.but  
there was stress too.  Dixie was a throw-away that showed up in the  
pine thicket behind my Mom's.  She was several years old then and,  
from the looks of her, I suspect she was not planning on staying in  
this world.  Love, which was mutual, seems to have turned things around.


Most of all, don't count the days.  Throw the calender away.  No one  
knows how long they will live so just live in the moment.  Honest.  It  
is difficult but you have taken the first step.  Listen to the people  
on this list and follow your heart.  Not everyone agrees and not  
everything works for everyone.  The knowledge and comfort here is great.


Blessings to you for caring for this little one.
On Nov 10, 2009, at 3:38 PM, stargazer 12 wrote:



A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat.  
Spicey has feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in   
have him in a spare room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox  
for about 1 yr per my friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to  
find out all the specifics. Is there any special food/vitamins/drugs  
to help? I know nothing of this disease. I have been during research  
 says the cat should not be stressed. Unfortunately, Spicey has  
been stressed as his owner was in the hospital since last Tuesday. A  
neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the couch as he is  
very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be very  
stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier,  
I do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed  
at all. I think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel  
like I am keeping my friend alive too.




Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

Joyce  Spicey










EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Join me 
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Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[Laurieskatz]

Joyce, you are an angel for giving Spicey a home - doing this for both
Spicey and your friend.
Do you have something of your friends that you can put in the room with him
so something smells familiar?
That might comfort him if you can do that. Does he have a good hiding place
available in the room where you have him? Access to a window to look out? He
will explore...he may wait until no one is around. He is getting accustomed
to the smells and sounds of your house.

Clavamox for a year is a long time.
Wonder if you might be able to find another vet who knows about FeLV.
I had two FeLV+ cats who lived to ages 16 and 22 years of age.
Does he have symptoms - sneezing, runny eyes, snotty nose, diarrhea?

I believe you will be blessed by this kitty in the same way that he has been
blessed by you.
Feed him the best food you can afford. Preferably a good canned food. My
FeLV kitties weren't on any treatments or supplements.
We did use interferon with another FeLV+ cat my niece rescued. She is the
picture of health. She was quite sick when rescued (as an adult) but is
maintaining well on interferon. We did have her on antibiotics for a brief
time and pain killers and prednisone for about 1 1/2 years before
transitioning to just interferon. 

Laurie

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of stargazer 12
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:38 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey


A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat. Spicey has
feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a spare
room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my
friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the specifics. Is
there any special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this
disease. I have been during research  says the cat should not be stressed.
Unfortunately, Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the hospital
since last Tuesday. A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding under the
couch as he is very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he has to be
very stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his carrier, I
do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at all. I
think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel like I am keeping
my friend alive too.

 

Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Joyce  Spicey










 EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
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Re: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey

[Cougar Clan]

Another thought:  Watch Spicey's teeth and gums.  Not right now  
obviously but when things settle down.  Yes, you can get a cat used to  
having its mouth opened.  Good dental practices are important.  Dixie  
had stomatitis and we treated it with Petzlife Brush Away (put a  
little in the cat's mouth and he will spread it around).  Regular gum/ 
teeth checks will help you catch any anemia problems.  They hit Dixie  
suddenly.

On Nov 10, 2009, at 4:41 PM, Laurieskatz wrote:


Joyce, you are an angel for giving Spicey a home - doing this for both
Spicey and your friend.
Do you have something of your friends that you can put in the room  
with him

so something smells familiar?
That might comfort him if you can do that. Does he have a good  
hiding place
available in the room where you have him? Access to a window to look  
out? He
will explore...he may wait until no one is around. He is getting  
accustomed

to the smells and sounds of your house.

Clavamox for a year is a long time.
Wonder if you might be able to find another vet who knows about FeLV.
I had two FeLV+ cats who lived to ages 16 and 22 years of age.
Does he have symptoms - sneezing, runny eyes, snotty nose, diarrhea?

I believe you will be blessed by this kitty in the same way that he  
has been

blessed by you.
Feed him the best food you can afford. Preferably a good canned  
food. My

FeLV kitties weren't on any treatments or supplements.
We did use interferon with another FeLV+ cat my niece rescued. She  
is the
picture of health. She was quite sick when rescued (as an adult) but  
is
maintaining well on interferon. We did have her on antibiotics for a  
brief

time and pain killers and prednisone for about 1 1/2 years before
transitioning to just interferon.

Laurie

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of stargazer 12
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:38 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] introduction for Spicey


A very good friend passed away  her family didn't want the cat.  
Spicey has
feline leukemia going on 2 years.  I took the cat in  have him in a  
spare

room away from my cats. He has been on clavamox for about 1 yr per my
friend.  I am waiting on the vet to call to find out all the  
specifics. Is

there any special food/vitamins/drugs to help? I know nothing of this
disease. I have been during research  says the cat should not be  
stressed.
Unfortunately, Spicey has been stressed as his owner was in the  
hospital
since last Tuesday. A neighbor was feeding him but he was hiding  
under the
couch as he is very timid. And now he is in a strange place, so he  
has to be
very stressed. It has been 3 hours  he has not come out of his  
carrier, I
do not know if he will be friendly with me but he has not hissed at  
all. I
think I maybe taking on too much but in a small way I feel like I am  
keeping

my friend alive too.



Any ideas/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

Joyce  Spicey










EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Cougar Clan]

You will receive wonderful advise from this boardmuch better than  
I can give you.  My story is that a wonderful throw-away showed up at  
Mom's.  Due to some problems (read two dead cats at two different  
vets) in a very short time, I took the little girl to my personal vets  
(Middletown Animal Clinic) in Louisville, KY to be spayed and taken to  
my farm.  Dixie, as she soon became known, was FELV+.  Greg Bishop  
called with the blood test results and you could hear his heart in his  
mouth.  I knew nothing about FELV but he and Steve Koehler talked me  
through it.  We came up with a way to keep Dixie that involved me  
sleeping in a garage with her at my mother's, then moving her to a  
single wide then to a farm house + a home in Louisville.  She was my  
darling for three years, healthy and happy until a little bite before  
she left this world and broke my heart.  She had everything..All  
of this is to say, don't listen to the people who tell you there is no  
quality of lifeI promise you, no cat lived the life Dixie lived.   
Don't watch a calendarwe all start dying the minute we take our  
first breath and no one knows when we will leave this world.Don't  
grieve..you have wonderful lives in your hands.  Learn from them.   
Accept them.  Let them give to you and, in turn, give to them.  I give  
credit to my holistic vet, Betty Boswell, for helping keep Dixie  
health and happy.  Between Middletown Animal Clinic and Betty I had  
the best of all support.  If you have a holistic vet, please contact  
her/him for support.  For me, a mixture of styles work.  You have to  
chose.  Dixie left this world in June 2008.  In July, over a period of  
two weeks, Dixie sent me two very healthy kittens from the pine  
thicket she came from.  Copper and Thomas Cougar live with me now and  
have taken my grief and turned it to joy.


Listen to the people on this board who have faced this time and time  
again.  I have once.  I don't ever want to again because it is an  
awful thing.   However, had either boy been FELV+ or if any future  
kitten/cat comes my way with this problem...well, we'll get  
through it together.

On Nov 4, 2009, at 5:00 PM, Sara Kasteleyn wrote:


Hello..I'm new to the group.  I am a bit embarrassed about posting and
asking for your expertise.  Each of the postings I have read seems to
indicate you are all actively involved in opening your hearts and  
homes to
rescue kittens, and my little FeLV+ family was recently purchased  
from a
breeder.  My husband and I have had rescue cats and kittens all our  
lives,
and recently we fell in love with two Bengal kittens, brother and  
sister,
from a local breeder.  We purchased them and once home, realized we  
had
major socialization issues to overcome, new to us.  We have no other  
pets.
Once having (almost) mastered that, with a great sense of  
accomplishment we
took them to our office vet (our regular vet has a housecall  
practice) for
their spaying and neutering procedures.  During the pre-op blood  
work, it
was discovered they are both FeLV positive.  We were devastated, as  
my only
experience with the disease quite some time ago was not at all  
positive.  A
lot has taken place in the field since that earlier experience, and  
I'm
trying to educate myself on this disease, so please correct me where  
I don't
understand what I'm talking about.  The first test (is this what is  
meant by
the snap test?), indicated the presence of FeLV, and a subsequent  
test
sent out to a lab on the blood serum also indicated the presence of  
FeLV.
An additional blood test determined the disease is not in the bone  
marrow of

either kitten at this time.  They will be 8 months old mid-November.



I began a web search which brought me to this group, and also  
introduced me
to LTCI, which we started last weekend.  At this point in time, they  
are in
generally excellent health, very energetic, and have good appetites  
(the
male will only eat RadCat organic raw turkey, the female is eating  
Wellness
wet.both eat Wellness kitten kibble).  They both have indications of  
gum
disease, something I understand is not unusual with this diagnosis,  
and the
male very infrequently has a cough that sounds like a hairball, but  
is not
productive.  An X-ray during his neuter procedure indicated nothing  
unusual,
but it concerns me, primarily now because I'm waiting for the other  
shoe to

drop since the FeLV+ diagnosis.



Given the background above, in addition to the LTCI, would any of you
suggest other steps we might take to assure these little kittens  
stay as

healthy as possible for as long as possible?  Many thanks.



Sara F Kasteleyn

CIC Research, Inc.

