Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Transport to Best Friends
This is a cat that failed in his last attempt to make it to Best Friends because of how poorly he handled transport. He was 1 of 3 cats supposed to be headed out there and they decided they needed to work with a vet to find a better solution for getting him through long travel. The biggest issue is now with all the new travel security requirements he can't just stay in his carrier he must be removed and his carrier xrayed while he comes through the xray with me. They have done tests runs with the sedation and feel it is the best option for us making it through security safely without putting him, myself or security at risk when removing him from the carrier. Other products have not worked with him. He takes a very long time to adjust and warm up (but once he does is said to be a total sweety). Other problem being I do not know nor have I ever met this cat. He will be arriving at my house in a few hours but I am no home and will only have time to meet him for about 10 minutes prior to being out the door again this evening. None of it is the ideal situation however I am his only option to save his life and I do not feel comfortable removing a cat from the carrier unsedated that those who actually know the cat have expressed great concern about the problems I will have with him. I don't think its as simple as minor anxiety or stress for this guy. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] FELV Transport to Best Friends
Just an update. The rescue was unable to offer any assistance with the transport in the time frame needed so they are holding off on getting 2 of the cats there. Instead I will be transporting an FIV+ stressed out kitty on my trek. Wish me luck that his sedatives work! Thanks so much for the offer to help. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Anyone near St. Johnsville, NY area that can help transport 2 FELV cats so I can get them to BF Sanctuary in Utah???
Hello friends! I'm looking for some help transporting 2 FELV+ cats from St. Johnsville, NY to the Cherry Hill NJ area this weekend (or Monday/Tuesday). If the cats can get to me they will be flying with me to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah Wed morning where they will get to live out their lives in luxury. I know it's a long shot but if anyone is along the route or knows someone who might be and is willing to help with a leg of transport please let me know! We have some volunteers that can do the legs pretty much from NYC area to Cherry Hill or from Scranton area to NJ.I would hate for these guys to miss this awesome opportunity but I just cant do the full drive back and forth to pick them up myself. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Foster Mom with FELV kittens follow up
I posted a couple weeks ago when I first found out about my kittens testing positive for FELV. Since than I have done a lot of research and have a much better understanding of what I'm dealing with. They are set to be tested again in July and if the snap test is positive we will be sending out for IFA testing. At this point it does seem as though chances are they are truly FELV (of course they still have the chance to flip or fight it off but it does not seem likely all 3 will nor does it seem that it was a false positive as all 3 kittens were tested separately, at different times with the tests administered by different peopleall coming back positive. So anyway Im located in Philly. More than willing and ready to drive any distance I can make in a weekend trip for them to find a good home. So please watch and share their video I made for them (it might make you laugh and cry). Video link: http://youtu.be/N0uqTPhYLTQ They are absolutely wonderful but I dont have space for 3 FELV negative cats in my home permanently let alone 3 positive cats. They will NOT be euthed due to this but I may have to turn them over to a FELV rescue if Im unable to find a good placement for them which I would hate to do after raising them :(. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Foster Mom with FELV kittens follow up
You've got it right. I've immersed myself in FELV for the past 2 weeks and feel I've got a pretty good grasp and from what I understand what you stated is correct. Basically I need the snap and IFA test to match..but a positive snap and negative IFA does NOT mean they are in the clear it may just mean it has not spread to the point of testing positive on IFA yet. I need either a matching negative snap and IFA or matching positive snap and IFA. I've really had to educate myself on this bc I've learned the shelter really does not have great knowledge on it and they really tend to group FELV and FIV together a lot. Prior to me doing my own investigating and phone calls I was told a ton of different things from the shelter. As for the mother- these guys were left on someones doorstep with no mom and brought to the shelter. I pulled them as bottlefeeders at about 2 weeks old (uninformed on needing to request a snap test). I had them for 5 weeks not knowing about the FELV...dropped them off for their spays and neuters at 2lbs and got a call that afternoon that 1 in the litter had tested postiive for FELV (they only test 1). They had only