update on results of testing
I was a member of this group previously but unsubscribed when our FELV + died in June of this year. We have three other cats who had lived with him his whole life and I just wanted everyone to know that they have all tested negative on both Elisa and IFA. We are of course very happy about this but I wanted that information to be available to others who worry about the contagiousness of the disease.
answers for Kerry - results of testing
We only started testing the cats initially two years ago so I don't know how long our postive was positive but once we found out he was we vaccinated the others. The negative Elisa/IFA tests were all done a month ago, after our postive died. We didn't deliberately mix but there was no way I was going to separate our positive from his buddies. I have to say now that I would probably test any incoming cats first. I imagine some strains are more virulent than others and I wouldn't feel good exposing our existing cats again. I kind of wish for the old days when we didn't know about FELV and just adopted needy cats.
pls add Norman to the CLS
I've been off and on the list since one of our cats tested positive almost 2 years ago. Norman was quite healthy up until a month ago when he became lethargic and his appetite diminished. Blood work showed him to be anemic (13) so we did a transfusion which improved his condition a bit for a few weeks but he still wasn't eating much and hadn't much energy. Tuesday night suddenly he could no longer stand up and seemed in real distress so we took him to the vet in the morning and helped him cross over to the bridge. It's always an agonizing decision to make but I feel it was the right one. I just wanted to thank you to everyone for their advice and for listening. This is the third cat we've lost in less than 2 years (the others due to other illnesses). For statistics, Norman was 5 years old but I don't know how long he was FELV+ (was only initially tested 2 years ago). It's such a horrible disease, I hope someday some of my money can go to research. For now, we're going to retest our other three cats, hope they continue to be negative and go from there. I know there will be more furkids in our lives. Thank you for listening. Robin
anemic cat
Our cat, although he tested postive almost two years ago, has been very healthy until a few weeks ago when he became lethargic and ate less and less. Blood tests showed his red cell count at 13% so he went in for a blood transfusion on Friday. He seems a bit better, is eating again, but certainly isn't his old self. He is also sneezing a bit. I am wondering what treatment options I can explore and what I can expect from here, what the possible outcomes are. Thanks very much.
outcome of anemia - for amy
Amy, Thanks for that reply - I'm not feeling particularly optimistic. I don't intend to keep doing transfusions, I just wanted to give it a shot. I had hoped it would go more good but I'm happy he's eating. Did the three you lost to anemia die on their own or did you help them to cross over? How long was it before they died after you discovered the anemia? Thanks Robin
anemic cat and sneezing
Thanks to everyone for your advice and thoughts. I've been off and on the list before and it's always been helpful. This is my first experience with a cat with feline leukemia. His name is Norman and he's 5 years old. We got him when he was just a cute orange kitten. Since then, he's caused thousands of dollars in damage - he's a chewer, but we love him. Computers cables, blind strings, even the reverse osmosis filter line, causing a small flood. Now he's curled up in a box under the dining room table light. I read about the Snug Box in the New Natural Cat and he loves it. Now that he's had a transfusion the vet wants to try steroids. He's sneezing though, no discharge and I'm just worried the steriods might make that worse. Any thoughts on that? My prayers to all the other furkids in need. Robin
