My advice to you right now is don't give up on her. She has survived with felv for four years. Most cats that can do that have a greater chance of making it. Did you vet check for hemobartonella? Did they find the source of the infection - pneumonia, bacteremia, URI, UTI, etc?
Is she on Interferon? or any supplements for immune support like whole body support by standard process or there are multiple chinese herbs for immune support. I have to tell you, I would not give up at this point. As long as there isn't a definitive indication of a bone marrow malignancy or bone marrow failure, you may just be dealing with a treatable illness. I have a felv cat that had been doing well for a few years and then developed diarrhea and was very ill. She was started on interferon alpha and improved. This was before I had her, but I have her medical records I can look up what else they did. Otherwise Laura may be able to help us here as she is familiar with her history (Bella is the cat's name) That was about four years ago. I had her on interferon for about two years after that and I stopped it about two years ago. She's in great shape now. I'll get back to you with the details of what they did for her. I know I have the file here somewhere. Jenny On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Anna Waltman <anna.walt...@gmail.com>wrote: > Dear all, > I've been a member of this list since 2009, when Sylvia, the older of my > two (strictly indoor-only) cats, was first diagnosed with FLV (she'd tested > negative twice as a kitten, then at just over a year old came up positive > on both the snap and IFA tests). We have a great vet, and she's been a > happy, healthy, fat, and sassy calico cat for most of her life. I haven't > been very active on this list in the last year or so because Sylvia has > been so healthy, apart from a case of gingivitis that our vet and I were > monitoring carefully. She's about four years old now, and was originally a > stray kitten in an urban area. I adopted her from an ASPCA in New Jersey. > The vet thinks she got the virus from her mama and it was dormant in her > system until the stress of moving from NJ to MA caused it to turn active. > > Unfortunately, her run of good health seems to be over. Toward the end of > March, she started having diarrhea and seemed lethargic, so I took her to > the vet, who said she didn't have a fever, but gave her a shot of systemic > antibiotics and some subcutaneous fluids anyway. Her energy levels rose and > the diarrhea resolved itself. However, Sylvia's energy levels took a > nosedive again this past week, and she's been totally lethargic. She > started hiding in my roommate's closet and spent an entire night in there > on Wednesday. She's been refusing to play with my other cat, Beatrice, and > hissed last time Beatrice tried to convince her to play chase (not normal > at all-- these two have always been good buddies and playmates). > > Yesterday, we went back to the vet. This time, she did have a high fever > (105) and the vet did blood work, which showed anemia and a high white > blood cell count. The vet said all signs point to infection and suggested > antibiotics and fluids, but she also wanted to do x-rays to check for > tumors...then she also said that even if a tumor showed itself, there would > be no treatment options and we'd have to discuss euthanasia. I opted > against the x-rays as I'm on a limited budget and couldn't really see the > point if the tests wouldn't lead to treatment. We decided to do another > round of the injected systemic antibiotics and sub-Q fluids, and the vet > also gave me an oral antibiotic to dose Sylvia with once a day. I'm going > to purchase a thermometer so I can monitor her temperature daily, as well. > I'm under strict instructions to bring her back in if her temp rises or > stays where it is. We go back on Wednesday for another round of blood work, > to see if the anemia and white blood cell count are improving or getting > worse. > > I'm a mess. I'm so worried; I broke down crying in the vet's office > yesterday before the vet even came in to see Sylvia. And poor Sylvia has > been hiding under my bed since we got home yesterday. She's not interested > in cuddles or attention (which is not even a little normal for her-- most > of the time, she'd spend her whole evening curled up on my lap if given the > chance). She'll come out to eat (she's still interested in treats) and get > a drink of water, and then she goes right back under the bed to sleep. I > realize that this is instinct...when animals are very sick they have to > hide to protect themselves from predators...but she's never been so adamant > about being out of sight before this week. > > Have any of you dealt with this in a FLV+ cat before? Any advice for how > to cope? Is there some other remedy I should be giving her (Lysine, > pet-tinic, etc) in addition to the antibiotics while she's sick to bolster > her immune system? She eats high-quality food to begin with (Wellness CORE > and occasionally Wellness wet food). Also...how do I know when her quality > of life has deteriorated to the point that euthanasia is something to > consider? She's not herself now, that's for sure, but she doesn't seem to > be in pain, either. When she's been in pain in the past because of her > mouth/gums, she's been quite vocal about it. I just don't want her to > suffer needlessly. > > This has been breaking my heart. Sylvia is my first cat as an adult (I'm > 25 and in grad school); she's outlived two serious relationships, the whole > of my Master's degree work, and a major move. I'm more attached to her than > I've ever been to an animal. When she was diagnosed with FLV I was > devastated and wracked with guilt, since I'd recently adopted a kitten into > our household thinking Sylvia was totally healthy. (Luckily, the kitten, > Beatrice, has remained negative-- she gets retested and vaccinated > annually-- and has grown into an active and healthy indoor cat.) > > Those of you with more experience owning FLV+ cats: any help or advice you > can offer would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance! > All the best, > Anna, Sylvia, and Beatrice > > > > -- > Anna E. Waltman > PhD student & Teaching Associate > Department of English and American Literature > University of Massachusetts, Amherst > <awalt...@english.umass.edu> > > _______________________________________________ > 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
