Clear Day We're not participating in any official clinical trial, but we have decided to use LTCI on our Romeo. We've tried other treatments to raise his platelet and RBCs, but nothing has worked. We're going to start out with 3 doses, then run a blood test to see if any improvements can be seen. He received his first dose this past Friday. My vet has a colleague that's used LTCI and has had promising results. We're hopeful, but also know that Romeo's time with us may be very limited.
Just a little background on Romeo, he's a beautiful orange and white Maine Coone that appeared at our house in the country about 8 years ago. Romeo remained a reliable fixture at our place for the first couple years with us. He was always waiting for me in the morning to bring him his breakfast and always waiting for his supper when I came home from work. About two years after his arrival, Romeo up and disppeared. We figured that he'd met his demise. About a week later, Romeo came home. He gingerly walked up to me and right away I knew something was wrong. Our vet hospital confirmed the worst. Romeo had most likely been hit by a car. His pelvis was shattered and his left hip socket was in pieces. Because of the substantial injuries, surgery was not an option for the little man. His fate was in his own hands. Our vet recommended keeping him in a very inclosed area for 6-8 weeks and see how well he healed up on his own. Then we could make a final determination as to his fate. In order to do that, we'd have to take him into our home. We tested Romeo for FeLV/FIV and found him to be negative. We believed he was safe to bring him into our home, where we already had 4 cats. Long story short, Romeo healed up beautifully! We had him neutered, gave him all his shots, and allowed him to stay in the house with us. However, due to the way his pelvis healed, Romeo would need to use a kitty laxative for the remainder of his life. Occassionally he was also have a low dose of Metacam for the arthritis he later developed in his back. Flash forward to 2010. I took Romeo in to have his teeth cleaned. Because he's at least 7 years old, our vet requires cats to have their blood tested prior to anesthia. It was a shock when I received a call from them to find Romeo was anemic. Further blood tests revealed that he was FeLV positive. We can only assume that Romeo had been positive the whole time and that the virus was hiding out somewhere within him. He still went outside occassionally for little walks, but he'd received the FeLV vaccine on a regular basis just in case he would come into contact with another stray. Living in the country, there are plenty of stray cats wandering through. Since Romeo tested postivie for the virus, we off course had to test our other fur babies. Sissy, our 16+ kitty tested positive. We were already treating her for renal failure so we're not sure if that's a result of her age or because of the FeLV. Fortunately, our other two girls, Alexandra and Jezzebelle, tested negative! We have no idea why they both came up negative but we're very, VERY thankful! We also lost another little lady March of last year. Sophie passed away after becoming very ill with AIHA (autoimmune hemolytic anemia). We don't know if there was a possibility that she would also have tested positive for FeLV. Sophie was only 6 when she passed away. Sorry to drone on about our kids, but we love them all dearly and are doing what we can to help them. Sissy and Romeo are both on Interferon, 7 days on, 7 days off. We know the LTCI may not work, but at least it's something. Having lost one of our fur babies just over a year ago, then having Sissy diagnosed with renal failure last fall, and now a double whammy with the FeLV is really taking it's toll on our emotions . . . at least mine. Romeo never gave up on us all those years ago and struggled to make his way home with a shattered pelvis. He knew we'd help him. I can't give up on now. If the LTCI truly works, then great! But if not, then I guess the final chapter has been written for Romeo. Diane >Re: [Felvtalk] Is this a real legit cure for feline leukemia? >Message-ID: > < p2i810264f51005071053g4c7b5f3ezc23b427c3d56e...@mail.gmail.com > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > >LCTI has been around for quite awhile, and still hasn't produced the >hoped-for results. it's imulan's marketing and testing behaviors that i >object to, NOT the product. as you say, the basic mechanism SHOULD work. >which makes it even more disturbing that Imulan ended the clinical trials >that were ongoing when they purchased the product--if what is needed is more >investigation, then do trials that will provide usable information to the >entire veterinary field--don't make grandious promises, and charge a great >deal of money just to raise people's hopes. > >and don't know if you've seen the protocol for the 4-week "trials" they were >doing with sanctuaries and vet's offices with FeLVs, but asymptomatic cats >need not apply. they want cats on their last paws--one of the questions >asked is whether or not the cat can be expected to live to the end of the >trial..... (tho i'm not supposed to have a copy of the protocol, i do, >somewhere--just don't know where. anyone with vets who are >participating--tho i HOPE they've changed this whole procedure--should be >able to supply a copy. unless they are afraid that someone might try to >enforce the, "in case of disclosure, we have the right to repossess your >first-born," clause. > >i'd love to see what's happened with other veterinary meds, tho LCTI not >being a drug might keep companies with big research & development funds from >caring, where real research goes on, and there's a reputable >concerned-citizens group in the background raising additional monies to fund >the research. > >many veterinary drug therapies have been funded by groups of responsible >breeders who've wanted to eradicate genetic >conditions/diseases/predispositions in their own breeds. if there were an >ethical, professional organization doing valid research on FeLV, i'm >thinking that we probably COULD get a group of folks to contribute, tho >probably not at the level of breed groups. > >(and if most of this already was sent, i apologize, my puter is NOT doing >well.) > >MC > >-- >Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! >Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > >MaryChristine >Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue ( www.purebredcats.org) >Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