tested them bc I checked off a box requesting the snap test (otherwise never would have tested them). When I picked them up I brought them to the clinic and had a 2nd one in the litter tested who also tested positive. A week later I had an appointment with the shelters vet who than snap tested the 3rd kitten in the litter who also tested positive. Now we wait...re-snap..if snap positive we will send out IFA. At this point Im treating them as FELV+ and certainly don't have my hopes up that they are going to be negative. They are not showing any signs or symptoms that I am aware of at this point. They were spayed and neutered that day which now Im hearing mixed things on whether that should have been done or not and that FELV cats can have a difficult recovery. These guys had no problems recovering and have bounced back wonderfully besides 1 of them getting really bad diarrhea for a few days but we discovered roundworms and treated all 3 for that. His diarhea is now gone and he's back to himself. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Foster mom with FELV kittens follow up
*Yes I understand this however if the IFA comes back positive on all 3 its my understanding they have it..no need to wait 2 months and re-test a positive IFA means its spread to the marrow. So if we get a positive snap and negative IFA we will wait another month and test again until 2 confirmed positives or negatives result. I do know the diagnosis could mean anything...1 year or 6+ ...and sounds like their are even cases of cats being a carrier that dont every get symptomatic btu can still spread the disease. My fiances brother had 2 FELV+ cats (not littermates...adopted a 2nd positive cat as a companion for the 1st) and one died at 1 year old and the other 3 months later. I wish I had a set timeline but I knwo thats not possible and I just dont have the space at my house. This was supposed to be my last foster litter before having my own human children..in which they are currently living in what will be renovated into our baby nursery. I never ever fostered with the intention to adopt. Im devoted to finding these guys a home and really hope its possible...sadly as much as I love them it just isnt my home thats forever for them :(. Lee Evans* moonsister22 at yahoo.com felvtalk%40felineleukemia.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BFelvtalk%5D%20Foster%20Mom%20with%20FELV%20kittens%20follow%20upIn-Reply-To=%3C1340818990.29445.YahooMailNeo%40web120701.mail.ne1.yahoo.com%3E *Wed Jun 27 12:43:10 CDT 2012* - Previous message: [Felvtalk] Foster Mom with FELV kittens follow up http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/002480.html - Next message: [Felvtalk] Foster Mom with FELV kittens follow up http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/002482.html - *Messages sorted by:* [ date ]http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/date.html#2481 [ thread ]http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/thread.html#2481 [ subject ]http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/subject.html#2481 [ author ]http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/2012-June/author.html#2481 -- Just had a FIV+/FeLv+ cat retested. He had FIV but he tested negative for FeLv. He's going into my FIV+ section, not because I think that FIV would be contagious to my regular cats but because he never lost his male fighting spirit so let him annoy the FIV's. I do have three FIV+ cats mixed in with my regulars because they never even heard of fighting. Docile, sweet, loving. But Percy, well! Anyway, you need to wait for at least 2 months to retest the kittens. My vet advised me to wait for that period of time. I had another FeLv cat turn from positive to negative. I still have him. Rescued him 6 years ago and he was already an adult from the streets. No health problems. If your kittens are acting normal, seeming health, it's probably because they are and will turn. I have seen true FeLv kittens from the same litter. It has been my experience that they usually don't make it to a year old. Spay and Neuter your cats and dogs and your weird relatives and nasty neighbors too! -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] Foster mom devastated at a FELV positive test result
Hi! I am a foster mom for a high kill shelter in Philly. I am fostering my 3rd litter which was my first litter of bottle feeders. I've spent the past 24 hours researching like crazy online and trying to talk to others with experience but really getting a lot of contradicting information. The background: I pulled this litter from the shelter about 5 weeks ago as borderline bottle feeders. They were dumped on a doorstep in a box and brought to the shelter. Apparently there were 2 additional dropped off a day later that they assume was from the same litter but they were euthanized due to space/kitten season. When I brought them home they were all around .65lbs. Two of them were eating wet food and 1 refused it. I ended up having to bottle feed the 1 for 3 weeks before being able to wean him completely. All 3 have been active, healthy and playful. No signs of illness. Gaining weight steadily..actually faster than any of my previous litters. Today I dropped them off to be spayed and neutered. My biggest boy