Please throw away the calendar and enjoy the time you have together.
Dixie was full grown and then some when she came into my life.
Someone had spayed her. She had wonderful manners. She was thrown
away for reasons unknown and showed up at my Mom's. Eventually I
decided she should be a farm cat and took her to Middletown Animal
Clinic in Louisville to have her spayed (I didn't know this had
already been done). That is when I found out about FeLV. She spent
over three years with me and had everything I could give her. I would
not trade a second with this wonderful little lady for anything. I
have no way of knowing how old she was----maybe 2-4 years old--when
she came into my life. She had the best care from MAC and a holistic
vet, Betty Boswell and was healthy until a few days before she left
this world. Love your little ones and let them love you. There are
no promises...................Dixie left quickly and quietly and in
the presence of her Person with whom she felt safest. A month after
she left, she sent me a little kitten from the same pint thicket she
came from and two weeks later she sent me another one (take two, they
are small---and they really were). Both boys were about a pound and
both had a hawk family who lived in the same pine thicket anxious to
invite them to dinner---as an appetizer.
Love them. They have their path as do you. It may be long or short
but enjoy the journey you share. You will not regret it.....as one
who loves those who normally have a shorter road than we do, you may
grieve but you will rejoice in the love you experience. Who knows,
you may leave this world before the little ones.
On Jan 26, 2010, at 5:16 PM, Jane Lyons wrote:
Hi Avia
I've heard about the five year mark and I've also heard the three
year obstacle and I've learned from my cat that
there are no guarantees for any of us.
When I got my cat she was highly symptomatic (URI, swollen glands,
stomatitis, diarrhea...you name it). I have had her for three years
and she has recovered from everything with the exception of
stomatitis.
She is roughly four years old and I sweated getting her past the
three year mark and of course I am trying to ignore the 'five year
theory'
because I think we can all become victims of statistics and other
people's consideration. I am coping by doing everything I can to
help her live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible.
She is doing fine. I'm the one who needs to do the work. Ignore the
woman from the rescue group. Every FeLV kittten
has its own path. Just keep loving them.
Jane
On Jan 26, 2010, at 2:15 PM, Avia Rauscher wrote:
I've been a member here for a while, although I don't post much. I
lost a 20 month old cat (Cinder) to FeLV a year ago. We found out
her status post-mortem and through subsequent testing of my other
three cats found one of them (Onyx) to be FeLV+ as well (Elisa and
IFA). The other two (Horus & Blackie) have been vaccinated, and
will be re-tested soon. I did not separate them after learning that
Onyx was + because - well, any of you who mix your +'s and -'s know
why.
Although there is no 100% sure way to know which cat gave the FeLV
to the other, we are working on the assumption that Onyx had it to
begin with and gave it to Cinder. Cinder was 9 weeks old when we
adopted from ACC, and Onyx was about 20 months old at the time. I
got Onyx from a pet store (lesson learned!) and she was in sad
shape, only six weeks old, dehydrated, malnourished, and with
coccidia. I couldn't return her to the people who allowed her to
get into that condition (as suggested by the vet I used at the
time), but for whatever reason, testing her for FeLV never came up.
Cinder was tested at the shelter, and came back negative. Horus and
Blackie both tested negative when they joined our family. At first
I thought Cinder tested false negative because of her age, but in
my many conversations with many, many people it seems more likely
that Onyx had it from birth (or shortly after, she has never been
exposed to FeLV other than with Cinder) and gave it to Cinder (they
were very close as almost as soon as I brought Cinder home). Cinder
developed a URI shortly after leaving the shelter, which Onyx
caught, of course. Onyx had a much harder time beating the URI,
part of which was due to a poorly prescribed antibiotic. I realize
now that it may have been the FeLV that made it so hard for her to
kick it.
So, Onyx is now four years and a couple of months old. She is
healthy and active, and I have been so happy that she seems to be
one of those cats who lives a long time with this virus. Until I
spoke to a woman from a rescue group doing cat adoptions in a
nearby pet store. Through conversation I told Onyx's story and this
woman kindly (hah!) informed me that the life expectancy for a cat
with FeLV in the bone marrow is five years, so while I'm lucky
she's survived this long, I shouldn't expect Onyx to be around a
whole lot longer.
Which brings me to the advice I would like: What are the chances of
a cat who is FeLV+ from birth living past 5? I have been reading
all the posts about LCTI, but I am not clear on whether you start
when they develop symptoms or while they are still healthy. Does
anyone here know if recurrent FLUTD is commonly seen in FeLV+ cats?
Horus tested negative and was vaccinated, but he's lost two pounds
in the last month (his appetite seems fine) and is in the middle of
his third bout of FLUTD in as many months - he's also asthmatic. I
am in panic mode right now. Should I re-test him early? Any advice
anyone here can give me would be very much appreciated.
Avia Rauscher
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