8361 Vickers Street

San Diego, CA   92111

T - 858-637-4000

F - 858-637-4040

skastel...@cicresearch.com



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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[dlgegg]

Hello Sara,  just about 1 year ago, I was new to this group because a new cat I 
adopted thru my vet turned out to be felv positive.  I am lucky, my vet said I 
had 2 choices, put her to sleep or keep her and deal with whatever came up.  He 
also told me that many felv pos. cats live long healthy lives.  So, I opted to 
keep Annie.  Her owner was dying of liver cancer and she had always been an 
only, indoor cat.  She had been left alone in Kathy's trailer for 3 weeks with 
her only human contct being the sister coming and puting out food and changing 
her litter box.  She was extremely stressed, frightened and confused.  When she 
came home with me, she had to get used to being with another cat which was a 
probelm because she is an alpha female and had been a spoiled, only cat all 4 
years of her life.  We did the 2nd test right away and then waited 6 months to 
retest because we both were hoping that once the stress was out of her life, 
she might be negative.  No such luck.  No special treatment for her, she now 
has 4 new sisters and 1 brother.  2 of the new girls are also alpha, but slowly 
but surely, they are working out their places in my house.  Annie is still 
positive as is the last girl to come to me, Nitnoy (Thai for little one) who 
had her tail bitten off by a raccoon.  Both of them are fat, sassy, loving and 
healthy cats.  The other girls and Bob are all current on their felv 
vaccinations.  They are all together.  I think the most important thing is to 
keep the stress at a minimum, provide good quality food, shelter and lots of 
love.  My pride takes turns sleeping on my bed and sitting on my lap.  The only 
special thing I do is give Enisyl-F Lysine Treats which help boost the immune 
system.  The taste good and they all like them so it makes it easy to 
medicate them.  Other than that, i keep a close eye on them and if it looks 
like something may be wrong, off to the vet we go.  
My only experience with death of my babies, is due to old age, hyper thyroid 
and stroke.  I had 6 boys and 1 girl.  Shali and Tigger died from thyroid at 13 
and 14.  Shadow and Shorty died from stroke at 19.  Snuggles from kidney 
infection at 19.
Shalimar was hit by a car and Tut died of grief after he raised their kittens 
(Shali and Tigger) who were 1 week old when she was killed.  I bottle fed them 
.  Whether they are young or old when they cross the bridge, it hurts the same. 
 I wasn't going to take on so many ever again, but one by one they came to me, 
needing someone to love them and I couldn't say no.  So, no matter when Annie 
and Nitnoy cross over, they will get all the love and care I can give them in 
the meantime.  In short, don't let someone else make the decision to keep or 
let go for you.  God has put them in your safe keeping for a purpose and He 
will let you know when to let them go.  Dorlis
 Sara Kasteleyn skastel...@cicresearch.com wrote: 
 Hello..I'm new to the group.  I am a bit embarrassed about posting and
 asking for your expertise.  Each of the postings I have read seems to
 indicate you are all actively involved in opening your hearts and homes to
 rescue kittens, and my little FeLV+ family was recently purchased from a
 breeder.  My husband and I have had rescue cats and kittens all our lives,
 and recently we fell in love with two Bengal kittens, brother and sister,
 from a local breeder.  We purchased them and once home, realized we had
 major socialization issues to overcome, new to us.  We have no other pets.
 Once having (almost) mastered that, with a great sense of accomplishment we
 took them to our office vet (our regular vet has a housecall practice) for
 their spaying and neutering procedures.  During the pre-op blood work, it
 was discovered they are both FeLV positive.  We were devastated, as my only
 experience with the disease quite some time ago was not at all positive.  A
 lot has taken place in the field since that earlier experience, and I'm
 trying to educate myself on this disease, so please correct me where I don't
 understand what I'm talking about.  The first test (is this what is meant by
 the snap test?), indicated the presence of FeLV, and a subsequent test
 sent out to a lab on the blood serum also indicated the presence of FeLV.
 An additional blood test determined the disease is not in the bone marrow of
 either kitten at this time.  They will be 8 months old mid-November.
 
  
 
 I began a web search which brought me to this group, and also introduced me
 to LTCI, which we started last weekend.  At this point in time, they are in
 generally excellent health, very energetic, and have good appetites (the
 male will only eat RadCat organic raw turkey, the female is eating Wellness
 wet.both eat Wellness kitten kibble).  They both have indications of gum
 disease, something I understand is not unusual with this diagnosis, and the
 male very infrequently has a cough that sounds like a hairball, but is not
 productive.  An X-ray during his 

Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

[Sharyl]

Iva, you have already received some great advise.  All any of us can do is 
relate our experiences.  I've had 6 indoor positive kitties mixed with my 
negatives who had their FeLV vaccine and booster.  My negatives get an annual 
FeLV vaccine.  My positives are rescues born with FeLV.  I've lost 3 before 
they were a yr old but the other 3 are 1 and 2 yrs old.  I also have a colony 
I'm TNRing where at least 2 of the females are positive.  It's been 2 yrs since 
I have them spayed and they are still doing OK in the colony.  

I'm glad to read that you have reconsidered PTS.  You don't need to give your 
vet any research as to why you want to keep Becca.  She is your kitty and it is 
your decision.  If the vet won't support your decision then find another vet.
Sharyl

--- On Mon, 8/3/09, Iva Lark Emily Seaberg melleph...@sbcglobal.net wrote:

 From: Iva Lark Emily Seaberg melleph...@sbcglobal.net
 Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Date: Monday, August 3, 2009, 12:50 AM
 My 2 year old cat Rebecca (Becca) was
 diagnosed with FeLV on Friday. A brief history: I adopted
 Becca, along with another kitty Katherine, from PetSmart
 when they were a few months old. They had both been tested
 FeLV negative. But I did notice that a week after I brought
 them home Becca developed large lymph nodes around her neck
 that disappeared in a few weeks. I thought nothing of it and
 thought maybe she was fighting something off. They both came
 home with ringworm so the vet and I assumed Becca was just
 reacting to it pretty badly. 
  
 Almost a year later I adopted two kittens (Kiera and
 Casanova) from my neighbor, both FeLV
 negative. Shortly after I brought them home and around
 the time they both got spayed/neutered at the SPCA one of
 them (Kiera) developed the same swollen lymph nodes. Well,
 a few months ago Kiera was diagnosed with FeLV and was in
 the end stages. She was only 11 months old. I had no choice
 but to put her to sleep. By the time she was diagnosed she
 already had several large tumors in her body, had stopped
 eating, and one of the tumors was blocking her intestines.
 There was no hope for her. It was extremely hard to take as
 she was the only furbaby I had really bonded with at that
 point.
  
 Well the vet said to wait a few months and test my
 remaining kitties. We still have no idea how they got it,
 but I wonder if it happened at PetSmart or the SPCA?  They
 are all indoor cats and have never been exposed to other
 kitties outside of those two experiences. Anyway, we tested
 my three remaining cats and one was positive. She has no
 symptoms aside from some bad gum inflammation. She's fairly
 healthy and extremely active. The vet recommended I put her
 to sleep to protect the other cats. I initially agreed and
 the appt is scheduled for tomorrow. However, after
 researching and looking around it appears that 1. If the
 other cats haven't caught it by now chances are they might
 not. The sick kitty is 2 years old, the healthy kitties are
 2 years old and 15 months old. 2. I had the healthy kitties
 vaccinated against FeLV on the vet's recommendation and
 think that after they get their boosters the odds might be
 even slimmer of them getting infected. For
  now I have isolated Becca to my master bedroom/bathroom. I
 was planning on releasing her in three weeks after the other
 two kitties get their booster shots. 
  
 Am I making the right call? If I put Becca to sleep and the
 others eventually test positve then I will be crushed! But I
 don't want to continue to risk them either. It looks like
 based on my research it is rare for adult cats to get FeLV,
 and if they have already been exposed for so long (over a
 year) and are currently negative then aren't the odds good?
 I have to call the vet tomorrow to cancel the euthanasia and
 ask for some antibiotics instead, and I want to have some
 good reasons to give her for my change of heart, along with
 some good documentation she can research. I figure I can
 always use the next three weeks to think the decision
 through but if I put her down I can't take it back.  I
 don't know how much longer I'd have with her... but doing
 this when she is so healthy just doesn't sit with me. 
  
 I should add, I got these four kitties to replace my last
 kitty, who died from Renal Failure. He was given a few
 months to live and lived for three years under my care. I'm
 not afraid of a little work if it means quality of life for
 her and more time together with minimal risk to my other
 angels.
  
 Help??
  
 Iva
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

[Diane Rosenfeldt]

Hi, Iva --

I'm so sorry you lost little Kiera. But that sounds like the right decision
to make for her. 

But for Becca -- you are absolutely right not to kill a healthy cat.  You've
taken the proper precautions with the other kitties. Others on this list
have discovered too late that one of their cats is positive, and still
their healthy cats have not caught FeLV.  You're right, an FeLV+ cat is not
a hotbed of infection to healthy, vaccinated adult cats.

I think probably a lot of people on this list will advise you to run
screaming from a vet who advises euthanizing a cat just in case. You don't
have to justify your decision not to kill Becca to anyone including the vet.
If she's not good with that, and will not use this as an opportunity to get
up to speed on FeLV (and continues to tell people to kill healthy cats!) you
should really look for another vet. You can call around and ask the vets'
philosophy on FeLV. 

Good luck with Becca. I know you'll get lots of good advice on this list.

Diane R.

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Iva Lark Emily
Seaberg
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 11:51 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

My 2 year old cat Rebecca (Becca) was diagnosed with FeLV on Friday. A brief
history: I adopted Becca, along with another kitty Katherine, from PetSmart
when they were a few months old. They had both been tested FeLV negative.
But I did notice that a week after I brought them home Becca developed large
lymph nodes around her neck that disappeared in a few weeks. I thought
nothing of it and thought maybe she was fighting something off. They both
came home with ringworm so the vet and I assumed Becca was just reacting to
it pretty badly. 
 
Almost a year later I adopted two kittens (Kiera and Casanova) from my
neighbor, both FeLV negative. Shortly after I brought them home and around
the time they both got spayed/neutered at the SPCA one of them
(Kiera) developed the same swollen lymph nodes. Well, a few months ago Kiera
was diagnosed with FeLV and was in the end stages. She was only 11 months
old. I had no choice but to put her to sleep. By the time she was diagnosed
she already had several large tumors in her body, had stopped eating, and
one of the tumors was blocking her intestines. There was no hope for her. It
was extremely hard to take as she was the only furbaby I had really bonded
with at that point.
 
Well the vet said to wait a few months and test my remaining kitties. We
still have no idea how they got it, but I wonder if it happened at PetSmart
or the SPCA?  They are all indoor cats and have never been exposed to other
kitties outside of those two experiences. Anyway, we tested my three
remaining cats and one was positive. She has no symptoms aside from some bad
gum inflammation. She's fairly healthy and extremely active. The vet
recommended I put her to sleep to protect the other cats. I initially agreed
and the appt is scheduled for tomorrow. However, after researching and
looking around it appears that 1. If the other cats haven't caught it by now
chances are they might not. The sick kitty is 2 years old, the healthy
kitties are 2 years old and 15 months old. 2. I had the healthy kitties
vaccinated against FeLV on the vet's recommendation and think that after
they get their boosters the odds might be even slimmer of them getting
infected. For  now I have isolated Becca to my master bedroom/bathroom. I
was planning on releasing her in three weeks after the other two kitties get
their booster shots. 
 