weighed 2.6lbs, girl 2.2lbs and than my smallest boy who was the bottle feeder the longest came in at just about 2lbs. I got a call this afternoon that the Feline Leukemia test came back positive. They only tested 1 at the time so I brought them right to the clinic when I picked them up and they tested a 2nd one who also tested positive. At this point they have been completely unhelpful in giving me any info or reassurance. The only good thing I got out of them was that they did tell me that they have a rescue that specifically pulls FIV/FELV+ cats and if my cats didnt flip they would be able to place them in the rescue. That rescue claims they have a 90-95% flip rate of FELV/FIV+ kittens they pull under the age of 12 weeks...but they are grouping FELV and FIV together and I honestly have no idea how many kittens they have pulled to create this statistic for themselves (it could be 2 litters or hundreds)...they claim I have a high chance of my kittens still flipping negative. I have/had adopters lined up for all 3 kittens. I have contacted them all. One is going to look for another kitten. Two have actually requested to wait..one is willing to wait as long as it takes to see if he will flip...even if it takes 6 months. For the past week I had given the kittens much more freedom in my house. I know for a fact they drank from my 2 resident cats water dishes. I also caught my 1 resident cat sneak into the kitten room and eating from their dish. So they have been exposed. My main questions really are about the possibility of them flipping. I cant seem to get any kind of consistent answer on this. I have tons of other foster parents that keep reassuring me that the chances of them flipping to negative and just that they tested positive bc they are too young to have an accurate test and than looking online or talking with some others make it sound like the chance is higher of a flip if it was FIV not FELV. So what are the chances of them flipping? Am I setting myself (and the potential adopters) up with false hope thinkng there could be a reasonable chance of them flipping to negative? Do I just keep testing every month for 6 months? They did the quick snap test. Should I continue to do that test or at what point should I request or bring to my own vet to have another type of test done? If they flip to negative- does that really mean they are in the clear and its safe for them to be adopted into a home with other cats? Someone is suggesting that I take my resident cats in and have them FELV vaccinated immediately even though they were already exposed...should I do this? I had called my vet and they told me to bring my cats in 2 months to be tested for FELV. So much mixed information has been given to me Im just so emotionally drained and confused on my next steps. I've grown to love these kittens very much but Im in no position to make them permanent resident cats here for long term. At the most I think I could consider hanging onto the boy Henry who has the adopter willing to wait for him for the 6 months to see if he flips negative if its worth waiting that long. I just dont know at what point to turn them over to the FELV rescue. I hate to dump them but I feel like if they truly are positive I cant provide them with what they need so the rescue specific for FELV is the best for them..but I dont want to put them there and have them placed in foster care with other FELV cats to have them just flip to negative but now be infected bc of exposure to other positive cats. I want to know they are truly positive before making that choice. Thanks again. I really appreciate any information or suggestions. Sadly the shelter is not offering me a lot of support or advice and at the clinic I felt the vet tech had no idea what she was talking about. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk
Re: [Felvtalk] Foster mom devastated at a FELV positive test result
Thanks so much for the quick reply. What is LTCI and where would I go to get it? I'm sure the shelter wouldnt cover it but I have a big network of supportive volunteer friends who I believe would step up and help out if I asked for help covering something financially that could help them. I want to do what is best for them but personally dont have the funds to cover it myself with 2 cats and 2 dogs of my own. But I think I could pull something together if its not completely outrageous and seems like something I should really give a shot. --- I wish I could you give you something more definite - but the truth is you just don't know - I know of many people whose kittens became negative later on, but also know many who remained positive. I have one felk kitty, Ginger, I have had her since she was 6 months old - now she is 8 years old and doing very well - One suggestion, if you can afford it - I would recommend LTCI on the kittens as some of the users of LTCI, their kittens became negative - I can't be sure if it's because of it or just a coincidnece - but my Felk kittens did really well on LTCI - On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Jamielynn Storch jlsphotograp...