Just got the bad news: Feline Leukemia

My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza

I would get a second opinion just to be sure. Make sure the vet doing it is
competent and has a good rep. If the cat still comes up positive for FELV
then make sure the cat gets treated on a regular basis and gets lots of
love. With the right treatment a cat can live a long life.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza

I would get a second opinion just to be sure. Make sure the vet doing it is
competent and has a good rep. If the cat still comes up positive for FELV
then make sure the cat gets treated on a regular basis and gets lots of
love. With the right treatment a cat can live a long life.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza

Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses?

Is your vet very experienced in this? If not, I would get a new one. Your cat
could possibly be treated with interferon. There are things you can do to get
him over this. He can get rid of the virus or live with it. He doesn't have
to die from it. He can be on vitamins and other things to get his immune
system pumped up. Please talk to your vet or another vet about treatment for
him.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses?

Is your vet very experienced in this? If not, I would get a new one. Your cat
could possibly be treated with interferon. There are things you can do to get
him over this. He can get rid of the virus or live with it. He doesn't have
to die from it. He can be on vitamins and other things to get his immune
system pumped up. Please talk to your vet or another vet about treatment for
him.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/11/03 5:37 PM:

My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza

Please do not be pressed to euthanize if he is getting better. You can care
for him and help him live longer if he is not in a big crisis. You might
contact a feline specialist if your town has one. It sounds like you care
about him and would take care of him. It totally depends on if kitty is just
sick because suseptible to things with this disease or in full blown FeLV. I
think you might find some useful information to help you he

http://www.vetinfo.com/cfeleuk.html#...feral%20cat s

Karen

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/11/03 5:37 PM:

My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza

Please do not be pressed to euthanize if he is getting better. You can care
for him and help him live longer if he is not in a big crisis. You might
contact a feline specialist if your town has one. It sounds like you care
about him and would take care of him. It totally depends on if kitty is just
sick because suseptible to things with this disease or in full blown FeLV. I
think you might find some useful information to help you he

http://www.vetinfo.com/cfeleuk.html#...feral%20cat s

Karen

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/11/03 5:37 PM:


My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.


Last winter was the first real season change since my cat contracted FeLV
(blood transfusion). He also has IBD so I believe the FeLV makes his IBD
worse and an inability to "heal" the diarrhea. Anyway, last winter I
thought his time was up because he started having difficulty with what I
thought was breathing. He made awful noises, but he also had complications
from something else which damaged his throat which was all part of what
precipitated the tainted blood transfusion. He coughed a lot. I bought a
warm mist humidifier and kept my house "moist". He got over the loud
breathing and is still doing pretty well. Other than IBD (which he had any
ways) he is a happy cat. And even with his other problems, his vets have
been amazed at what he's been through and still doing well. My point is
that cats are amazing creatures and until you see signs of loss of quality
of life that isn't turning around, I don't think its fair to take it away
from them. Shadow fought hard to live through so much (he wasn't ready to
go, he made that clear!) So far this season he hasn't sounded like he did
last year so maybe his body is toughening up. Another fighter sign! Good
luck with what you decide to do. You'll know.

--
Cheryl

in article , ed farr at
wrote on 12/11/03 5:37 PM:


My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.


Last winter was the first real season change since my cat contracted FeLV
(blood transfusion). He also has IBD so I believe the FeLV makes his IBD
worse and an inability to "heal" the diarrhea. Anyway, last winter I
thought his time was up because he started having difficulty with what I
thought was breathing. He made awful noises, but he also had complications
from something else which damaged his throat which was all part of what
precipitated the tainted blood transfusion. He coughed a lot. I bought a
warm mist humidifier and kept my house "moist". He got over the loud
breathing and is still doing pretty well. Other than IBD (which he had any
ways) he is a happy cat. And even with his other problems, his vets have
been amazed at what he's been through and still doing well. My point is
that cats are amazing creatures and until you see signs of loss of quality
of life that isn't turning around, I don't think its fair to take it away
from them. Shadow fought hard to live through so much (he wasn't ready to
go, he made that clear!) So far this season he hasn't sounded like he did
last year so maybe his body is toughening up. Another fighter sign! Good
luck with what you decide to do. You'll know.

--
Cheryl

Do you have other cats? If not, go for it--Oscar sounds like a great cat &
why deal with life & death decisions unless he is suffering. If you do have
other cats (or are thinking about getting), I would think they could get
immunized but someone in the group would be more knowlegeable about that
than I. Vets sometimes can present gloomy picture as they don't want
people to have unrealistic expectations but with good care--Oscar may
surprise you!
"ed farr" wrote in message
om...
My wife talked to the vet today about Oscar. Oscar has feline
leaukemia. He basically told us we had to make the decision on his
future. We are at wits end what to do. We want what is best for the
cat. Should we have further tests? Should we just care for him and
see how his health progresses? We are very confused about what to do
next. You people have been great. I did not realise how caring the
cat community was.
Thank you for your concern.

Ed
and Maritza