Just got the bad news: Feline Leukemia

I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

Dear Ed and Maritza,

I'm so sorry to hear about Oscar. What a nice thing you did taking him in!
The most important thing is that no other cats be exposed to him - you
probably already know that, but just in case you have other cats. I don't
have any personal experience with FLV, but at least Oscar has you to help
him through whatever comes next, and he's not alone out on the streets.
That's the most important thing.

Meghan

"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

Dear Ed and Maritza,

I'm so sorry to hear about Oscar. What a nice thing you did taking him in!
The most important thing is that no other cats be exposed to him - you
probably already know that, but just in case you have other cats. I don't
have any personal experience with FLV, but at least Oscar has you to help
him through whatever comes next, and he's not alone out on the streets.
That's the most important thing.

Meghan

"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza

Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help

Some vets automatically recommend euthanasia. Better informed vets do not. As
per a Cat Fancy article the cat has a 1/3 chance of testing positive for life
but living normally, 1/3 chance he can clear the virus from his system with a
good diet and loving home and 1/3 chance that he may succumb to the disease and
die within two years. You should keep his separate from your other cats for
now. Get your other cats vaccinated for FLV. Give the new kitty lots of good
food, love and a stress free indoor home. You can retest when he is healthy and
he may be virus free. You can also give him interferon to help his immune
system.

Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help

Some vets automatically recommend euthanasia. Better informed vets do not. As
per a Cat Fancy article the cat has a 1/3 chance of testing positive for life
but living normally, 1/3 chance he can clear the virus from his system with a
good diet and loving home and 1/3 chance that he may succumb to the disease and
die within two years. You should keep his separate from your other cats for
now. Get your other cats vaccinated for FLV. Give the new kitty lots of good
food, love and a stress free indoor home. You can retest when he is healthy and
he may be virus free. You can also give him interferon to help his immune
system.

I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Ed and Maritza

Feline Leukemia is a horrible disease, but a positive test isn't an immediate
death sentence. If the cat isn't symptomatic, and you don't have other cats in
the house that can be infected, please consider keeping him. My vet tells of a
FeLV+ cat she had that lived 8 healthy years before showing symptoms.Also, ask
for another test, just to be sure.

Sherry

I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Ed and Maritza

Feline Leukemia is a horrible disease, but a positive test isn't an immediate
death sentence. If the cat isn't symptomatic, and you don't have other cats in
the house that can be infected, please consider keeping him. My vet tells of a
FeLV+ cat she had that lived 8 healthy years before showing symptoms.Also, ask
for another test, just to be sure.

Sherry

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/9/03 9:33 PM:

I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza


You'll have to talk to the vet to find out what kind of condition kitty is
in, but FeLV cats, can have a shorter but decent life. If you are willing to
take care of a special needs kitty and his condition is such that he can
recover by treating the symptoms, you may be able to give this kitty a happy
time while he is on this earth. I hope that you let us know what happens.

Karen

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/9/03 9:33 PM:

I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.


Ed and Maritza


You'll have to talk to the vet to find out what kind of condition kitty is
in, but FeLV cats, can have a shorter but decent life. If you are willing to
take care of a special needs kitty and his condition is such that he can
recover by treating the symptoms, you may be able to give this kitty a happy
time while he is on this earth. I hope that you let us know what happens.

Karen

"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
I took home a stray from my job last Thursday. He was underweight and
did not eat or drink much after we brought him home. He also vomited
several times and slept a lot . We took him to the vet today and a
blood test was taken. Not more than a hour later the vet's office
called to inform us he tested positive for feline leukemia. My wife
and I are heartbroken. It is amazing how attached you can become to a
cat after less than a week. The vet told us to call him on Thursday to
discuss our situation. Can anyone tell us what he might tell us or
what our future may hold in store. By the way kitty's name is Oscar.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Please do not make any irreversible decisions based on an in-house Snap
test. Have your cat retested with the IFA (immunofluorescent antibody)
assay. In-house ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) Snap positives
are often false and also can't distinguish transient infections from
persistent infections. Only about 30% of infected cats develop persistent
infections and FeLV-related diseases.

Please do not make any life or death decisions in the event your cat tests
positive by IFA. Many vets are quick to recommend euthanasia based on a
single IFA-positive. Many cats persistently infected with FeLV remain
healthy and asymptomatic for *years* while others die within a year or so.
No one can make an accurate prediction of the outcome without highly
specialized tests - which *still* can't predict the outcome with any
reasonable accuracy. We've had FeLV-cats that lived otherwise normal lives
for as long as 6 years.

Keep the faith!

Phil