Hi MaryAnne,
I'm not as up on the current treatments as others, but have had FELV
cats and been on the list for quite a few years, so thought I'd share
some current thoughts and issues.
I've have tried different things with mine, both eastern and western
medicine. I've used interferon alpha, really believed in that, and
used it daily, not on and off. The herbal, Astragalus, certainly is an
easy thing to try, and I wouldn't hesitate to talk with an alternative
practitioner and try it.
Vitamin C is also a possibility, and I'm interested in LTCI though
have not used it. The first FELV kitty I took in, I pulled out all the
stops and tried traditional vet care, acupuncture, herbs, interferon,
practitioner outside the USA, etc. I do recommend interferon, have
used interferon alpha quite a bit, although some say the omega would
be better.
I've lost quite a few FELV kitties, and now have 5. But for some
reason, the ones I have now, have no problems. But these kitties
just live with no problems - go on and on. I have 1 year and a half
old kitty, Izzie, has seizures also - I used a homeopathic remedy
recommended by an alternative practitioner, helped a lot but my kitty
(Izzie) still has occasional seizures.
Keep in mind that the combo (Elisa) test - detects (I think) the virus
in the blood, and possibly the bone marrow (1st stage, primary
viremia). The IFA test tells if the virus is in the bone marrow (2nd
stage, secondary viremia). A positive result on the Elisa means that
kitty has the virus in the blood and it's unknown about the bone
marrow. A positive result on the the IFA apparently means it's a
permanent infection - in blood and bone marrow. I've read that cats
can stay at the 1st stage for life, and don't necessarily go to stage
two...but I don't know much about that. I'm wondering if some of my
present cats have it in the blood but hasn't gotten to the bone marrow.
The text that follows is from the Cornell brochure (not that I believe
everything from Cornell but this seems to help clarify the tests).
From http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html -
I understand there are two stages of FeLV infection. What are they?
FeLV is present in the blood (a condition called viremia) during two
different stages of infection:
Primary viremia, an early stage of virus infection. During this stage
some cats are able to mount an effective immune response, eliminate
the virus from the bloodstream, and halt progression to the secondary
viremia stage.
Secondary viremia, a later stage characterized by persistent infection
of the bone marrow and other tissue. If FeLV infection progresses to
this stage it has passed a point of no return: the overwhelming
majority of cats with secondary viremia will be infected for the
remainder of their lives.
How is infection diagnosed?
Two types of FeLV blood tests are in common use. Both detect a protein
component of the virus as it circulates in the bloodstream.
ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and similar tests can be
performed in your veterinarian's office. ELISA-type tests detect both
primary and secondary stages of viremia.
IFA (indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay) tests must be sent out
to a diagnostic laboratory. IFA tests detect secondary viremia only,
so the majority of positive-testing cats remain infected for life.
Hope this helps in some way - Best of luck,
Gloria
On Nov 27, 2010, at 3:46 PM, marasm...@aol.com wrote:
Hi Everyone,
I joined the Group in order to learn as much as I could about FeLV
because
my nephew has recently adopted an FeLV kitten. I have already
learned so
much from the research and resources available through this group.
I find it
so valuable and am greatly appreciative of all of you who have made
this
organization's resources available to some of us Newbies.
I could really use some specific help:
1. Does anyone know of a great Vet in NYC who is knowledgeable and
skilled
at treating FeLV? I was hoping for someone who combines Eastern and
Western
medicine.
2. Are there any of the experimental drugs that are on the web
site's list
that some of you have used that you think are helpful?
3. We have an excellent Chinese Herbalist doc outside of the city
who has
helped me with my other pets. Does it make sense to try herbs, such as
astragulus for the immune system under this doc's management?
4. I read the archived info. on LTCI and am aware of all of the
issues.
But, has anyone had any recent success with it?
I am extremely frustrated with so many of my Vets who just throw up
their
hands and say very little can be done. Maybe that's true, but at
least I
can try to help with food, supplements, etc. along with any meds.
that might
help. This whole situation breaks my heart.
Whatever ideas, help or support any of you can provide, please know
that I
will be extremely appreciative!
