Re: Is FeLV really the WORST?

[Cherie A Gabbert]

They all are special and we love them all. All sicknesses are hard.

Faye Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Around here, FIP is not that common but I have no doubt it is awful. For
me, this has been the worst experience I have had. The psychological
torment. I love these cats so much. I cannot explain it to anyone. I love
all of my pets but Simba and the twins have a special place in my heart.
Their loss is just an unbearable concept to me. I never know when or if the
shoe is going to drop. Every sniffle could be the beginning of the end. I
have never gone through anything like this. Plus, with the twins having
been kittens, my vets really thought their demise would show up rather soon
after the first exposure. Plus, when Tigger was diagnosed, I did not see it
coming. All I knew is that he threw up the night before. I thought maybe
he had eaten something that did not agree with him. It was a very stunning
shock. He went down so fast. Plus! , he had tested negative and had been
vaccinated so I just didn't imagine anything like this.


>From: Cherie A Gabbert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: felvtalk@vlists.net
>To: felvtalk@vlists.net
>Subject: Re: Is FeLV really the WORST?
>Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 13:36:19 -0800 (PST)
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>Point taken Sally,
>As far as I can tell from my personal stand point, I think FeLV is the
>worst, but I am sure we can debate on bad or worse all day. There are more
>vici! ous diseases out there, as with everything.
>
>Luckily and not so luckily, my expierence with this is limited, I just can
>tell you watching a kitty bleed to death is very hard to do. Snowball was
>playing and eating with the bleeding so it just was one of those things.
>Not to mention my daughter (age 1) bled to death in my arms, many years
>ago.
>
>Watching and being with a dieing animal is hard no matter what the disease,
>and we all can attest to it, so I guess it does not matter better or worse
>sicknesses it is just a shame there has to be any.
>Cherie
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Dear Cherie:
>
>While FeLV is a horrid disease to deal with, with so few givens and so many
>unanswered questions, there ARE worse things to deal with. I haven't had
>any
>personal experience dealing with it, but if you were to ask listmember
>Denise
>Uriarte here ! in San Jose, I think she will tell you that FIP is even worse
>to
>deal with than FeLV. She has dealt with both.
>
>Kittys who develop FIP (a mutated form of the corona virus) may exhibit
>none
>to mild symptoms in the early stages on infection, and that is when they
>are
>infectious to other cats. By the time they are actively showing classic
>symptoms of the disease, they are said to be no longer contagious. And some
>cats can
>evidently be latent carriers and never show symptoms, themselves. There is
>NO TEST which can positively tell you a cat has FIP...the only way to
>absolutely confirm it is through necropsy. A high corona titer may be an
>indication,
>but not absolutely as a cat exposed to it but not becoming infected may
>have a
>high antibody titer. There are two forms, the dry and wet form. With the
>wet
>form there is excessive buildup of a stringy proteinaceous fluid in the
>abdomen or chest and cats with this form succumb rather quickly. With the
>dry
>form, a cat can linger for several months and in the end stages there can
>be
>neurological damage which causes seizures and the cat may be disoriented
>and
>crashing into walls in its distress. Not a pretty sight to observe. Just as
>with
>there being no explanation as to why the FeLV virus mutates into one of its
>more virulent subgroups in some cats and not others, I've never seen an
>explanation as to why the corona virus mutates to FIP in some cats, but not
>others.
>Immuno-compromised cats, such as those with FeLV are said to be more
>suseceptible.
>
>In '03, Denise lost two kittens from a litter of three FeLV+ kittens to
>FIP,
>and three otherwise healthy "older" kittens. Two were feral from a mom
>whose
>previous littter had all perish! ed and we have hypothesized she may be a
>carrier. Luckily this mom cat who had long evaded being trapped and
>produced litter
>after litter of kittens, has finally been trapped and spayed.
>
>After what I saw Denise go through with those kittys, I would take an FeLV+
>kitty over that any day.
>
>Sally in San Jose
>
>
>
>