@gmail.com wrote: Hi! I am a foster mom for a high kill shelter in Philly. I am fostering my 3rd litter which was my first litter of bottle feeders. I've spent the past 24 hours researching like crazy online and trying to talk to others with experience but really getting a lot of contradicting information. The background: I pulled this litter from the shelter about 5 weeks ago as borderline bottle feeders. They were dumped on a doorstep in a box and brought to the shelter. Apparently there were 2 additional dropped off a day later that they assume was from the same litter but they were euthanized due to space/kitten season. When I brought them home they were all around .65lbs. Two of them were eating wet food and 1 refused it. I ended up having to bottle feed the 1 for 3 weeks before being able to wean him completely. All 3 have been active, healthy and playful. No signs of illness. Gaining weight steadily..actually faster than any of my previous litters. Today I dropped them off to be spayed and neutered. My biggest boy weighed 2.6lbs, girl 2.2lbs and than my smallest boy who was the bottle feeder the longest came in at just about 2lbs. I got a call this afternoon that the Feline Leukemia test came back positive. They only tested 1 at the time so I brought them right to the clinic when I picked them up and they tested a 2nd one who also tested positive. At this point they have been completely unhelpful in giving me any info or reassurance. The only good thing I got out of them was that they did tell me that they have a rescue that specifically pulls FIV/FELV+ cats and if my cats didnt flip they would be able to place them in the rescue. That rescue claims they have a 90-95% flip rate of FELV/FIV+ kittens they pull under the age of 12 weeks...but they are grouping FELV and FIV together and I honestly have no idea how many kittens they have pulled to create this statistic for themselves (it could be 2 litters or hundreds)...they claim I have a high chance of my kittens still flipping negative. I have/had adopters lined up for all 3 kittens. I have contacted them all. One is going to look for another kitten. Two have actually requested to wait..one is willing to wait as long as it takes to see if he will flip...even if it takes 6 months. For the past week I had given the kittens much more freedom in my house. I know for a fact they drank from my 2 resident cats water dishes. I also caught my 1 resident cat sneak into the kitten room and eating from their dish. So they have been exposed. My main questions really are about the possibility of them flipping. I cant seem to get any kind of consistent answer on this. I have tons of other foster parents that keep reassuring me that the chances of them flipping to negative and just that they tested positive bc they are too young to have an accurate test and than looking online or talking with some others make it sound like the chance is higher of a flip if it was FIV not FELV. So what are the chances of them flipping? Am I setting myself (and the potential adopters) up with false hope thinkng there could be a reasonable chance of them flipping to negative? Do I just keep testing every month for 6 months? They did the quick snap test. Should I continue to do that test or at what point should I request or bring to my own vet to have another type of test done? If they flip to negative- does that really mean they are in the clear and its safe for them to be adopted into a home with other cats? Someone is suggesting that I take my resident cats in and have them FELV vaccinated immediately even though they were already exposed...should I do this? I had called my vet and they told me to bring my cats
Re: [Felvtalk] Foster mom devastated at a FELV positive test result
PS- I dont know if this link will work but here is the album of photos of my sweet foster babies. Gerty, Jean and Henry. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.595079365376.2048530.135501135type=3 On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Jamielynn Storch jlsphotograp...@gmail.com wrote: Hi! I am a foster mom for a high kill shelter in Philly. I am fostering my 3rd litter which was my first litter of bottle feeders. I've spent the past 24 hours researching like crazy online and trying to talk to others with experience but really getting a lot of contradicting information. The background: I pulled this litter from the shelter about 5 weeks ago as borderline bottle feeders. They were dumped on a doorstep in a box and brought to the shelter. Apparently there were 2 additional dropped off a day later that they assume was from the same litter but they were euthanized due to space/kitten season. When I brought them home they were all around .65lbs. Two of them were eating wet food and 1 refused it. I ended up having to bottle feed the 1 for 3 weeks before being able to wean him completely. All 3 have been active, healthy and playful. No signs of illness. Gaining weight steadily..actually faster than any of my previous litters. Today I dropped them off to be spayed and neutered. My biggest boy weighed 2.6lbs, girl 2.2lbs and than my smallest boy who was the bottle feeder the longest came in at just about 2lbs. I got a call this afternoon that the Feline Leukemia test came back positive. They only tested 1 at the time so I brought them right to the clinic when I picked them up and they tested a 2nd one who also tested positive. At this point they have been completely unhelpful