Re: Hi, I'm New to the Group

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:50:01 -0800

Hi Shana,
 
Welcome.  It stinks you had to find us, but we're glad you are here.
 
Weekends are normally quiet, and I don't post much (I mostly lurk now as I am FeLV free here now), but let me give you my 2 cents.  I normally let the others answer first, but I was worried you wouldn't hear from anyone since it's Friday night.
 
I've had (and lost) 5 FeLV positives in 9-1/2 years:  Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec, and Salome'.  Salome' was the last, and also the oldest.  She was 9-1/2 at the time of her passing.  FeLV is not what killed her, although that's what complicated it.  She had end stage liver disease and kidney failure.
 
The youngest to go was also the first -- Samantha.  She was just a little over 3 years old when she passed on 10/26/99.  That's when I found this list.  She was the first one to be diagnosed.  I had 3 at the time:  Salome', Samantha and Arielle.  All 3 tested positive, and they were all in their 3rd year: Salome' the oldest, Sam in the youngest, and Arielle in the middle.  Arielle went a little over a year later on February 22, 2001.  Then I adopted a negative (Siggie) on March 22, 2001.  He was 10 months old.  He is still negative, and I let them mix.
 
Then later that year (I think September), I took in 2 more positives, Gareth and Alec.  So all the kids had FeLV except Siggie.  I kept up with his boosters, and he remains negative.  In February 2003, I lost Gareth.  A month later, we lost Alec.  It was then that my husband begged me to stop taking in FeLV positives.  It was very hard on him emotionally to lost them, but Alec hit him especially hard.  The financial burden also became prohibitive.
 
Then in August 2003, my sister rescued a litter of 4.  I have 2 of them:  Sammi and Guinevere.  They are sisfur cats, and except for their coloring, they could be twins.  Sammi is a grey tuxedo, and Guin is a black tuxedo.
 
This past September, 2 weeks before Salome' left us, we adopted Travis, a 3 month old tabby.  Today, we adopted Dori, and she is 4 months old (I think!).  You can check out my furkid photo webpage if you like to see their photos.  The link is below in my signature.
 
So you can see that FeLV cats can live good quality lives.  I would recommend the following:  ask your vet about getting interferon for Audrey.  You can read more about it on the site (www.felineleukemia.org).  I would supplement with blood builders (Pet Tinic is good, and is available from www.drsfostersmith.com).  You should also consider CoQ-10.  It's a cell builder.  Excellent for heart health (and good for humans too!).
 
If your vet will not work with you on this, I'd look for a FeLV friendly vet.  They DO exist.  If your current negatives are up to date on their shots, you should feel pretty comfortable letting them mingle together, but this is a personal choice and some list members choose NOT to mix, as they don't want to take any chances.
 
It is also vital that you do whatever you can to limit the stress factors in this cat's life.  Audrey runs the risk of getting sick if she gets stressed out.  If you think it would be better for her to be an only cat and live with your Mom, then you should make the transition soon, so that you don't disrupt her environment any further.
 
It is important to note that the FeLV virus itself is VERY fragile.  It can only exist in moist environments (water bowls, wet litter).  Unless the cats fight and she bites one of them, it's hard to transmit.
 
I would also recommend that you feed a high quality diet, free of by-products.  Most commercial foods contain by-products.  If you're looking for something that's easy to obtain, then I can recommend Nutro, Royal Canin or Blue Buffalo.  All are available at PetsMart.
 
Keep your spirits up!  Hope this helps.  I'm usually on most of the weekend (there are a few others too), so if you have any more questions, let us know!
 
Terri B. in New Jersey
 
=^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, Dori and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^=
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 8:20 PM
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

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