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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
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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
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"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 |
#4
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"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! |
#5
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"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! |
#6
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"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
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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 |
#8
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"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 |
#9
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"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 |
#10
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"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 |
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