in giving me any info or reassurance. The only good thing I got out of them was that they did tell me that they have a rescue that specifically pulls FIV/FELV+ cats and if my cats didnt flip they would be able to place them in the rescue. That rescue claims they have a 90-95% flip rate of FELV/FIV+ kittens they pull under the age of 12 weeks...but they are grouping FELV and FIV together and I honestly have no idea how many kittens they have pulled to create this statistic for themselves (it could be 2 litters or hundreds)...they claim I have a high chance of my kittens still flipping negative. I have/had adopters lined up for all 3 kittens. I have contacted them all. One is going to look for another kitten. Two have actually requested to wait..one is willing to wait as long as it takes to see if he will flip...even if it takes 6 months. For the past week I had given the kittens much more freedom in my house. I know for a fact they drank from my 2 resident cats water dishes. I also caught my 1 resident cat sneak into the kitten room and eating from their dish. So they have been exposed. My main questions really are about the possibility of them flipping. I cant seem to get any kind of consistent answer on this. I have tons of other foster parents that keep reassuring me that the chances of them flipping to negative and just that they tested positive bc they are too young to have an accurate test and than looking online or talking with some others make it sound like the chance is higher of a flip if it was FIV not FELV. So what are the chances of them flipping? Am I setting myself (and the potential adopters) up with false hope thinkng there could be a reasonable chance of them flipping to negative? Do I just keep testing every month for 6 months? They did the quick snap test. Should I continue to do that test or at what point should I request or bring to my own vet to have another type of test done? If they flip to negative- does that really mean they are in the clear and its safe for them to be adopted into a home with other cats? Someone is suggesting that I take my resident cats in and have them FELV vaccinated immediately even though they were already exposed...should I do this? I had called my vet and they told me to bring my cats in 2 months to be tested for FELV. So much mixed information has been given to me Im just so emotionally drained and confused on my next steps. I've grown to love these kittens very much but Im in no position to make them permanent resident cats here for long term. At the most I think I could consider hanging onto the boy Henry who has the adopter willing to wait for him for the 6 months to see if he flips negative if its worth waiting that long. I just dont know at what point to turn them over to the FELV rescue. I hate to dump them but I feel like if they truly are positive I cant provide them with what they need so the rescue specific for FELV is the best for them..but I dont want to put them there and have them placed in foster care with other FELV cats to have them just flip to negative but now be infected bc of exposure to other positive cats. I want to know they are truly positive before making
[Felvtalk] Foster mom devastated at a FELV positive test result
April ACCT is exactly where I am fostering these guys for- so upsetting that they dont test. I as well assumed it was done. They will only test if requested by the foster home yet they dont educate the foster homes that its something they need to ask for. I understand as bottlefeeders the test is inaccurate anyway but still I had no clue I was even evers supposed ot ask for it. My first set of kittens were adopted out and never tested- if they come up positive at some point I would be so upset for the adopters. I also never would have exposed them to my cats until tested if I had known. I am feeling more confident that the chances of transmission to my cats are hopefully slim with their very limited and minimal interaction. Im sad having them contained in the room right now but they are happy and in my eyes at this point perfectly healthy. Hoping they flip negative. ITs very helpful hearing other peoples experience. April I give you all the credit in the world for sticking with your baby and making it work. I am so concerned for if they stay positive as to what that means for them. The shetler has a rescue supposedly that will take them but I dont want to just throw them at some rescue if its someting I can still work to find placement for them. I try to stick to my commitments and I love these babies BUT the thing thats not possible is for me to adopt them long term. Thats always been out of the question. I have 2 cats of my own and the current cat room was actually going to begin transformation into a baby nursery after this litter. Its all so overwhelming...I feel the weight of their lives and futures literally in my hands. Euthanization is obviously not an option or consideration for me unless it was a quality of life thing. Wrapping my brain around how to work through this and what the best course of action is if they are positive is where Im struggling most. Deep breaths I keep telling myself..one day at a time. -- Jamielynn Storch www.jlynnphotographyonline.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
