Re: Cotton
Cotton's the first orange cat I've ever known personally. He's so different from my others (white with tabby spots, black and white tux, black). He's definitely an A type personality. S There are no ordinary orange cats. Michelle In a message dated 12/11/2005 8:45:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: he might just be a little ordinary orange cat
Re: Cotton
There are no ordinary orange cats. Michelle In a message dated 12/11/2005 8:45:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: he might just be a little ordinary orange cat
Re: Cotton
Nina, Kerry, Michelle, Gloria: I do understand what you meant, Michelle, I went back and read it again. I guess I am just sensitive to my limitations-what I can and can't do. I've felt that I have had to bargain for Cotton's life from the start, not only with the other vet he originally saw, but with my own husband. But I do try to understand that not everyone feels as I do, and that's not in my control. So I also apologize to you, Michelle for being too sensitive to what you had to say. There has been nothing to indicate ever that you might feel that way about me. You've always been very compassionate and I do accept your good intentions. I am keeping your email to read over again should the chemo situation come up. And Kerry, I appreciate so much your words of acceptance and support. I cannot tell you all how wonderful it is to have that. It's not something I'm used to,and it's very valued. I'm used to having to defend myself in wildlife rehabbing circles, even to strangers or acquaintances. People look at me like I'm crazy and ask in their most patient voice, "Why? There are tons of squirrels everywhere. One or two here and there won't make a difference." But for that little baby squirrel who got blown out of his warm nest in the treetops, now lying on the ground screaming at the top of his lungs to be saved, but momma squirrel was too afraid of the dog in the backyard to go get him, it makes a difference. Just like the starfish story. I have been emotional today over Cotton, Nina. I suppose I have been so encouraged by Cotton's wellness and lack of symptoms, it was easy to forget that the FeLV and it's associated threats are never far away. It's so frustrating to me, knowing that to anyone else, he might just be a little ordinary orange cat, but to me, he's such a happy little spirit who brings a smile every time he returns my offer of affection or even if he does something naughty, he's so curious and full of life, I just can't be mad at him. He's been slow to trust, but he's come a long way, and he had a bad start in life. I doubt anyone cared enough to know that the little family of outside cats he came from may all have been infected with FeLV, even though their people have been notified. But I feel Cotton's in my life to teach me something, and for us to love as much as we can. Thank you for all good thoughts and hugs. You are very appreciated. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Sorry, I've been involved in our yearly fund raiser and also taking in cats - haven't kept up. Just want to say I always maintain a questioning attitude of my vets, even if they're specialists, and recommend that. I do remember, however, running across the "Wisconsin Protocol" when Mittens was ill and was on Vincristine - supposed to be better - it involved alternating specific anti cancer "drugs". More effective than Vincristine or whatever alone. Sounds kind of similar to what Brenda is talking about. But of course this was for lymphoma, and you haven't gotten a diagnosis. FYI - Best of luck - Gloria At 12:16 PM 12/11/2005, you wrote: Thank you Belinda. I am also close to Texas A & M, (about an hour, hour and a half) which might be another option for us in finding an oncologist. We could consult with an oncologist who could give my vet a protocol to follow for chemo should Cotton need it. I'm dealing with a lot of what-if's, and Michelle's right, I do need to get a definite diagnosis first. I totally wish I could do the ultrasound myself, I run the one at my doc's office for ultrasound guided biopsies he performs in the office all the time. I'm sure if I looked at Cotton's xray simultaneously, I could get some great pics the vet could interpret. Dah. Wishful thinking. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Sandy, When I said it was ridiculous, I was assuming it was your vet who had suggested the schedule of several weeks, not that the delay was caused by money concerns. I'm sorry. I would never have said you were ridiculous. But vets often can be, as we all know. Michelle
Re: Cotton
