Giselle, Leaving aside any other diagnosis, and given that you believe she hasn't drunk water for days, Pixie sounds at the very least dehydrated. I am NOT a vet but my advice is, arrange as fast as possible ---now--today---for her to be checked for dehydration and given fluids as necessary. Sub-cutaneous fluid will immediately help a dehydrated cat feel better in a way that mere drinking water cannot do. Second, find a responsive and supportive vet--a vet who understands that FeLV cats are not second-class cats. I would run a mile (and have done) in the opposite direction from one who is clearly so uncaring. Pixie and you deserve much better. (If she will need further sub-Qs--hydration sessions-- get the (new) vet or vet's tech to show you how it's done--it's easy, and a good vet clinic will be happy to show you (that's how I learned--my vet pushed me into it, thank goodness). It saves $$ and time and the stress on a cat of vet visits.) Good luck. Kerry M.
________________________________ From: G D <gisell...@hotmail.com> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 4:02:52 PM Subject: [Felvtalk] Pixie didn't eat during the five days I was away Hi everyone, Pixie is my best buddy and constant companion as I work from home. She's a 4-year old female FeLV+. Last Thursday I went away for 5 days, leaving her home alone with a neighbor coming over for at least an hour each day to keep her company, feed wet food, brush, clean litterbox, etc. I returned from my trip yesterday and immediately knew something was wrong -- Pixie didn't come greet me and her dry food and water bowls were almost totally full (how I left them before leaving on Thursday). The neighbor said Pixie didn't eat her wet food either. She is now much skinnier around the midsection/haunches and clearly weak. Straight away I syringe-fed her a wet food & water slurry before rushing over to the vet where the vet on duty found Pixie had lost over 1 lb (since she was last weighed in 2007) and said her gums and eyes looked pale. The vet suggested Pixie might have nonregenerative anemia linked to bone marrow failure. She had some blood drawn, got weighed and had temperature taken but that's it. I'm waiting to hear the blood work results tomorrow. Vet didn't even recommend how to deal with the weight loss and probable dehydration. Didn't suggest x-rays either. This woman basically shrugged when I asked about courses of treatment (like, why bother?) for a FeLV cat who might have anemia. Bottom line: I'm terrified about Pixie and don't know what to do to help her recover. She's my second cat ever, and first cat I've been primary caregiver to. I feel guilty about going away at all last week, but she had been OK on previous occasions when I travelled. I've been syringe-feeding her slurries every 2 hours all day but she doesn't seem to be regaining strength and she's breathing faster than normal and I catch her staring blankly. Any advice from you guys is much appreciated. Thanks, Giselle _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail® has ever-growing storage! Don’t worry about storage limits. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Storage1_052009 _______________________________________________ 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