Am I making the right call? If I put Becca to sleep and the others
eventually test positve then I will be crushed! But I don't want to continue
to risk them either. It looks like based on my research it is rare for adult
cats to get FeLV, and if they have already been exposed for so long (over a
year) and are currently negative then aren't the odds good? I have to call
the vet tomorrow to cancel the euthanasia and ask for some antibiotics
instead, and I want to have some good reasons to give her for my change of
heart, along with some good documentation she can research. I figure I can
always use the next three weeks to think the decision through but if I put
her down I can't take it back.  I don't know how much longer I'd have with
her... but doing this when she is so healthy just doesn't sit with me. 
 
I should add, I got these four kitties to replace my last kitty, who died
from Renal Failure. He was given a few months to live and lived for three
years under my care. I'm not afraid of a little work if it means quality of
life for her and more time together with minimal risk to my other angels.
 
Help??
 
Iva
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

[MaryChristine]

regardless of how becca became infected, everyone in the house has
already been exposed to her by now, and euthanizing her is like the
proverbial shutting the barn door.

as others have said, adults cats have a very high level of immunity to
the virus--suggest that your vet read
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/57000.htmword=feline%2cleukemia
for the 70% stat. additionally, NEW research is showing that even in
those cats who do continue to test positive, some of them never
progress to becoming systematic, and are not actually contagious.
(that info was given in a petsmart webinar late last year, and i
haven't been able to find the actual citation.)

also, as mentioned, there is NO evidence of a vaccinated TRUE negative
(ie, one tested twice, with enough time in between tests for the virus
to actually have taken hold) ever to become positive from living with
a TRUE positive (likewise, one tested twice, to make sure that it
doesn't throw the virus off.) there are many folks who have had
vaccinated negatives living with positives for many years, with NO
infection.

everyone, and everything living is gonna die at some point--and when
we start killing off things because they MIGHT get sick at some point,
it doesn't bode well for any living thing. it's awful to find out that
one has inadvertently exposed one of our furkids to an illness, but
once it's happened, it's happened--i know i don't stop loving the
positive one

glad you found us.





-- 
Spay  Neuter Your Neighbors!
Maybe That'll Make The Difference

MaryChristine
Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org)
Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team)

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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

[Sander, Sue]

-+

Rebecca,  Thank you for this valuable information.

Susan 

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of MaryChristine
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 2:03 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

regardless of how becca became infected, everyone in the house has
already been exposed to her by now, and euthanizing her is like the
proverbial shutting the barn door.

as others have said, adults cats have a very high level of immunity to
the virus--suggest that your vet read
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/57000.htmword=
feline%2cleukemia
for the 70% stat. additionally, NEW research is showing that even in
those cats who do continue to test positive, some of them never progress
to becoming systematic, and are not actually contagious.
(that info was given in a petsmart webinar late last year, and i haven't
been able to find the actual citation.)

also, as mentioned, there is NO evidence of a vaccinated TRUE negative
(ie, one tested twice, with enough time in between tests for the virus
to actually have taken hold) ever to become positive from living with a
TRUE positive (likewise, one tested twice, to make sure that it doesn't
throw the virus off.) there are many folks who have had vaccinated
negatives living with positives for many years, with NO infection.

everyone, and everything living is gonna die at some point--and when we
start killing off things because they MIGHT get sick at some point, it
doesn't bode well for any living thing. it's awful to find out that one
has inadvertently exposed one of our furkids to an illness, but once
it's happened, it's happened--i know i don't stop loving the positive
one

glad you found us.





--
Spay  Neuter Your Neighbors!
Maybe That'll Make The Difference

MaryChristine
Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue
(www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team)

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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

[gary]

Many cats are naturally immune to FeLV.  We each have to make our own
decisions, but if I were in your situation I would not put Becca down and
would let her continue to live with the others.  I think it quite unlikely -
especially after being vaccinated - that they would contract FeLV.  Of
course, there are no guarantees.  Also, you would have to consider very
carefully if you were going to bring another kitty into the house while you
still have Becca.

Gary

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Iva Lark Emily
Seaberg
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 11:51 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca

My 2 year old cat Rebecca (Becca) was diagnosed with FeLV on Friday. A brief
history: I adopted Becca, along with another kitty Katherine, from PetSmart
when they were a few months old. They had both been tested FeLV negative.
But I did notice that a week after I brought them home Becca developed large
lymph nodes around her neck that disappeared in a few weeks. I thought
nothing of it and thought maybe she was fighting something off. They both
came home with ringworm so the vet and I assumed Becca was just reacting to
it pretty badly. 
 
Almost a year later I adopted two kittens (Kiera and Casanova) from my
neighbor, both FeLV negative. Shortly after I brought them home and around
the time they both got spayed/neutered at the SPCA one of them
(Kiera) developed the same swollen lymph nodes. Well, a few months ago Kiera
was diagnosed with FeLV and was in the end stages. She was only 11 months
old. I had no choice but to put her to sleep. By the time she was diagnosed
she already had several large tumors in her body, had stopped eating, and
one of the tumors was blocking her intestines. There was no hope for her. It
was extremely hard to take as she was the only furbaby I had really bonded
with at that point.
 
Well the vet said to wait a few months and test my remaining kitties. We
still have no idea how they got it, but I wonder if it happened at PetSmart
or the SPCA?  They are all indoor cats and have never been exposed to other
kitties outside of those two experiences. Anyway, we tested my three
remaining cats and one was positive. She has no symptoms aside from some bad
gum inflammation. She's fairly healthy and extremely active. The vet
recommended I put her to sleep to protect the other cats. I initially agreed
and the appt is scheduled for tomorrow. However, after researching and
looking around it appears that 1. If the other cats haven't caught it by now
chances are they might not. The sick kitty is 2 years old, the healthy
kitties are 2 years old and 15 months old. 2. I had the healthy kitties
vaccinated against FeLV on the vet's recommendation and think that after
they get their boosters the odds might be even slimmer of them getting
infected. For
 now I have isolated Becca to my master bedroom/bathroom. I was planning on
releasing her in three weeks after the other two kitties get their booster
shots. 
 
Am I making the right call? If I put Becca to sleep and the others
eventually test positve then I will be crushed! But I don't want to continue
to risk them either. It looks like based on my research it is rare for adult
cats to get FeLV, and if they have already been exposed for so long (over a
year) and are currently negative then aren't the odds good? I have to call
the vet tomorrow to cancel the euthanasia and ask for some antibiotics
instead, and I want to have some good reasons to give her for my change of
heart, along with some good documentation she can research. I figure I can
always use the next three weeks to think the decision through but if I put
her down I can't take it back.  I don't know how much longer I'd have with
her... but doing this when she is so healthy just doesn't sit with me. 
 
I should add, I got these four kitties to replace my last kitty, who died
from Renal Failure. He was given a few months to live and lived for three
years under my care. I'm not afraid of a little work if it means quality of
life for her and more time together with minimal risk to my other angels.
 
Help??
 
Iva


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[TatorBunz]

Welcome to the group Jennifer!
Bless you and your husband for your efforts on helping FELV kitties!
Keep up the good work and love for these precious babies.
You will find there are other rescues here that do somewhat the same as  you.
Also, a lot of very valuable information.
Many of us are all over the world.
I have been on this group/list since 1999 if my memory serves me  correctly.
I'm also a rescue as it was started officially by my late Taz you can  read 
about him by going to Tazzys link below. Even though I've been rescuing for  
over 25 years.
Thanks to James the moderator that started this in memory of his  kitty.


TAZZY'S ANIMAL TRANSPORTS
SIAMESE  COLLIE  RESCUE
Sultan/Startup, WA.
_http://tazzys.org/_ (http://tazzys.org/index.html) 



Board Member for national rescue.
_http://www.hurricanepetsrescue.org/_ (http://www.hurricanepetsrescue.org/) 

OTRA VERIFIED TRANSPORTER
(On The Road  Again)

Terrie Mohr-Forker

Copyright © 2007-2008  Tazzy's.org. All rights reserved.
**Feeling the pinch at the grocery store?  Make dinner for $10 or 
less. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood0001)
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Jane Lyons]

Thank you Jennifer (and your husband) for the work that you are doing  
and for joining the group. I know that hospice/rescues like
yours are needed in every community in this country. It is wonderful  
that you are able to give love and care
to these special cats.  I am sure you have a unique understanding of  
this virus and how it progresses, living

with so many affected cats.
Are most of the cats in your home symptomatic ? Have you any who are  
dealing with stomatitis? Do you have

a vet who helps you with Felv issues?
I would love to hear more about your rescue and about the 13 kitties  
who are with you now. Thank you again for

the work that you are doing.
Jane





 mem
On Mar 22, 2009, at 12:17 PM, martinj...@verizon.net wrote:

My name is Jennifer Reihart and I run a hospice center/rescue for  
cats with FeLv.  I have been doing it for over 6 years and have  
gotten cats from all over the eastern US.  OH, NY, NJ, PA, NC, and  
even as far as Texas.  We have a huge house, and take in cats from  
different areas, and various backgrounds and give them a place to  
call home.  I am independent, my husband and I do this on our own,  
and out of love for these special cats.  They have free run of the  
home, and get lots of love and attention.  We currently have 13,  
and they all have their own space, however at night our bed is  
covered in cats.


I have gotten several cats from FeLv.org and have given them a  
loving home.  We have had 3 live past 9, most live until 5 or 6, we  
have one that is 7.  We don't do anything special, they get good  
cat food, wet in the morning-dry throughout the day.  But what I  
think is our secret to having them live longer is lots of love.   
they are all used to being petted, kissed, and made over.  Each one  
has it's own special personality, that's what I love about cats, no  
two are the same.


