Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
-+ 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.htm&word= 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) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] 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.htm&word=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) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
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 ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk
Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
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 wrote: > From: Iva Lark Emily Seaberg > 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 > ___ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
You've come to the right place! There are lots of folks on this board who can give you some excellent suggestions. They helped me get thru my panic when my 3 year old Tucson suddenly tested positive after having tested neg as a kitten. She too was an indoor only cat and two vets I consulted both felt that she had it from the start and that she was so young when first tested, that the Elissa showed up neg. My other 3 cats had been exposed all along--they all shared bowls, litter boxes, etc. And two of them had come in as kittens after I had Tucson. I had them tested & they were neg. I had them vaccinated. That was 5 years ago and everybody is still fine. I never separated them. In fact, I brought in this wonderful 4 year old stray, Romeo, who I was feeding and he turned out to be pos. I lost him earlier this year to very quick acting lymphoma but he was in good health up until the week before he died. My Tucson is 18 lbs and doing fine. The only med problems I've had is that Romeo had terrible gums and periodically would need antibiotics. Tucson had a couple of episodes of very low white blood count (that's what prompted my vet to test her). She received a series of immune regulin and bounced back. She's a bit of a clutz and managed to get a few more scrapes and cuts then the others. Because of her pos status, I tend to take her to the vet a little more quickly than I might the others. Some folks give their pos Interferon but given the temperament of Tucson and Romeo, I knew that it would be more stressful for them. I give everybody some decent foods (wellness canned). Periodically, I try supplements but Tucson can get a bit fussy about 'strange' things in her food. Basically, they all live like most indoor cats--eat, sleep, MAYBE play a little, go to the box, and then start all over-LOL. I've come to believe that this very ancient disease is nowhere near as contagious as some vets tell you. If it were, my three other cats would have caught it in a flash. And because of some of the "timing" issues on early testing, I suspect a lot more cats are pos but never diagnosed. But keep an eye on Becca's gums. Remember that pos have much less resistance to infections--I can't remember which antibiotics I used for Romeo (he had lousy teeth and gums in part because he was on the street for the 1st 4 years of his life)--maybe doxy??? But people will come on and be a lot surer about that then me. Some of the antibiotics can be tough for the cat to swallow, and you can get the meds compounded into a more palatable form. My Tucson eats just about anything--LOL but pilling or medicating Romeo was real, real tough. And make sure you have a good vet. The vet who diagnosed my Tucson was wonderful but he told right out that he had almost no experience w. FELV. I switched to another vet who is the vet for a local woman who does some FELV rescues He's very laid back, doesn't push too many treatments, and all in all was very reassuring when I was in my initial panic. He never batted an eyelash when I told him I wanted to keep everybody mixed like they had been. So hang in there... it gets a bit scary some time. Everyone has to make the decisions that are right for them but I have no problems telling anyone that I've never regretted keeping everybody mixed and have always been grateful that I had two vets who didn't push me to euthanize because of pos status. Christiane Biagi -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Iva Lark Emily Seaberg Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 12:51 AM 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
Re: [Felvtalk] Introduction - Rebecca
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 ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
