I have had Duncan for a year now and he is fat, active and symptom-free. Now Celery and Baby Girl have joined him. They are all healthy and love each other's company. A vet tech said to me recently, "Enjoy your FeLV + cats while you have them, because they'll probably be dead within a couple of years." Nice. I've been upset about her comment since then, but with luck she'll be proven wrong.
--- On Wed, 6/4/08, MaryChristine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: MaryChristine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Hi again :) > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2008, 6:26 PM > current wisdom is that positive cats can remain asymptomatic > for > years, until the virus is triggered. no one really knows, > however, > what it is that activates it. culprits high on the list are > serious > illnesses, but i know that at the sanctuary, we had > positive who got > very sick, were treated (often surgically) and recovered > quite fine to > go on for a number of years. stress is another thing > suspected of > awakening the virus, but how do you define that? the best > we can do is > the best we can do: give them as calm and safe and loving > an > environment as possible, feed them the best food that your > own > research tells you to (that varies because everyone has > their own > opinion, and last year before the pet-food recall, some > people were > accused of murdering their cats because they didn't > feed them things > that others thought they should--things that turned out, in > some > cases, to ACTUALLY kill, while the other foods did not); be > extra > vigilant about any health concerns or behavior changes, and > have them > attended to right away--and did i mention love them as long > as you > have them, because no matter how long that is, it won't > ever be long > enough..... > > there are no guarantees for any of us--the healthiest cat > or dog or > human can drop dead tomorrow--to worry about it all the > time > accomplishes nothing, and probably creates a level of > stress that the > cats can pick up. > > there have been FeLVs in my life who have only had five > months to > share with me, and other whom i've known for > years--it's the quality > that matters. > > (and take lots of pictures--i get incredible joy from > looking at the > photos of the silly little furcritters that aren't > wandering this > earth anymore--and i just grin when i see their faces > looking out at > me, and remember how they graced my life.) > > MC > > On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:28 PM, Laurieskatz > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > YES. Squeaky tested positive at age 13 and lived to > age 22, symptom free > > except for his final 3 weeks. > > Laurie > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Sue Koren > > Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 6:33 AM > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > Subject: Re: Hi again :) > > > > Does anyone know if a positive cat who stays positive > but not sick for a > > certain length of time, if the chances are that they > will not become sick? > > Or could the sickness just come on them at any time > regardless of how long > > they have harbored the virus and remained healthy? (I > hope that made some > > kind of sense) > > Sue > > > > ---- MaryChristine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > ============= > > yes, cats can retest negative on IFAs if enough time > has passed so > > that the virus can work itself out of the system. just > as with initial > > exposure, the time period given varies from 60 to 120 > days, depending > > on who/what you read--i go for the 120 days or longer, > so i don't > > always wonder...... tho it's not mentioned in the > current on-line > > merck manual, and i never thought to keep the > reference back when i > > first read it in 2003 or so, it used to refer to a > case where it took > > a cat seven or nine (my memory is going) for a cat to > revert to > > negative on an IFA. > > > > generally, however, if 120 days or so has passed since > last possible > > exposure, i figure they're not gonna > seroconvert--but until/if the > > virus gets activated, they're just positive, not > sick. > > > > my little pastel calico, lorelei, who came to me last > summer solstice, > > just retested positive on the IFA when she was spayed, > so i'd say that > > it's pretty definite that she's gonna stay > positive..... but it didn't > > really matter, because it wasn't going to change > anything one way or > > another, so there was no rush here to retest.... > > > > and for those who don't know, all my others are > either vaccinated, or > > were inadvertently exposed almost eight years ago, so > she's no threat > > to anything other than my peace of mind--calico, after > all..... > > > > MC > > On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 5:51 PM, Laura B > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> A few weeks ago I joined this list but > couldn't post, so Belinda very > > kindly > >> posted an introduction for myself and my FeLV+ > kitty, Laura. Thank so > > much > >> for the replies we got, we read them all. > >> > >> I wanted to send in a little update on Laura > (still don't have a new name > >> for her), she is doing very well. Most of her fur > is growing back (she > > had > >> bald patches) and since being on the l-lysine she > is not drooling nearly > > as > >> much (she had herpes lesions in her mouth). She > seems to be settling in > > and > >> loves her room with a view. I spend as much time > with her as possible, > > and > >> my nieghbor (another cat person) comes over daily > to give her a snack and > >> some lovin. > >> > >> I think she has also put on a little weight, which > is good because she > >> is quite thin, other than that she is doing well. > My vet just had me > > bring > >> her in and restest her, (IFA), she came back > positive again. Do cats ever > >> test neg on an IFA after testing positive? Vet > also retested the three > > cats > >> in her care that were positive on snap tests a > month ago when she > > discovered > >> Laura's status. Out of the three only one > retested pos on an IFA test. > >> > >> Anyway, just wanted to pop in and thank you all, > also give a little update > >> on my sweet girl. > >> > >> Best regards, > >> > >> Human Laura and furry Laura > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Felvtalk mailing list > >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > >> > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > >> > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > > > MaryChristine > > > > AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats > > MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ICQ: 289856892 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > > > -- > > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > MaryChristine > > AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats > MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ICQ: 289856892 > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