I just wanted to introduce myself to the group.  We have worked a  
little with the Marley fund in NC, but mostly we take cats from  
various rescue groups and individuals who are desperate to find a  
good home for their cats.  We do insist they bring the cat's here  
so that they can see the love and attention we give the cats.  This  
set's their mind at ease, and makes the transition easier.




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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Southernes]

where are you located? I volunteer at a humane shelter in Tennessee and 
unfortunately their current policy is to euthanize any cats that come in and 
test 
positive.  I am trying to change their thinking :-)

Sidney



**
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction

[Sharyl]

Thank you Jennifer for providing a loving home for these babies.
Sharyl

--- On Sun, 3/22/09, martinj...@verizon.net martinj...@verizon.net wrote:

 From: martinj...@verizon.net martinj...@verizon.net
 Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction
 To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 Date: Sunday, March 22, 2009, 12:17 PM
 
 -Inline Attachment Follows-
 
 My name is Jennifer Reihart and I
 run a hospice center/rescue for cats with FeLv.  I have
 been doing it for over 6 years and have gotten cats from all
 over the eastern US.  OH, NY, NJ, PA, NC, and even as
 far as Texas.  We have a huge house, and take in cats
 from different areas, and various backgrounds and give them
 a place to call home.  I am independent, my husband and
 I do this on our own, and out of love for these special
 cats.  They have free run of the home, and get lots of
 love and attention.  We currently have 13, and they all
 have their own space, however at night our bed is covered in
 cats.
 
 I have gotten several cats from FeLv.org and have given
 them a loving home.  We have had 3 live past 9, most
 live until 5 or 6, we have one that is 7.  We don't do
 anything special, they get good cat food, wet in the
 morning-dry throughout the day.  But what I think is
 our secret to having them live longer is lots of love. 
 they are all used to being petted, kissed, and made
 over.  Each one has it's own special personality,
 that's what I love about cats, no two are the same.
 
 I just wanted to introduce myself to the group.  We
 have worked a little with the Marley fund in NC, but mostly
 we take cats from various rescue groups and individuals who
 are desperate to find a good home for their cats.  We
 do insist they bring the cat's here so that they can see the
 love and attention we give the cats.  This set's their
 mind at ease, and makes the transition easier.
 
 
 
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Sharyl]

Welcome to the group Sidney.  Pancreatitis ca be a painful illness for cats but 
is treatable.  There is a new yahoo pancreatitis group that has some great 
treatment info.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline_pancreatitis_support/
Has your vet Rx anything for pain?  Please do not give the General Metacam.  
There are other effective pain meds for cats.  
 
Eating is even more important for a sick kitty.  There is a wonderful Yahoo 
feeding group that has info on assist feeding.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/
 
Sounds like the General has found a wonderful place to 'room'.
Sharyl


--- On Sat, 12/13/08, souther...@aol.com souther...@aol.com wrote:

From: souther...@aol.com souther...@aol.com
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008, 10:12 PM

I just found this list after doing a little on line reading.  I joined this 
list to learn more about the issues surrounding caring for a Feline Leukemia 
positive cat.  Here's our story:

I have never owned a cat or even been around a cat in my life and I'm
almost 
52.  Two years ago this coming spring I was in my yard working in my flowers 
and this poor scrawny cat came and climbed up in my lap.  I kept moving him and

he came moving back in my lap.  He just kept hanging around so I gave him 
milk (remember I know NOTHING about cats).  The next day he was sitting on my 
front porch so I brought him some dog food out (that's all I had as I have
always 
had dogs)  He ate it as fast as I'd give it to him.  The next day he was 
still there so I bought him catfood.  I started feeding him every day outside. 
He 
stayed.  After about 3 weeks I figured if he was going to stay I better get 
him to a vet and get him neutered.  I took him to my dog's vet who tested
him 
for Feline Leukemia and I don't know what else and said he's positive
for 
Feline Leukemia, you might as well have him put to sleep as he's gonna die
anyway.  
Well, I'd become attached to him so I said, no not gonna do that.  Go ahead

and neuter him and give him whatever vaccinations he needs and we'll go
from 
there.  I found a local vet that specializes in cats and took him there.  I 
moved him inside and there's he's been ever since. He's a huge boy
now, a sweet 
loving lap cat and  I love him with all my heart :-)

He's had some problems, a kidney infection, eye infections, and now
he's 
having some issues with what they think is pancreatitis.  He's had bouts of

vomiting, and loss of appetite.  It comes back after a day or so and he's
fine for 
several days but then it seems to come back.  I'm now waiting on the
results of 
some test that may be able to determine if it is truly pancreatitis.  All his 
other blood levels are normal.  No temp.  Today his heart rate was up but 
other than that he was normal other than he acted like his tummy hurt and he 
wouldn't eat and didn't want to be handled (both things are very unlike
him as 
he'd sit in my lap for hours usually if I'll let him)

So here we are and we're hoping to learn.  Oh, his name is General Sterling

Price, named for a cat in a John Wayne movie, True Grit (Mattie Ross: You
don't 
have any family, do you?Except Chen Lee and that lazy cat. Cogburn: 
General Price don't belong to me.Cats don't belong to nobody! He just
rooms with 
me.Course I depend on him...)

Sidney and General Sterling Price


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Southernes]

In a message dated 12/14/2008 12:19:08 AM Central Standard Time, 
maima...@duo-county.com writes:

 Love him with all your and do not fear the future.   
 Everyone who loves and is loved has a broken heart eventually and,  
 just as eventually, breaks another's heart.  Learn from him.

He's already taught me a lot.  For one thing, I now consider myself to be a 
cat and dog person!  I would NEVER have said that 2 years ago.  And I think it 
was Queen Elizabeth II who said Grief is the price we pay for love

Thanks, 
Sidney and the General


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Southernes]

In a message dated 12/14/2008 12:49:47 AM Central Standard Time, 
drosenfe...@wi.rr.com writes:

 In your case, if the
 pancreatitis is still going, the trick is to feed something that won't
 irritate the pancreas.  Slippery slope, but doable.
 

Do you have any suggestions as to what that might be?  

Sidney and the General


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Belinda Sauro]

  Hi Sidney,
   Welcome, I am sorry General is feeling so poorly, pancreatitis is a 
booger to deal with, Bailey had this and it eventually turned into 
cancer and I lost him to it.  He was FeLV+ at 5 months of age and passed 
at 11 years old.  We didn't realize he had pancreatitis because he his 
blood work was fairly normal but we did suspect cancer somewhere and 
couldn't find it.  He had diarrhea and was not eating anything for 65, 
almost 6 months straight before I lost him and found the pancreatic 
cancer upon his death.

Hills prescription diet makes a food that is low in fat which is what 
you want for a cat that has pancreatitis.  It is called ID, your vet 
should be able to get it for you.  I had to eventually get a feeding 
tube put into Bailey to get enough food in to him because syringe 
feeding just wasn't working for us.  Many cats do fine with syringe 
feeding, no cat likes it to start but many will adjust and even come to 
accept it.  Bailey was not one if those, we tried it for a good month 
and he hated it the whole time, that is why I finally decided on a 
feeding tube.  Unfortunately with the cancer hiding in his body and my 
vet not being able to find it (believe me we tried, we did every test 
imaginable, but nothing ever showed us where or what kind of cancer), 
even enough food eventually wasn't enough to make him well.

It is extremely important to get General to eat, cats can get something 
called hepatic lipidosis which is basically fatty liver disease, this 
will kill them in short order is not treated, the treatment is food, 
enough of it.  An average sized adult cat needs 200 or more calories a 
day minimum, that's about a 6 oz can.  So even if you have to offer food 
every 15 minutes or put some in your finger and open General's mouth and 
put it in, do it.  I do this with Fred my CRF guy (kidney failure) if he 
won't eat when I give him his meds.  Always give food or water with 
pills, if they don't go all the way down a cats very long esophagus, 
they can dissolve in there and cause some bad damage, some cats won't 
eat if their esophagus is irritated from pills dissolving in there.  The 
main thing is make sure general is getting enough food, have your vet 
show you how to syringe feed him if you need to.  Here are some info and 
video's on how to do it:

*Click Here* cid:part1.07040401.03010103@bemikitties.com

Most important thing to remember is go slow and always go in the side of 
the mouth, you never want to shoot food or liquids straight back down a 
cats throat.

This cat has obviously gotten used to the routine and adapted very well:

*http://www.rindarealm.com/PDF/howtoforce.pdf*

Here is an article by a vet on the benefits of a feeding tube if it 
becomes a necessity.  I have had 3 cats with feeding tubes they did 
retty well, Buddie, my first tube kitty loved her tube feedings and 
actually looked forward to her feedings.

*http://www.catinfo.org/feedingtubes.htm

*Here is an article by the same vet about giving cats pills and why you 
don't want to do it without making sure they get it down all the way:

*http://www.catinfo.org/pillingcats.htm

*I hope General starts eating better on his own soon, just take things 
slow, stay calm and General will follow your lead.

-- 

Belinda
happiness is being owned by cats ...

http://bemikitties.com

http://BelindaSauro.com

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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Gloria B. Lane]

I really don't know squat about pancreas - but with the mention of  
Slippery - I syringe Slippery Elm liquid to kitties with other types  
of digestive problems.   Supposed to be nutritious as well as  
soothing.  Like I say, don't know much about it for pancreas problems.

Gloria



On Dec 14, 2008, at 8:31 AM, souther...@aol.com wrote:

 In a message dated 12/14/2008 12:49:47 AM Central Standard Time,
 drosenfe...@wi.rr.com writes:

 In your case, if the
 pancreatitis is still going, the trick is to feed something that  
 won't
 irritate the pancreas.  Slippery slope, but doable.


 Do you have any suggestions as to what that might be?

