Niki,
Yes, the vet would prescribe interferon for you. It is a clear liquid,
(looks and tastes just like water) that you give orally. I don't know
if I would start an asymptomatic kitten on interferon right away because
of the immunity factor, (because it's human interferon, not feline), we
are told that eventually their bodies develop "immunity" to it and it
stops working for them. You may want to save that for when he's
symptomatic. Tonya has a point though, if Ziggy is actually fighting
the disease itself, it will help boost his immune system. I would think
he'd be showing symptoms, at least a fever, if that were the case. I'm
still hopeful that he has tested false positive. Can you get any
information about his mother? If we knew her status, (positive or
negative), that would tell us if Ziggy was exposed invitro, or somewhere
else. I'm not sure about this, but I think cats that have gotten FelV
and cleared it can still test at least faint-positive. Adult healthy
cats, have a very good chance of clearing the virus. Cats that are
immunized, don't get it at all. Hopefully someone will step in here
with more info. That brings us to whether or not you should proceed
with vaccinations. If Ziggy is otherwise healthy, I would get him his
shots, (except FelV, of course). This is only my opinion, and he could
have a bad reaction because of his status. I'd talk to your vet about
this, research it, and again, others on the list may have different
advice. If he's truly going to stay an indoor only cat, and he has no
siblings that come and go from the house, it would make a difference in
considering vaccines.
Please don't feel at all uncomfortable about "asking so many
questions". You are a concerned and loving fur-mom trying to make the
best decisions possible for your Ziggy. Believe me, we get that!
Nina
Nicholena Rushton wrote:
Tonya:
Ziggy is strictly an indoor cat only. Would the vet be the one to
prescribe the interferon? Would this boost his immune system? Alos
the vet gave him "kitty shots" and now I am wondering if I should
continue with his next round when I take him back to the vet as I am
now wondering if these vacs are going to compromise his immune
system. Do you have any info regarding this? I apologize in advance
for asking so many questions but I trying to do what is best for Ziggy
and do not want to compromise what health he has right now.
Niki
----- Original Message -----
*From:* catatonya <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
<mailto:felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
*Sent:* Sunday, June 12, 2005 12:48 AM
*Subject:* Re: Information
Niki,
I'm not the best one to give advice on the supplements as I'm not
using them right now on any of my own. I have read a lot about
transfer factor, but have never used it myself. If I were in your
position I think what I would begin with is interferon. I would
call the vet and ask if it's ok to start Ziggy on it to hopefully
help him fight off the virus and seroconvert. Vets usually are ok
with this. Most vets usually recommend a half cc of diluted
interferon (Your vet will give you the amount.) for kittens.
Once you get going on the interferon if things are going well you
might then try transfer factor next, and so on. That would be my
opinion.
Does Ziggy stay indoors only? I would keep him away from other
cats right now because you don't want to risk him being exposed to
the virus at this stage obviously. You also don't want to take
chances with kitty colds or anything else when you're trying to
boost his immune system. I'm sure others will chime in with more
advice and you can just pick and choose what works best for you
and Ziggy.
tonya
*/Nicholena Rushton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/* wrote:
Hi Tonya:
Thanks you so much for the information. Any suggestions on
food that I should be giving him? Right now I am giving him
Iams Kitten Formula and catmilk (I think by Wiskas) every once
in a while as a treat. Should I start vitamin C and the
interferon now? If so what would the dosage be? I have been
reading some stuff about something called Transfer Factor and
am a bit confused by what I have read about it. DO you have
anything yu could tell me - is it even worth it? I have to
let you know that you have quelled my nerves somewhat as I
went bonkers when I first heard of the + test and began to
think the worst. Now it is nice to know Ziggy can have a
productive life for whatever time I am going to be blessed by him.
Niki
----- Original Message -----
*From:* catatonya <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
<mailto:felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
*Sent:* Saturday, June 11, 2005 1:42 AM
*Subject:* RE: Information
Hi Niki!
I'm glad you found the list. You'll get lots of support
and advice! First of all congratulations on your new
baby! The good news is that if Ziggy is only 8 weeks old
he could still fight off the virus (which it sounds like
you've already learned). I'm not sure what the total time
you would need to be sure with a kitten this young. But I
think by June 30 he could still be positive even if he
were eventually going to be negative. In the meantime I
would get directions from the archives on feeding Ziggy
good, nutritional food. I would probably add some vitamin
c and get interferon from my vet. My vet used to give
interferon to negative shelter cats to keep them from
catching URI's at the shelter. It's supposed to boost
their immune system, so I would give it a try. You'll get
lots of other advice. The most important thing, in my
opinion, is not to over worry. Even if Ziggy remains
positive, it is possible he could only be carrying the
disease and never get sick from it. Also, add one thing
at a time. Try not to overwhelm yourself and Ziggy with a
zillion new foods and additives, etc. all at once. Good
luck with Ziggy! I like the name!
tonya
*/Nicholena Rushton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/* wrote:
Hello. I have just adopted a 8 week old kitten named
Ziggy. Ziggy had his first vet visit on 6-9-05 and
since I knew nothing about his mom or dad I decided to
have a FeLV test done which resulted in a positive. I
was devastated and am now trying to figure out the
best course for Ziggy. He is acting like a normal
kitten would, getting into all sorts of trouble and
shows no signs of the diease. I am trying to stave
off an full blown attack and would like to have
information regarding what I should be doing right
from the start. I am going to have retested in a
follow up visit on 6-30 and am also curious to know if
he could come up neg by then? I know relatively
little about this disease and am becoming increasingly
confused by all of the information on the web. Any
help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks you
Niki Rushton
