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Cat just diagnosed with Feline Leukemia - info/resources requested



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 29th 04, 05:38 PM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Cat just diagnosed with Feline Leukemia - info/resources requested

We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.

Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him on
Interferon)? Are there any diet changes that can help? He doesn't like the
Felovite, are there any other options for getting him his vitamins? Anything
else I'm missing?

Many thanks,

Dave






  #2  
Old January 31st 04, 05:53 AM
Chris
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Try the Cornell University site.. they have pretty good medical info...
There is also a Yahoo FELV+ group where members seem to share contacts &
experience...
Also, just in case, make sure your cat had both the Elissa test (done right
in the office) and the IFA test (bloodwork sent out to lab). Was he an
indoor-outdoor cat? As I understand adult cats can only contract Leukemia
from prolonged exposure to other FELV+ cat...

"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.

Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)? Are there any diet changes that can help? He doesn't like the
Felovite, are there any other options for getting him his vitamins?

Anything
else I'm missing?

Many thanks,

Dave








  #3  
Old January 31st 04, 05:53 AM
Chris
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Try the Cornell University site.. they have pretty good medical info...
There is also a Yahoo FELV+ group where members seem to share contacts &
experience...
Also, just in case, make sure your cat had both the Elissa test (done right
in the office) and the IFA test (bloodwork sent out to lab). Was he an
indoor-outdoor cat? As I understand adult cats can only contract Leukemia
from prolonged exposure to other FELV+ cat...

"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.

Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)? Are there any diet changes that can help? He doesn't like the
Felovite, are there any other options for getting him his vitamins?

Anything
else I'm missing?

Many thanks,

Dave








  #4  
Old January 31st 04, 04:11 PM
JG
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.

Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)? Are there any diet changes that can help? He doesn't like the
Felovite, are there any other options for getting him his vitamins?

Anything
else I'm missing?

Many thanks,

Dave



You say positive for feline leukemia, but I suspect what you mean is
positive for feline leukemia virus. As another poster suggested, it's a
good idea to have the cat rechecked, both with the ELISA and IFA test. I
had a kitten test positive, then negative; but if your cat has such serious
clinical signs, I wouldn't be optimistic for a reversal. Another thing to
consider is getting a referral to a specialist in the area if possible (I've
gone to the Animal Medical Center in New York and local specialist
practices); sometimes this is a tradeoff between the stress on the cat of
traveling what may be a considerable distance to see the specialist and the
value of the specialist itself.

There's a lot of information available on FeLV on the Web and elsewhere;
another site is:
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FeLV.html

Good luck.

JA Golczewski, Ph.D.
http://users.rcn.com/jigo/jg.HTM
Updates, free book on health and life-extension



  #5  
Old January 31st 04, 04:11 PM
JG
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.

Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)? Are there any diet changes that can help? He doesn't like the
Felovite, are there any other options for getting him his vitamins?

Anything
else I'm missing?

Many thanks,

Dave



You say positive for feline leukemia, but I suspect what you mean is
positive for feline leukemia virus. As another poster suggested, it's a
good idea to have the cat rechecked, both with the ELISA and IFA test. I
had a kitten test positive, then negative; but if your cat has such serious
clinical signs, I wouldn't be optimistic for a reversal. Another thing to
consider is getting a referral to a specialist in the area if possible (I've
gone to the Animal Medical Center in New York and local specialist
practices); sometimes this is a tradeoff between the stress on the cat of
traveling what may be a considerable distance to see the specialist and the
value of the specialist itself.

There's a lot of information available on FeLV on the Web and elsewhere;
another site is:
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FeLV.html

Good luck.

JA Golczewski, Ph.D.
http://users.rcn.com/jigo/jg.HTM
Updates, free book on health and life-extension



  #6  
Old January 31st 04, 06:14 PM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Chris" wrote in message
ink.net...
Try the Cornell University site.. they have pretty good medical info...
There is also a Yahoo FELV+ group where members seem to share contacts &
experience...
Also, just in case, make sure your cat had both the Elissa test (done

right
in the office) and the IFA test (bloodwork sent out to lab). Was he an
indoor-outdoor cat? As I understand adult cats can only contract Leukemia
from prolonged exposure to other FELV+ cat...


Thanks. I've been to the Cornell site, but hadn't heard about the Yahoo
group. I'll give it a try.

He's an indoor cat and has tested positive with both tests, even though he
tested negative when we got him as a kitten and has not been exposed to an
FELV+ cat since then. The vet thinks that he'd been exposed at the shelter
and had not developed enough antibodies to test positive at that time.

Thanks again,

Dave


  #7  
Old January 31st 04, 06:14 PM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Chris" wrote in message
ink.net...
Try the Cornell University site.. they have pretty good medical info...
There is also a Yahoo FELV+ group where members seem to share contacts &
experience...
Also, just in case, make sure your cat had both the Elissa test (done

right
in the office) and the IFA test (bloodwork sent out to lab). Was he an
indoor-outdoor cat? As I understand adult cats can only contract Leukemia
from prolonged exposure to other FELV+ cat...


Thanks. I've been to the Cornell site, but hadn't heard about the Yahoo
group. I'll give it a try.

He's an indoor cat and has tested positive with both tests, even though he
tested negative when we got him as a kitten and has not been exposed to an
FELV+ cat since then. The vet thinks that he'd been exposed at the shelter
and had not developed enough antibodies to test positive at that time.

Thanks again,

Dave


  #8  
Old January 31st 04, 11:50 PM
Phil P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.