 Sidney and the General


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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Cougar Clan]

Oh my.  A story I know well.  With both Felv+ and Felv- cats.  You  
have been hooked by an angel.  My first and only Felv+ was Dixie.  She  
was probably 3 or so years old.  After I decided to find a way to keep  
her (She apparently had lost her home and was hanging out with the  
ferals behind my mother's home.  She was supposed to be spayed then  
become my farm cat) I took her to a holistic vet my regular vets had  
referred me to with other animals.  Dr. Betty Boswell worked with the  
vets at Middletown Animal Hospital and between them and the love Dixie  
got as well as gave, she had three wonderful years and HAD  
EVERYTHING!  I urge any one with a critter who has problems to  
seek holistic services as well as regular vets.  My world is great in  
that both groups I use respect each other.  Fed the highest quality  
food you can.  Mix in ground/chopped veggies high vitamin C (Dixie  
loved baby carrots, broccoli and spinach).  Start her on Colostrum or  
Transfer Factor.  Love him with all your and do not fear the future.   
Everyone who loves and is loved has a broken heart eventually and,  
just as eventually, breaks another's heart.  Learn from him.  He came  
to you for a reason.  And hang with this group.  You found it the way  
I did and it is wonderful.  The information is great and, although it  
is sometimes conflicting, you need to read it all to find out what is  
right for you and your wonderful friend.  And give him EVERYTHING!!!


On Dec 13, 2008, at 9:12 PM, souther...@aol.com wrote:

 I just found this list after doing a little on line reading.  I  
 joined this
 list to learn more about the issues surrounding caring for a Feline  
 Leukemia
 positive cat.  Here's our story:

 I have never owned a cat or even been around a cat in my life and  
 I'm almost
 52.  Two years ago this coming spring I was in my yard working in my  
 flowers
 and this poor scrawny cat came and climbed up in my lap.  I kept  
 moving him and
 he came moving back in my lap.  He just kept hanging around so I  
 gave him
 milk (remember I know NOTHING about cats).  The next day he was  
 sitting on my
 front porch so I brought him some dog food out (that's all I had as  
 I have always
 had dogs)  He ate it as fast as I'd give it to him.  The next day he  
 was
 still there so I bought him catfood.  I started feeding him every  
 day outside.  He
 stayed.  After about 3 weeks I figured if he was going to stay I  
 better get
 him to a vet and get him neutered.  I took him to my dog's vet who  
 tested him
 for Feline Leukemia and I don't know what else and said he's  
 positive for
 Feline Leukemia, you might as well have him put to sleep as he's  
 gonna die anyway.
 Well, I'd become attached to him so I said, no not gonna do that.   
 Go ahead
 and neuter him and give him whatever vaccinations he needs and we'll  
 go from
 there.  I found a local vet that specializes in cats and took him  
 there.  I
 moved him inside and there's he's been ever since. He's a huge boy  
 now, a sweet
 loving lap cat and  I love him with all my heart :-)

 He's had some problems, a kidney infection, eye infections, and now  
 he's
 having some issues with what they think is pancreatitis.  He's had  
 bouts of
 vomiting, and loss of appetite.  It comes back after a day or so and  
 he's fine for
 several days but then it seems to come back.  I'm now waiting on the  
 results of
 some test that may be able to determine if it is truly  
 pancreatitis.  All his
 other blood levels are normal.  No temp.  Today his heart rate was  
 up but
 other than that he was normal other than he acted like his tummy  
 hurt and he
 wouldn't eat and didn't want to be handled (both things are very  
 unlike him as
 he'd sit in my lap for hours usually if I'll let him)

 So here we are and we're hoping to learn.  Oh, his name is General  
 Sterling
 Price, named for a cat in a John Wayne movie, True Grit (Mattie  
 Ross: You don't
 have any family, do you?Except Chen Lee and that lazy cat. Cogburn:
 General Price don't belong to me.Cats don't belong to nobody! He  
 just rooms with
 me.Course I depend on him...)

 Sidney and General Sterling Price


 **
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 your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place.  Try it now.
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 )
 ___
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 Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
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Marylyn, Copper  Thomas








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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Diane Rosenfeldt]

Sidney --

Welcome!  General Sterling Price is so lucky to have found you.  Sounds like
he knew exactly what he was doing when he crawled into your lap in your
garden!!  Just make sure he eats something every day, by whatever means
necessary.  We got our Luc through fatty liver disease caused by his not
eating (the suspected cause was pancreatitis, but it may have resolved
itself by the time we noticed that he was acting sick.  In your case, if the
pancreatitis is still going, the trick is to feed something that won't
irritate the pancreas.  Slippery slope, but doable.

Good luck to you both!!  I hope the General feels better very soon!

Diane R.

-Original Message-
From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org
[mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of souther...@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 9:12 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

I just found this list after doing a little on line reading.  I joined this
list to learn more about the issues surrounding caring for a Feline Leukemia
positive cat.  Here's our story:

I have never owned a cat or even been around a cat in my life and I'm almost
52.  Two years ago this coming spring I was in my yard working in my flowers
and this poor scrawny cat came and climbed up in my lap.  I kept moving him
and he came moving back in my lap.  He just kept hanging around so I gave
him milk (remember I know NOTHING about cats).  The next day he was sitting
on my front porch so I brought him some dog food out (that's all I had as I
have always had dogs)  He ate it as fast as I'd give it to him.  The next
day he was still there so I bought him catfood.  I started feeding him every
day outside.  He stayed.  After about 3 weeks I figured if he was going to
stay I better get him to a vet and get him neutered.  I took him to my dog's
vet who tested him for Feline Leukemia and I don't know what else and said
he's positive for Feline Leukemia, you might as well have him put to sleep
as he's gonna die anyway.  
Well, I'd become attached to him so I said, no not gonna do that.  Go ahead
and neuter him and give him whatever vaccinations he needs and we'll go from
there.  I found a local vet that specializes in cats and took him there.  I
moved him inside and there's he's been ever since. He's a huge boy now, a
sweet loving lap cat and  I love him with all my heart :-)

He's had some problems, a kidney infection, eye infections, and now he's
having some issues with what they think is pancreatitis.  He's had bouts of
vomiting, and loss of appetite.  It comes back after a day or so and he's
fine for several days but then it seems to come back.  I'm now waiting on
the results of some test that may be able to determine if it is truly
pancreatitis.  All his other blood levels are normal.  No temp.  Today his
heart rate was up but other than that he was normal other than he acted like
his tummy hurt and he wouldn't eat and didn't want to be handled (both
things are very unlike him as he'd sit in my lap for hours usually if I'll
let him)

So here we are and we're hoping to learn.  Oh, his name is General Sterling
Price, named for a cat in a John Wayne movie, True Grit (Mattie Ross: You
don't 
have any family, do you?Except Chen Lee and that lazy cat. Cogburn: 
General Price don't belong to me.Cats don't belong to nobody! He just rooms
with me.Course I depend on him...)

Sidney and General Sterling Price


**
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com0010)
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Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - new here (LONG)

[Cougar Clan]

I wonder if Lysine would help with the eye infection?  I've used the  
supplement with some ferals and, at one point, with Dixie.  There are  
some nuances though.  You need to get them from others on the list.   
It has to do with the quality of the supplement.  Until you hear from  
someone wiser, wait.



 I just found this list after doing a little on line reading.  I  
 joined this
 list to learn more about the issues surrounding caring for a Feline  
 Leukemia
 positive cat.  Here's our story:

 I have never owned a cat or even been around a cat in my life and  
 I'm almost
 52.  Two years ago this coming spring I was in my yard working in my  
 flowers
 and this poor scrawny cat came and climbed up in my lap.  I kept  
 moving him
 and he came moving back in my lap.  He just kept hanging around so I  
 gave
 him milk (remember I know NOTHING about cats).  The next day he was  
 sitting
 on my front porch so I brought him some dog food out (that's all I  
 had as I
 have always had dogs)  He ate it as fast as I'd give it to him.  The  
 next
 day he was still there so I bought him catfood.  I started feeding  
 him every
 day outside.  He stayed.  After about 3 weeks I figured if he was  
 going to
 stay I better get him to a vet and get him neutered.  I took him to  
 my dog's
 vet who tested him for Feline Leukemia and I don't know what else  
 and said
 he's positive for Feline Leukemia, you might as well have him put to  
 sleep
 as he's gonna die anyway.
 Well, I'd become attached to him so I said, no not gonna do that.   
 Go ahead
 and neuter him and give him whatever vaccinations he needs and we'll  
 go from
 there.  I found a local vet that specializes in cats and took him  
 there.  I
 moved him inside and there's he's been ever since. He's a huge boy  
 now, a
 sweet loving lap cat and  I love him with all my heart :-)

 He's had some problems, a kidney infection, eye infections, and now  
 he's
 having some issues with what they think is pancreatitis.  He's had  
 bouts of
 vomiting, and loss of appetite.  It comes back after a day or so and  
 he's
 fine for several days but then it seems to come back.  I'm now  
 waiting on
 the results of some test that may be able to determine if it is truly
 pancreatitis.  All his other blood levels are normal.  No temp.   
 Today his
 heart rate was up but other than that he was normal other than he  
 acted like
 his tummy hurt and he wouldn't eat and didn't want to be handled (both
 things are very unlike him as he'd sit in my lap for hours usually  
 if I'll
 let him)

 So here we are and we're hoping to learn.  Oh, his name is General  
 Sterling
 Price, named for a cat in a John Wayne movie, True Grit (Mattie  
 Ross: You
 don't
 have any family, do you?Except Chen Lee and that lazy cat. Cogburn:
 General Price don't belong to me.Cats don't belong to nobody! He  
 just rooms
 with me.Course I depend on him...)

 Sidney and General Sterling Price


 **
 Make your life easier with all
 your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place.  Try it now.
 (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dpamp;icid=aolcom40vanityamp;ncid=emlcntaol
 com0010)
 ___
 Felvtalk mailing list
 Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
 http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org


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 Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
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Marylyn, Copper  Thomas








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RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch/Cassidy

[Joe Reil]

 I don't know where you live, but Cassidy is the most
 beautiful, friendly,
 loving cat! He's probably less than one year old, or
 around there. Here's
 his picture:

He's gorgeous. I'm up in Vermont but am not really in
a position to take in other cats at the moment, mostly
because of Stitch's particular personality issues. :)
If I think of or find anyone who is, though, or if my
situation changes, I'll keep you in mind.

 Best of luck with your new quest on educating
 yourself on FeLV. There's so
 much to learn as I've found out this past week! But,
 the people here are so
 helpful and understanding-I'm so glad you've found
 this resource as well!

Thanks!

