I think you made a good decision because you will know that you have tried everything possible for him. I think wondering if you did enough is the worse thing. So no matter which way it goes you won't have any guilt.Dexter sounds like a wonderful boy and I pray he pulls right out of this like he did with the situation last October. Please keep us posted because I would love to know how this works for him. I would love to be able to tell other people that just because their cat has FeLV and lymphosarcoma it doesn't mean he's a goner and I can tell them all about Dexter's success story.Maureen
“I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn’t….the pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further.” – Mark Twain > From: drsiebl...@gmail.com > Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 09:13:06 -0500 > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter > > They most certainly can communicate and they do it all the time. Cats > naturally don't communicate verbally with each other, so when your cat meows > at you, he's trying to speak your language, so to speak. If that's not > direct communication, I don't know what is... > > We have Dex at his vet clinic now... He's calmer and more relaxed. He's > starting chemo immediately. > > Thanks everyone... > > On Jul 5, 2011, at 8:29 AM, "Sara Kasteleyn" <skastel...@cicresearch.com> > wrote: > > > So happy you are all together again! Oh...those poor unfortunate people > > who think animals can't communicate! Best of luck today. Sara > > > > > > ------Original Mail------ > > From: "Ben Williams" <drsiebl...@gmail.com> > > To: "felvtalk@felineleukemia.org" <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> > > Sent: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 07:42:25 -0500 > > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter > > > > Thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement... We spent some > > time with Dex at the clinic last night and we told ourselves that Dex would > > tell us what to do; that he'd let us know, somehow, what he wanted. Dex has > > always been a fighter - he came to us under the hood of a car that had > > carried him, at only 4 weeks of age, across town, on highways and bumpy > > roads. He clung to the engine of that car and came out covered in dirt, but > > full of love. He's been with us since then (only a year and a half) and we > > have become so close to him. We were told he didn't have a chance last > > October when his red blood cell counts were at 3 and we discovered he was > > felv and fiv positive. He bounced back quickly from the blood transfusion > > and seemed to return to normal quickly. It's been tough for the last three > > weeks as we've tried immunoregulin, acemannan and lymphocyte t-cell > > immunomodulator. He's been a trooper through it all and always has a sweet > > chirp and a purr. So, last night, his wagging tail and happiness at seeing > > us, combined with the relative calm he experienced when we were with him > > and the look of hope in his eyes told us we couldn't give up. So, I'm > > picking him up now and we are taking him to Dr. Wright at Lakewood Vet > > Center to hopefully start some other treatment to pull him out of this. > > He's a beautiful boy and we owe him every chance to live happily. Thanks, > > everyone. On Jul 5, 2011, at 1:42 AM, Maureen Olvey <molvey...@hotmail.com> > > wrote: > > I think talking with a feline cancer group will be helpful. I > > couldn't tell you because I don't know a lot about lymphosarcoma. I'm sure > > the vets are telling you to let him go but you have to make the call and > > don't do it until you're sure so you won't regret it and wonder later on. I > > guess it depends on the success rate of doing chemo on lymphosarcoma at > > this stage. Maybe you should try to consult with a vet oncologist > > immediately about his chances. If the chemo could give him several more > > months is it worth it? If the chemo could give him another year is it worth > > it? Chemo can be rough but I'm in a dog cancer group and usually after a > > few days of being sick after the chemo treatments the dogs are okay until > > the next round. I'm not sure how it affects cats though. My dog was > > diagnosed a couple months ago with bone cancer and chemo wasn't an option > > but radiation was an option for just a few extra months with him. I asked > > myself those questions about how long would it give him and would the pain > > he would endure be worth it. It's different for me because my dog is old so > > I had to take that into consideration. Seems like I read in one of the > > e-mails that Dexter isn't that old. Anyway, I had a little time because my > > dog wasn't in pain so I talked with two different oncologist and they both > > said the same thing. Talking with an specialist made me feel better about > > my decision.One thing I have learned from the dog bone cancer group I'm in > > is that there are no wrong decisions. You do what you think is right for > > Dexter. You know Dexter better than any vet so it's your call and it won't > > be a wrong decision.Maureen > > “I am not interested to know whether > > vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or > > doesn’t….the pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis > > of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the > > enmity without looking further.” – Mark Twain > >> From: > > skastel...@cicresearch.com >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> Date: Mon, > > 4 Jul 2011 21:55:58 -0700 >> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter >> >> Ben, my > > husband and I are praying that the best decision for Dex will become > > obvious to you, whatever that is. The most difficult decision is deciding > > that his quality of life...tubes, pills, anything out of the ordinary on a > > morre than temporary basis, would serve only those who will be left behind. > > God bless you and your family as you wrestle with this difficult decision. > > Dexter....we love you. Please..let your beloved Daddy look in your eyes and > > tell him what you need. Sara >> >> >> >> ------Original Mail------ >> From: > > "Ben Williams" <drsiebl...@gmail.com> >> To: "felvtalk@felineleukemia.org" > > <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> >> Sent: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 21:25:37 -0500 >> > > Subject: [Felvtalk] Dexter >> >> We are having a hard time making a very > > tough decision for Dexter. In the past three days, Dex has suffered facial > > and paw swelling and has started having difficulty breathing. Today has > > been bad and he is now receiving oxygen at the Dallas emergency vet clinic. > > X-rays show that he has lymph node involvement in every area and his liver > > and spleen are enlarged and have move out of the proper body cavity. This > > puts him in, I think, stage 4 of lymphosarcoma. He is whimpering and > > obviously in pain. We don't want to give up and we are willing to do chemo > > for him. We want to do what's best for Dexter, but it is so hard to make > > that final decision. Is it time for his suffering to be over? Does he have > > a chance? >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