Sandy, just want to say that although I have no advice to offer---you've had and will have excellent and detailed feedback from members far more experienced than me---please know I'm thinking of and sending prayers for you and dear Cotton. I'm glad your little furball is so loved. Also, please never feel you have to explain yourself or your actionsall of us know and understand that anyone who has found their way to this list, by sheer virtue of the fact they're here, wants desperately to do everything within their power and financial capability to help their much-loved kitty. That is taken as a given, and I'm truly sorry you felt that you had to justify your thoughts or intentions, for you do not. We are simply all here to support each other in whatever way we can as we strive to do the best for the little souls that share our lives. We all instinctively know that you are doing everything you possibly can to help Cotton, and we also sadly know the sorrow and the pain and the compromises entailed in that struggle as you strive on a daily basis to make the right decisions for Cotton. Again, you don't have to explain your actions---be assured you will always have our unconditional support. Sending much love and big hugs to you and Cotton. Kerry - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 10:57 AM Subject: Re: Cotton Michelle, please don't say it's ridiculous, because I already feel guilty enough for trying to please everyone. I may not have a choice, and I just have to do the best I can for Cotton with my resources and my situation. My husband Eric makes 3x the money I do, and has the final say in things like this, especially if it is a significant amount. It's just how we do things. He enjoys my cats', but notice I say they are my cats. He does not enjoy the bond or closeness I feel with them. I would do anything to save them, but he does not feel the same way I do about Cotton's treatment. There are many people in my life who feel the same as Eric, and don't feel like I am doing the right thing, they think I am throwing money away for trying to buy him quality time. I feel like I am not. And I think it is a good lesson to my son that life is to be respected and is worth saving. Unfortunately he's learning this in a very intimate way this time, because Cotton is his love. I intend to see it through to the end. I feel like I have taught him this by the squirrel lives saved in my work in wildlife rehabilitation, which was also expensive. Zoonotic formulas are very expensive. So I am fighting an uphill battle with Cotton on many levels. I have to justify and fight for every step. So I will do what I can as soon as I can. I couldn't bear it if any of you thought that I was being lax or casual about Cotton's treatment. I wouldn't be here if that was the case. My heart is breaking as I write this, knowing what I know. If I had my way, we would have done these tests weeks ago. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Sandy, You have me in tears reading this. Life's choices are so hard sometimes. No one would judge you for doing what you think necessary in your own circumstances. We know you love Cotton and that you want to save him. Sadly sometimes having all the money and resources available is not enough to save them anyway. All you can do, is all you can do. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. Love can be so bittersweet, as with everything else, if there were no costs, no pain, how would the highs and joys be recognized or appreciated? Give Cotton and your son a hug and kiss from me. Enjoy Cotton every minute, don't forget, he may just surprise them all! Nina Dudes wrote: Michelle, please don't say it's ridiculous, because I already feel guilty enough for trying to please everyone. I may not have a choice, and I just have to do the best I can for Cotton with my resources and my situation. My husband Eric makes 3x the money I do, and has the final say in things like this, especially if it is a significant amount. It's just how we do things. He enjoys my cats', but notice I say they are my cats. He does not enjoy the bond or closeness I feel with them. I would do anything to save them, but he does not feel the same way I do about Cotton's treatment. There are many people in my life who feel the same as Eric, and don't feel like I am doing the right thing, they think I am throwing money away for trying to buy him quality time. I feel like I am not. And I think it is a good lesson to my son that life is to be respected and is worth saving. Unfortunately he's learning this in a very intimate way this time, because Cotton is his love. I intend to see it through to the end. I feel like I have taught him this by the squirrel lives saved in my work in wildlife rehabilitation, which was also expensive. Zoonotic formulas are very expensive. So I am fighting an uphill battle with Cotton on many levels. I have to justify and fight for every step. So I will do what I can as soon as I can. I couldn't bear it if any of you thought that I was being lax or casual about Cotton's treatment. I wouldn't be here if that was the case. My heart is breaking as I write this, knowing what I know. If I had my way, we would have done these tests weeks ago. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Thank you Belinda. I am also close to Texas A & M, (about an hour, hour and a half) which might be another option for us in finding an oncologist. We could consult with an oncologist who could give my vet a protocol to follow for chemo should Cotton need it. I'm dealing with a lot of what-if's, and Michelle's right, I do need to get a definite diagnosis first. I totally wish I could do the ultrasound myself, I run the one at my doc's office for ultrasound guided biopsies he performs in the office all the time. I'm sure if I looked at Cotton's xray simultaneously, I could get some great pics the vet could interpret. Dah. Wishful thinking. