RE: Hi, I'm New to the Group

[Hideyo Yamamoto]

Hi, Shana, welcome to the group!  This is a wonderful group with very caring people and I am glad that you found us. I am sorry to hear about Audrey.. it’s always heart breaking to find out something like this.  There is still a possibility that Audrey can eliminate the virus and become negative in a few months (I think statistics says that 2/3 of cats become negative later one) –   If you feel that your mother in law can provide a good home for her, I think it will be a very good thing  for Audrey.  I have two FeLK positive kitties and bunch of others who are negative so, I keep them separate. There are some on the list who give vaccine for feLK and integrate them..   but please remember just because they are positive, it does not mean they are going to die right away, many many feLK kitties do live for many years.  Mine are both very healthy and asymptomatic – you won’ even know that they are such a virus.    If you are going to spay her, I do suggest that you run a blood work to make sure that everything is ok internally as stress such as surgery/anesthesia can be very harmful for already immune compromised kitties – if you can’t afford it, at least check her PCV level to make sure that she is not anemic.   When you are ready to spay her, please ask your vet not to use any injectable sedatives, but just ISO gas which makes recovery much faster – and ask if you could pick up as soon as she is wake (I usually wait while s/he is in surgery and bring them home right after the surgery so stress is minimized) – and also ask them to give her sub-q fluid during the surgery..     Hideyo   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shana tarver Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 6:21 PM To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Hi, I'm New to the Group   Hi Everyone,   I am new to the group. We found a beautiful sweet little kitty in our yard 3 wks ago that we named Audrey. She behaved like a feral cat the first week we had her but is now a complete love. She purrs when she hears your voice and jumps into your lap for pets. She has had both the ELISA and IFA test and sadly both have come back positive. She is 1 yr old (although she's tiny, 6 lbs) and in perfect heath. We have 2 others cats that are negative (we have kept her in a separate room). We just received the results of the IFA today and we are heartbroken. We were hoping the ELISA was a false pos. Our vet said there is really nothing we can do to help her. My Mother in Law has offered to give her a home and has no other cats. I would love suggestions on our next step with her and any success stories you may have. Also, we need to have her spayed but I am worried about doing it. Any thoughts?   thanks so much, Shana - Toulouse, Pollock and Audrey