Joe
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch/Cassidy

[Melissa Lind]

Thanks Joe! Vermont is quite a distance from Nebraska! But, of course keep
us in mind if you know of any compassionate people would like and FeLV baby.
A vacation with a purpose would be nice. However, I'm sure there are plenty
of cats in need out East! And, luckily, Cassidy has been accepted to Best
Friends in Utah (a little closer), if I don't find him a home before then.
Best, Melissa

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe Reil
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 7:49 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch/Cassidy

 I don't know where you live, but Cassidy is the most
 beautiful, friendly,
 loving cat! He's probably less than one year old, or
 around there. Here's
 his picture:

He's gorgeous. I'm up in Vermont but am not really in
a position to take in other cats at the moment, mostly
because of Stitch's particular personality issues. :)
If I think of or find anyone who is, though, or if my
situation changes, I'll keep you in mind.

 Best of luck with your new quest on educating
 yourself on FeLV. There's so
 much to learn as I've found out this past week! But,
 the people here are so
 helpful and understanding-I'm so glad you've found
 this resource as well!

Thanks!

Joe
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[elizabeth trent]

Hi Joe - welcome.  I'm glad you found us -- this is the place to be.  I'm a
little behind on posts and will have to catch up but just wanted to let you
know that you and Stitch have every reason to have hope.  Don't ever
hesitate to ask questions.

elizabeth



On 4/9/07, Joe Reil [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


Howdy all,

This is my first post to this list, thought I'd do a
bit of intro.

We had three cats in our family. The older two were
both castaways that were adopted as adults. Zoro was
the oldest and I adopted him from a co-worker when I
lived by myself. He died several years ago.

The remaining two were Stitch and Chewie. Chewie was
the next oldest. She had a really hard start to life,
she was originally found, as a stray by some friends
of ours. She was probably two or three at the time and
she had evidence of being abused - she had some
suspicious scars on her underside.

She lived with them for a while, very shy/nervous and
eventually came out of her shell. A couple years
later, they had to move, and couldn't take her with
them so we took her in. We had her for several years
as well and while we don't know her exact age, best
estimate put her at 8-10 years old when she died last
month.

She had a loss of appetite and started losing weight.
She had two trips to the Vet - after the first visit
she took a serious turn for the worse so we had her
back at the vet only a few days later. A blood test on
the second visit revealed that she had FelV. So,
considering she was very sick and was suffering from a
pretty serious disease we opted to put her to sleep
then. :(

I didn't know much about FelV then (and I'm still
learning about it), but information from both our Vet
and online resources I found indicated that it was
contagious so we decided to have our third (and
youngest) cat tested for it. Stitch is the only one we
got as a Kitten and she's about 3.5 years old.

I brought her to the vet this weekend and she tested
positive for FelV. :(

I do intend to learn as much as I can about the
disease so we can keep her with us as long as
possible. I know that it will eventually catch up to
her and our main thing will be to put that off as long
as possible. She's still young and healthy so
hopefully that'll be a long time still. :)

We had been planning to get a second cat, but we've
put that plan on hold now. I know it is possible to
inoculate against FelV, but given that the vaccine
takes a while to take effect, we'd either have to
quarantine the new cat until the vaccine took effect
or find it someplace else to live for a month or so,
and on top of all that I don't think we want to put
Stitch through the stress of another housemate at the
moment (she doesn't react well to strangers).

Thanks,

Joe






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Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Gina WN]

Welcome Joe, you have come to the right place.  There are a lot of 
knowledgeable and caring people here.
   
  Gina

Joe Reil [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  Howdy all,

This is my first post to this list, thought I'd do a
bit of intro.

We had three cats in our family. The older two were
both castaways that were adopted as adults. Zoro was
the oldest and I adopted him from a co-worker when I
lived by myself. He died several years ago.

The remaining two were Stitch and Chewie. Chewie was
the next oldest. She had a really hard start to life,
she was originally found, as a stray by some friends
of ours. She was probably two or three at the time and
she had evidence of being abused - she had some
suspicious scars on her underside.

She lived with them for a while, very shy/nervous and
eventually came out of her shell. A couple years
later, they had to move, and couldn't take her with
them so we took her in. We had her for several years
as well and while we don't know her exact age, best
estimate put her at 8-10 years old when she died last
month.

She had a loss of appetite and started losing weight.
She had two trips to the Vet - after the first visit
she took a serious turn for the worse so we had her
back at the vet only a few days later. A blood test on
the second visit revealed that she had FelV. So,
considering she was very sick and was suffering from a
pretty serious disease we opted to put her to sleep
then. :(

I didn't know much about FelV then (and I'm still
learning about it), but information from both our Vet
and online resources I found indicated that it was
contagious so we decided to have our third (and
youngest) cat tested for it. Stitch is the only one we
got as a Kitten and she's about 3.5 years old.

I brought her to the vet this weekend and she tested
positive for FelV. :(

I do intend to learn as much as I can about the
disease so we can keep her with us as long as
possible. I know that it will eventually catch up to
her and our main thing will be to put that off as long
as possible. She's still young and healthy so
hopefully that'll be a long time still. :)

We had been planning to get a second cat, but we've
put that plan on hold now. I know it is possible to
inoculate against FelV, but given that the vaccine
takes a while to take effect, we'd either have to
quarantine the new cat until the vaccine took effect
or find it someplace else to live for a month or so,
and on top of all that I don't think we want to put
Stitch through the stress of another housemate at the
moment (she doesn't react well to strangers).

Thanks,

Joe





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Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Joe Reil]

 Welcome to the group. You came to the right place
 for more info! Something I just
 have to mention though, right off-hand, is the
 option to adopt another FELV+ cat!

Perhaps at some point, but not yet. :)

Thanks for the welcome, I've already gotten some
useful info and I'll be asking questions as soon as I
collect my thoughts and figure out what to ask! 
 
 anyways, so be sure your vet ISN'T. Other vaccines
 should be carefully reconsidered,
 and only given if the risk indicates it's required
 to protect the cat. Any vaccine
 causes stress to the immune system, and since FELV
 is an immune system virus, you
 want to try to keep it as STRONG as possible, and
 vaccines are a extra weight on an
 already compromised system. For those you do choose
 to continue to give, you should
 request a non-adjuvanted version of the vaccine, as
 it has less harmful, toxic, and
 carcinogenic ingredients than regular vaccines (yes,
 vaccines are VERY nasty things -
 most people don't realize).

Our vet seems to be good as they did go over this with
me. She did say there were some vaccines we may
consider and some we definitely shouldn't bother with.

Stitch is a 99% of the time indoor cat. The only time
we let her outside is with supervision, and even then
not very often.

 Outside of the vaccination issue, there's general
 health and immune system
 considerations. The VERY FIRST thing you need to
 evaluate is the food you are
 feeding. FELV+ cats require a very optimal diet, and
 this is highly varied depending
 on owner preferences, BUT, you should either be
 feeding a super-premium commercial
 cat food, such as Innova, Wellness, Chicken Soup for
 the Cat, or Felidae (just some
 good examples - I feed felidae or Innova dry and
 merrick or innova canned), or you
 can make your own homemade diet using a recipe found
 from a reputable source, OR, you
 can feed raw (also requires good recipes to obtain
 optimal nutritional balance).

I'll check these out. Any suggestions as to where I'd
find these? I have a small, but well stocked pet store
nearby, we also have a Petsmart about 45 minutes away.
If neither of these are workable, are there any good
web dealers selling these products? (I'll start with
the link from the bottom of your e-mail - anywhere
else I should be checking out?).

Joe


 

8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time 
with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

Re: To Joe: Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Joe Reil]

 Welcome to the group.  I'm really sorry to hear
 about
 Chewie and that Stitch has also tested positive for
 FeLV.

Thanks. :)

The best thing you can do for Stitch is to
 educate yourself on this virus. 

That's why I'm here. :)

 If Stitch is asymptomatic, there's not much else you
 can do, other than considering supplements for her
 immune system, like L-lysine (without propynol
 glycol)
 or Mega C.  And keep us bookmarked because this is
 the
 place to be for FeLV info.  Bless you for not pts
 this
 kitty and for taking such good care of her.

Thanks. I couldn't see putting her to sleep now -
she's still young, healthy and active. I've never
understood people who can do that so easily...  
Chewie was very obviously sick and was getting worse
rapidly so I think I made the right decision, but I'd
like to put that off for Stitch as long as possible.

 Take care and keep us posted on Stitch!

Will do!

Thanks,

Joe


   

Don't pick lemons.
See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.
http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html 

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Kelley Saveika]

I'll check these out. Any suggestions as to where I'd
find these? I have a small, but well stocked pet store
nearby, we also have a Petsmart about 45 minutes away.
If neither of these are workable, are there any good
web dealers selling these products? (I'll start with
the link from the bottom of your e-mail - anywhere
else I should be checking out?).




Hi Joe,

It is actually hard to find good food at PetSmart.  I buy my Felidae
at the feed store here in town.  We also have a local pet store that
sells most premium brands.  PetSmart sells a lot of foods that are
expensive, like Royal Canin, but not really very good.  Expensive food
doesn't necessarily equal good food.

I'm not sure what link was linked to you, but you can buy almost any
food at http://www.petfooddirect.com  Since you are only dealing with
one cat, you could buy a case of canned and it would last you a good
amount of time.

--
Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time.

http://www.rescuties.org

Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life!

http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20

Please help Joey!
http://rescuties.chipin.com/joey-autoimmune-hemolytic-anemia

RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Melissa Lind]

Hi Joe!

 

I'm also very new to this list, but I'm in love with it and everyone here is
so very supportive. I'm learning a lot about FeLV too. I rescued three cats
last week (well, three found me). But, one, our beautiful Cassidy is FeLV+.
The rest are negative, as are the three permanent cats we have in our house.
Cassidy is currently camped out in our office room to protect the others.
Many people on here have had successful mixing of FeLV positives and
negatives, but I'm not prepared to do that since our youngest (less than one
year) is most susceptible at this age.