Have your cat tested for Hemobartonella felis. -- H. felis is a parasite
that attaches itself to surface of RBCs and shortens the life of the RBCs --
but far more damage is caused to the RBCs by the cat's intense immune
response to the parasite attached to the cell than by the parasite itself.
HaemobartonelÂ*losis is associated with an increased incidence of FeLV
infection. So its possible that the parasite reduced your cat's resistance
to FeLV and permitted an infection that the cat may have otherwise resisted
or allow a latent infection to re-emerge and initiate persistent, or
hopefully, only transient viremia. OTOH, FeLV can suppress the cat's normal
immune response - so FeLV might increase the cat's susceptibility to
haemobartonellosis or even convert a latent H. felis infection into a
full-blown disease.

You should have the test run at least four times on four consecutive days
because H. felis parasitemia is cyclic - IOW, the parasite can disappear and
reappear in the blood sometimes in as little as 2 hours or less... Also, its
absolutely essential that your vet uses *fresh* blood for the tests and
prepares the smears right away because the parasite usually detaches itself
from RBCs in refrigerated anticoagulated blood and in vitro. Bad timing
and/or improperly collected and stored blood will lead to false negative
results in an infected cat. Tests results will also turn out negative if
the tests are run after you begin treatment because the parasites disappear
from the blood while the cat is being treated with tetracyclines. Thus the
test can't be used to monitor therapy.





Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)?



If you go with interferon, I'd go with daily high-dose parenteral r-HuIFN-a
preceeded by transfusions for a month as the initial therapy rather than the
low-dose PO 7 on/7 off protocol. Transfusions will reduce the viral
oad -- and even a temporary reduction in the viral load might allow the
cat's immune system to mount a stronger and more effective response. When
the results are good, they're very good! We have a few FeLV cats still
going strong 6 years post IFA+!


Best of luck,

Phil



  #9  
Old January 31st 04, 11:50 PM
Phil P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Dave" wrote in message
...
We took our 11/2 year-old male, sweetheart of a cat in to the vet because
he was lethargic, and the vet diagnosed auto-immune anemia. Further

testing
showed that he had an 11% red blood cell volume (normal is 35-50%) and is
positive for Feline Leukemia.


Have your cat tested for Hemobartonella felis. -- H. felis is a parasite
that attaches itself to surface of RBCs and shortens the life of the RBCs --
but far more damage is caused to the RBCs by the cat's intense immune
response to the parasite attached to the cell than by the parasite itself.
HaemobartonelÂ*losis is associated with an increased incidence of FeLV
infection. So its possible that the parasite reduced your cat's resistance
to FeLV and permitted an infection that the cat may have otherwise resisted
or allow a latent infection to re-emerge and initiate persistent, or
hopefully, only transient viremia. OTOH, FeLV can suppress the cat's normal
immune response - so FeLV might increase the cat's susceptibility to
haemobartonellosis or even convert a latent H. felis infection into a
full-blown disease.

You should have the test run at least four times on four consecutive days
because H. felis parasitemia is cyclic - IOW, the parasite can disappear and
reappear in the blood sometimes in as little as 2 hours or less... Also, its
absolutely essential that your vet uses *fresh* blood for the tests and
prepares the smears right away because the parasite usually detaches itself
from RBCs in refrigerated anticoagulated blood and in vitro. Bad timing
and/or improperly collected and stored blood will lead to false negative
results in an infected cat. Tests results will also turn out negative if
the tests are run after you begin treatment because the parasites disappear
from the blood while the cat is being treated with tetracyclines. Thus the
test can't be used to monitor therapy.





Oh boy...

We've decided to give him the best chance he can have to get back on his
feet and keep him with us for as long as we can. So, he had a blood
transfusion last night and for the next few weeks he's been prescribed
steroids and antibiotics, as well as Felovite vitamins. In a week he'll

get
another blood test and we'll see how he's doing.

We CAN'T loose this cat, period.

So, I would appreciate it if you folks could point me to some

info/resources
on getting him past this anemia and making his life with leukemia as

healthy
and long a one as we possibly can. There's a ton of stuff out there (I

know,
I've been digging through it) but it's hard to tell what info is current

and
reliable. Has anyone had any luck with supplements/medication that we can
give him to help him fight the virus (our vet is looking into getting him

on
Interferon)?



If you go with interferon, I'd go with daily high-dose parenteral r-HuIFN-a
preceeded by transfusions for a month as the initial therapy rather than the
low-dose PO 7 on/7 off protocol. Transfusions will reduce the viral
oad -- and even a temporary reduction in the viral load might allow the
cat's immune system to mount a stronger and more effective response. When
the results are good, they're very good! We have a few FeLV cats still
going strong 6 years post IFA+!


Best of luck,

Phil



  #10  
Old January 31st 04, 11:51 PM
Phil P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Dave" wrote in message
...


He's an indoor cat and has tested positive with both tests, even though he
tested negative when we got him as a kitten and has not been exposed to an
FELV+ cat since then.


The vet thinks that he'd been exposed at the shelter
and had not developed enough antibodies to test positive at that time


Where did your vet get his DVM? -- an ad on a matchbook cover from a scam
company that sells bogus university degrees by mail from Bangladesh???
Tests for FeLV test for *antigen* not antibodies!!!

This is FeLV 101....and one of worst examples of incompetency that I've ever
seen in 40 years of animal rescue!


*Please* find a new vet! *Quick* if not sooner!


 




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