 

I don't know where you live, but Cassidy is the most beautiful, friendly,
loving cat! He's probably less than one year old, or around there. Here's
his picture:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/mzurovsk/Cassidy/photo?authkey=Iq5dHa-Vucs#50501
79613677810130

 

I'm trying to find an FeLV positive home for him. Some day I'd like to have
a shelter with plenty of room for positives, but right now we don't have the
resources. If you'd like him, or if you know of a good home for him, please
let me know! I want to keep him so badly, he's stole my heart, but it's just
not fair to keep him in one room forever. He's super healthy-better than one
of the negatives I rescued last week. He talks constantly-but not
annoyingly-and I understand his pungent urine will be subsiding as soon as
his hormones are out of his system. He's only newly neutered. And he loves
to bite at the letters as I type on the computer-so cute! A very good office
buddy and helper.

 

Best of luck with your new quest on educating yourself on FeLV. There's so
much to learn as I've found out this past week! But, the people here are so
helpful and understanding-I'm so glad you've found this resource as well!

 

Best Wishes,

Melissa

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

If you want to find a local retailer for a particular brand of cat food, just 
search
for the company website, and MOST have a locate a store near you option. Or, 
just
go to your local store and ASK if they can carry one of those brands I 
mentioned (or
which-ever brand you decide to use). Outside that, if you must buy online (the
shipping $ is astronomical) I suggest http://petfooddirect.com as they have a 
good
selection of brands.

Phaewryn

http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html
Special Needs Cat Resources

RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Rosenfeldt, Diane]

Hi, Joe -- you've come to the right place for info and support with all
things FeLV!   

Diane R.

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe Reil
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 10:55 AM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

Howdy all,

This is my first post to this list, thought I'd do a
bit of intro.

We had three cats in our family. The older two were
both castaways that were adopted as adults. Zoro was
the oldest and I adopted him from a co-worker when I
lived by myself. He died several years ago.

The remaining two were Stitch and Chewie. Chewie was
the next oldest. She had a really hard start to life,
she was originally found, as a stray by some friends
of ours. She was probably two or three at the time and
she had evidence of being abused - she had some
suspicious scars on her underside.

She lived with them for a while, very shy/nervous and
eventually came out of her shell. A couple years
later, they had to move, and couldn't take her with
them so we took her in. We had her for several years
as well and while we don't know her exact age, best
estimate put her at 8-10 years old when she died last
month.

She had a loss of appetite and started losing weight.
She had two trips to the Vet - after the first visit
she took a serious turn for the worse so we had her
back at the vet only a few days later. A blood test on
the second visit revealed that she had FelV. So,
considering she was very sick and was suffering from a
pretty serious disease we opted to put her to sleep
then. :(

I didn't know much about FelV then (and I'm still
learning about it), but information from both our Vet
and online resources I found indicated that it was
contagious so we decided to have our third (and
youngest) cat tested for it. Stitch is the only one we
got as a Kitten and she's about 3.5 years old.

I brought her to the vet this weekend and she tested
positive for FelV. :(

I do intend to learn as much as I can about the
disease so we can keep her with us as long as
possible. I know that it will eventually catch up to
her and our main thing will be to put that off as long
as possible. She's still young and healthy so
hopefully that'll be a long time still. :)

We had been planning to get a second cat, but we've
put that plan on hold now. I know it is possible to
inoculate against FelV, but given that the vaccine
takes a while to take effect, we'd either have to
quarantine the new cat until the vaccine took effect
or find it someplace else to live for a month or so,
and on top of all that I don't think we want to put
Stitch through the stress of another housemate at the
moment (she doesn't react well to strangers).

Thanks,

Joe



 


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transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the 
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your system.  In addition, in order to comply with Treasury Circular 230, we 
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penalties.

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Marylyn]

First, I think you are right to wait for a little while before adding 
another cat.  You need time to mourn, learn, and adjust and so does Stitch.


Second, when the time is right, consider adopting a cat whose person is 
surrendering it and has had it vaccinated already.  Local vets sometimes 
know of these people (a cat might be surrendered because his person dies, 
goes into a nursing home and the family abandons the cat etc).


Third, consider an adult cat from a kill shelterthese lovely little 
darlings are destined to die and would love to take the risk of contracting 
FeLV in exchange for the chance to live in a loving home (my opinion only).


Good luck.





If you have men who will 
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of 
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with 
their fellow man.
 St. 
Francis
- Original Message - 
From: Rosenfeldt, Diane [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 11:11 AM
Subject: RE: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch


Hi, Joe -- you've come to the right place for info and support with all
things FeLV!

Diane R.

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe Reil
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 10:55 AM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

Howdy all,

This is my first post to this list, thought I'd do a
bit of intro.

We had three cats in our family. The older two were
both castaways that were adopted as adults. Zoro was
the oldest and I adopted him from a co-worker when I
lived by myself. He died several years ago.

The remaining two were Stitch and Chewie. Chewie was
the next oldest. She had a really hard start to life,
she was originally found, as a stray by some friends
of ours. She was probably two or three at the time and
she had evidence of being abused - she had some
suspicious scars on her underside.

She lived with them for a while, very shy/nervous and
eventually came out of her shell. A couple years
later, they had to move, and couldn't take her with
them so we took her in. We had her for several years
as well and while we don't know her exact age, best
estimate put her at 8-10 years old when she died last
month.

She had a loss of appetite and started losing weight.
She had two trips to the Vet - after the first visit
she took a serious turn for the worse so we had her
back at the vet only a few days later. A blood test on
the second visit revealed that she had FelV. So,
considering she was very sick and was suffering from a
pretty serious disease we opted to put her to sleep
then. :(

I didn't know much about FelV then (and I'm still
learning about it), but information from both our Vet
and online resources I found indicated that it was
contagious so we decided to have our third (and
youngest) cat tested for it. Stitch is the only one we
got as a Kitten and she's about 3.5 years old.

I brought her to the vet this weekend and she tested
positive for FelV. :(

I do intend to learn as much as I can about the
disease so we can keep her with us as long as
possible. I know that it will eventually catch up to
her and our main thing will be to put that off as long
as possible. She's still young and healthy so
hopefully that'll be a long time still. :)

We had been planning to get a second cat, but we've
put that plan on hold now. I know it is possible to
inoculate against FelV, but given that the vaccine
takes a while to take effect, we'd either have to
quarantine the new cat until the vaccine took effect
or find it someplace else to live for a month or so,
and on top of all that I don't think we want to put
Stitch through the stress of another housemate at the
moment (she doesn't react well to strangers).

Thanks,

Joe






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This electronic mail transmission and any attachments are confidential and 
may be privileged.
They should be read or retained only by the intended recipient.  If you have 
received this
transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the 
transmission from
your system.  In addition, in order to comply with Treasury Circular 230, we 
are required to
inform you that unless we have specifically stated to the contrary in 
writing, any advice we
provide in this email or any attachment concerning federal tax issues or 
submissions is not
intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, to avoid federal tax 
penalties.

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Nina]

Hi Joe and welcome to the list.  Bless you for being the type of person 
to take in animals in need.  My condolences on losing Zoro and Stitch.  
Everyone in this group understands the bonds of interspecies love and we 
know how much it hurts.  You must be reeling from Chewie's pos test 
result.  Did you bring Chewie home while Zoro was still with you?  
There's no way to know who transmitted the disease to whom, I was just 
wondering.  The good news is that Chewie is 3.5 yrs.  Kittens who 
present symptoms of the disease usually do so before their 3rd birthday, 
so it's fabulous that Chewie is so healthy.  There are so many false pos 
using the in-house ELISA test that there is always the hope that they 
aren't really pos at all.  Given your history, it seems less likely in 
your case though.  It could be that Chewie is a carrier and will never 
develop symptoms, it could be that she is in the process of fighting off 
the disease and will later test neg.


You will learn all sorts of things to do to help Chewie stay healthy, a 
quality diet, supplements and a stress free environment make a huge 
difference in their longevity.  You are wise to consider the stress of 
adopting another cat, but it is possible to acclimate a new arrival in 
ways that lessen that stress. 

I'm sure you will be hearing from our list members with lots of good 
suggestions very soon.  In the meantime, you might want to visit our 
archives and do searches on our past discussions.  You'll be surprised 
at how our experiences differ from much of the veterinary community's 
stance and the common misconceptions of the general public.  Please let 
us hear from you often, ask as many questions as you like.  This is a 
very informative and supportive group, we're all in this together.

Nina


Joe Reil wrote:

Howdy all,

This is my first post to this list, thought I'd do a
bit of intro.

We had three cats in our family. The older two were
both castaways that were adopted as adults. Zoro was
the oldest and I adopted him from a co-worker when I
lived by myself. He died several years ago.

The remaining two were Stitch and Chewie. Chewie was
the next oldest. She had a really hard start to life,
she was originally found, as a stray by some friends
of ours. She was probably two or three at the time and
she had evidence of being abused - she had some
suspicious scars on her underside.

She lived with them for a while, very shy/nervous and
eventually came out of her shell. A couple years
later, they had to move, and couldn't take her with
them so we took her in. We had her for several years
as well and while we don't know her exact age, best
estimate put her at 8-10 years old when she died last
month.

She had a loss of appetite and started losing weight.
She had two trips to the Vet - after the first visit
she took a serious turn for the worse so we had her
back at the vet only a few days later. A blood test on
the second visit revealed that she had FelV. So,
considering she was very sick and was suffering from a
pretty serious disease we opted to put her to sleep
then. :(

I didn't know much about FelV then (and I'm still
learning about it), but information from both our Vet
and online resources I found indicated that it was
contagious so we decided to have our third (and
youngest) cat tested for it. Stitch is the only one we
got as a Kitten and she's about 3.5 years old.

I brought her to the vet this weekend and she tested
positive for FelV. :(

I do intend to learn as much as I can about the
disease so we can keep her with us as long as
possible. I know that it will eventually catch up to
her and our main thing will be to put that off as long
as possible. She's still young and healthy so
hopefully that'll be a long time still. :)

We had been planning to get a second cat, but we've
put that plan on hold now. I know it is possible to
inoculate against FelV, but given that the vaccine
takes a while to take effect, we'd either have to
quarantine the new cat until the vaccine took effect
or find it someplace else to live for a month or so,
and on top of all that I don't think we want to put
Stitch through the stress of another housemate at the
moment (she doesn't react well to strangers).

Thanks,

Joe

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Joe Reil]

 Hi Joe and welcome to the list.  Bless you for being
 the type of person 
 to take in animals in need.  My condolences on
 losing Zoro and Stitch. 

Thanks. :) It is entirely possible that Zoro had it
first. I'd consider that less likely because Zoro was
always well kept with regular veterinary care.

At this point it doesn't really matter. Zoro's death
was completely unrelated to FelV, btw.

 Everyone in this group understands the bonds of
 interspecies love and we 
 know how much it hurts.  You must be reeling from
 Chewie's pos test 
 result.  Did you bring Chewie home while Zoro was
 still with you?

Minor confusion here. :) Chewie is the one who died
recently, about a month ago. She was VERY sick and
tested positive for FelV which led to our decision to
put her to sleep.

Stitch is now our only cat, and was the youngest of
the three that we have had.

I got Zoro first, when I was living by myself. Later
on, when I was first living with my wife, before we
were married, we got Chewie. Stitch came after that.

 There's no way to know who transmitted the disease
 to whom, I was just 
 wondering.  The good news is that Chewie is 3.5 yrs.
  Kittens who 
 present symptoms of the disease usually do so before
 their 3rd birthday, 
 so it's fabulous that Chewie is so healthy.

Now I'm second-guessing. I remember we got Stitch
around Thanksgiving - and that she was born in October
but I'm having a hard time remembering if it was 2003
or 2004 that she was born and it makes a difference.
:)

 are so many false pos 
 using the in-house ELISA test that there is always
 the hope that they 
 aren't really pos at all.  Given your history, it
 seems less likely in 
 your case though.  It could be that Chewie is a
 carrier and will never 
 develop symptoms, it could be that she is in the
 process of fighting off 
 the disease and will later test neg.

That's interesting. I had heard that healthy-appearing
cats can show a false-negative, but that
false-positives were not as common.

In the meantime, you might
 want to visit our 
 archives and do searches on our past discussions. 

I'll definitely do that. Is there a FAQ available?

 like.  This is a 
 very informative and supportive group, we're all in
 this together.

Again, Thank you,

Joe


 

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Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Nina]

Sorry for getting their names confused.  (No offense Stitch!).  My brain 
doesn't seem to be working that great at the moment.  Just for 
clarification, Zoro never tested pos for felv?


You may be thinking of the false negs that are the result of the felv 
being sequestered in their bone marrow.  When the virus isn't 
circulating in their blood stream, it can't be detected by the ELISA.  
Other than that, at least to my knowledge, the rate of false negs is 
very low.  False pos on the other hand are more common. 

We don't have a FAQ section, but if you put in a key word in the search 
box you should come up with lots of results.  Is there something 
specific that you are wondering about?

Nina

Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[Joe Reil]

 Sorry for getting their names confused.  (No offense
 Stitch!).  My brain 
 doesn't seem to be working that great at the moment.
  Just for 
 clarification, Zoro never tested pos for felv?

Correct. It is possible that he had it, but he was
never tested for it (while he was in my care), nor was
I given any indication from his original owners that
it was a possibility - they had another cat from the
same litter who was still alive and healthy when Zoro
died (at around 13). They also had another unrelated
cat.

 We don't have a FAQ section, but if you put in a key
 word in the search 
 box you should come up with lots of results.  Is
 there something 
 specific that you are wondering about?

Not yet, but I thought I'd start there. :)

Thanks,

Joe


 

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Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

Welcome to the group. You came to the right place for more info! Something I 
just
have to mention though, right off-hand, is the option to adopt another FELV+ 
cat! SO
many are euthanised only because they test positive, and most would have lived
normal, healthy lives, if not for that ill-fated test result. I do understand 
not
wanting to stress her with a new member to the family right now though, just 
wanted
to put the idea into your head, for future reference. :-)

I'm sure since I'm replying so late (I'm perpetually behind on email these 
days),
someone has by now told you to re-test in 3-6 months, and confirm any ELISA (in 
vet
office) tests with a IFA (which is sent out to a laboratory, and is more 
accurate).
Also worth mentioning is that FELV+ cats should not be vaccinated for FELV, I 
know
that sounds obvious, but many vets just rake in the $ by still giving the shots
anyways, so be sure your vet ISN'T. Other vaccines should be carefully 
reconsidered,
and only given if the risk indicates it's required to protect the cat. Any 
vaccine
causes stress to the immune system, and since FELV is an immune system virus, 
you
want to try to keep it as STRONG as possible, and vaccines are a extra weight 
on an
already compromised system. For those you do choose to continue to give, you 
should
request a non-adjuvanted version of the vaccine, as it has less harmful, toxic, 
and
carcinogenic ingredients than regular vaccines (yes, vaccines are VERY nasty 
things -
most people don't realize).

Outside of the vaccination issue, there's general health and immune system
considerations. The VERY FIRST thing you need to evaluate is the food you are
feeding. FELV+ cats require a very optimal diet, and this is highly varied 
depending
on owner preferences, BUT, you should either be feeding a super-premium 
commercial
cat food, such as Innova, Wellness, Chicken Soup for the Cat, or Felidae (just 
some
good examples - I feed felidae or Innova dry and merrick or innova canned), or 
you
can make your own homemade diet using a recipe found from a reputable source, 
OR, you
can feed raw (also requires good recipes to obtain optimal nutritional 
balance).
Feeding the very best quality you can afford will go a long way in keeping your 
cat
healthy. it can't be stressed enough, and it's one of the easiest changes to 
make.
One thing to always keep in mind is that cats are obligate carnivores, so 
anything
you feed them should be MOSTLY meat. If feeding a commercial cat food, the 
FIRST TWO
ingredients should be some form of meat, ALWAYS. Also limit the amount of grains
(rice, wheat, oats, bran) and NEVER feed corn (cat's can't digest it, and it 
has no
nutritional value - plus it's the #1 cause of food allergies).

The second thing to consider are immune system boosting treatments. This ranges 
from
nutritional supplements like Lysine and Vitamin C, to prescription drugs like
Immuno-Regulin and Interferon. Personally, I would immediately start 
supplementing
with Lysine, as it's easy to pick up at any health food store (or even the drug
store). Others here can post the optimal dosage (I don't recall it off-hand, 
and I'm
not using it currently as I have no sick cats). Vitamin C is controversial in 
cat
circles, do a web search for more info, but the general debate is that cat's 
create
their own vitamin C, so they don't need extra, while others say extra helps 
boost the
immune system. It's a personal choice, as so far I've seen no studies to 
indicate
extra is harmful OR beneficial (it's a toss-up). As for drugs and more extensive
measures, those are all summed up in brief on the main felineleukemia.org 
webpage,
under treatments. If you want more info about anything listed there, just ask.

Again, nice to have you here!

Phaewryn

http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html
Special Needs Cat Resources

To Joe: Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[wendy]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the group.  I'm really sorry to hear about
Chewie and that Stitch has also tested positive for
FeLV.  The best thing you can do for Stitch is to
educate yourself on this virus.  It is a serious, and
often times, deadly disease, but not necessarily a
death sentence.  Keeping Stitch stress-free and
feeding him the best diet possible will go a long way
in combatting the virus.  FeLV is not AIDS for
kitties, but it is similar in how it behaves.  Keeping
the immune system in top-notch shape is how we combat
the virus in our beloved furbabies.

Stitch may still throw off this virus, depending on
when he was exposed, which could certainly have just
been recently when Chewie got sick, even though they
have been living together for a while.  Also, there
are a lot of false-positive tests.  Retesting Stitch
in 3-6 months with the IFA test would be a good idea. 
You are right to wait on adopting another cat right
now, and if other cats stress Stitch out, I wouldn't
get one at all, unless she does test negative in 3-6
months; then it won't matter too much if she gets a
little stressed out.

If Stitch is asymptomatic, there's not much else you
can do, other than considering supplements for her
immune system, like L-lysine (without propynol glycol)
or Mega C.  And keep us bookmarked because this is the
place to be for FeLV info.  Bless you for not pts this
kitty and for taking such good care of her.

Take care and keep us posted on Stitch!
:)
Wendy
Dallas, TX

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the 
world: Indeed it is the only thing that ever has! 

  ~~~ Margaret Meade ~~~



 

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P.S. Re: To Joe: Re: Felvtalk - introduction - Chewie and Stitch

[wendy]

P.S. There is a FAQ link on the Felineleukemia.org
site that links to Cornell University's FAQ page, but
beware, we here do not always agree with Cornell, and
often find that some of their info. is outdated. 
Also, there is a Feline Leukemia Information link on
the felineleukemia.org website towards the bottom of
the page.

:)
Wendy

--- wendy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Hi Joe,
 
 Welcome to the group.  I'm really sorry to hear
 about
 Chewie and that Stitch has also tested positive for
 FeLV.  The best thing you can do for Stitch is to
 educate yourself on this virus.  It is a serious,
 and
 often times, deadly disease, but not necessarily a
 death sentence.  Keeping Stitch stress-free and
 feeding him the best diet possible will go a long
 way
 in combatting the virus.  FeLV is not AIDS for
 kitties, but it is similar in how it behaves. 
 Keeping
 the immune system in top-notch shape is how we
 combat
 the virus in our beloved furbabies.
 
 Stitch may still throw off this virus, depending on
 when he was exposed, which could certainly have just
 been recently when Chewie got sick, even though they
 have been living together for a while.  Also, there
 are a lot of false-positive tests.  Retesting Stitch
 in 3-6 months with the IFA test would be a good
 idea. 
 You are right to wait on adopting another cat right
 now, and if other cats stress Stitch out, I wouldn't
 get one at all, unless she does test negative in 3-6
 months; then it won't matter too much if she gets a
 little stressed out.
 
 If Stitch is asymptomatic, there's not much else you
 can do, other than considering supplements for her
 immune system, like L-lysine (without propynol
 glycol)
 or Mega C.  And keep us bookmarked because this is
 the
 place to be for FeLV info.  Bless you for not pts
 this
 kitty and for taking such good care of her.
 
 Take care and keep us posted on Stitch!
 :)
 Wendy
 Dallas, TX
 
 Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
 committed citizens can change the world: Indeed it
 is the only thing that ever has! 
 
  ~~~ Margaret Meade
 ~~~
 
 
 
  


 The fish are biting. 
 Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search
 Marketing.

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php
 
 


Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the 
world: Indeed it is the only thing that ever has! 

  ~~~ Margaret Meade ~~~



   

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