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Sandy, Sadly for almost all of us cost is definately a factor that has to be considered. Cancer treatment can get very expensive and there is never a guarantee that it will be successful. Alot depends on finding a very good oncologist to either see or atleast consult with. Or a vet that is willing to do the hours of research, most are just to busy, so consulting with a speciaist is the usual option and usually an added cost. My vet consulted with an oncologist and then administered the chemo herself. Treatments ranged from $120 to $180 per visit for the vincristine (my vets charges are on the high side, they are not cheap). Buddie's treatment consisted of 4 of the IV treatments of vincristine alternating with one other chemo who's name escapes me now. Then she would have had to go on the oral chemo given at home by me, it was a pill called chlorambucil or leukeran. She would have received that every other day indefinanetly depeniding on her response. She was getting prednisolone all along with all of it. Her prognosis was 1 to 2 years doing the chmo route. 1/2 years to 1 1/2 with prednisolone alone. We did some chemo, 3 IV treatments, I didn't do the oral chemo because Buddie quit eating and it took me three solid weeks of coaxing every 15 minutes to every 1/2 hour to get her eating again, so I stopped the chemo thinking that was the reason she quit eating. It was the cancer being killed off and fighting back that was making her feel crappy, in hindsight I would have continued the chemo. Even so Buddie had a good year after diagnosis, there were other complications that later required a feeding tube, but all in all we had a great year. Buddie fought very hard and suprised my vet on a few occasions. You can only do the best that you can with what is available to, if your son learns that he will be fine. -- Belinda Happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties ... http://www.bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candle Light Service http://www.bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com (affordable hosting & web design) http://HostDesign4U.com --- BMK Designs (non-profit web sites) http://bmk.bemikitties.com
Re: Cotton
Thank you Belinda. I get a Christmas bonus from my doc every year, and that's what I intend for it to go on. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Michelle, please don't say it's ridiculous, because I already feel guilty enough for trying to please everyone. I may not have a choice, and I just have to do the best I can for Cotton with my resources and my situation. My husband Eric makes 3x the money I do, and has the final say in things like this, especially if it is a significant amount. It's just how we do things. He enjoys my cats', but notice I say they are my cats. He does not enjoy the bond or closeness I feel with them. I would do anything to save them, but he does not feel the same way I do about Cotton's treatment. There are many people in my life who feel the same as Eric, and don't feel like I am doing the right thing, they think I am throwing money away for trying to buy him quality time. I feel like I am not. And I think it is a good lesson to my son that life is to be respected and is worth saving. Unfortunately he's learning this in a very intimate way this time, because Cotton is his love. I intend to see it through to the end. I feel like I have taught him this by the squirrel lives saved in my work in wildlife rehabilitation, which was also expensive. Zoonotic formulas are very expensive. So I am fighting an uphill battle with Cotton on many levels. I have to justify and fight for every step. So I will do what I can as soon as I can. I couldn't bear it if any of you thought that I was being lax or casual about Cotton's treatment. I wouldn't be here if that was the case. My heart is breaking as I write this, knowing what I know. If I had my way, we would have done these tests weeks ago. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Buddies ultrasound and bio was about 380 and it was higher because the person doing it had to come to my vets office to do it. -- Belinda Happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties ... http://www.bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candle Light Service http://www.bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com (affordable hosting & web design) http://HostDesign4U.com --- BMK Designs (non-profit web sites) http://bmk.bemikitties.com
Re: Cotton
If you are going to do the diagnositics, you can not wait a few weeks to do it, you have to insist on doing it now and if your vet can't or won't go to an internist who will. If it is lymphoma, a few weeks is like a lifetime, and can make an extraordinarily huge difference in how effective treatment is. Seriously. A few weeks is ridiculous, in my opinion, to wait. As far as cost, it depends on a lot of things. But the ultrasound is probably a couple hundred, and if you need a biopsy I do not remember how much that is, but I wouild guess another hundred or two. The chemo rotates, and the drugs vary a lot in price. One of them I think was $7 (that's seven) dollars, while I think another was almost $100.. It requires weekly visits the first few weeks, then fewer, so the amount depends on how much your vet or the oncologist (which I recommend) charges. Yes, it can be expensive. But not as much as surgery. Steroids on the other hand are very cheap. If you just do the shots (depo and dex), it will probably be about $30 each time plus office visit, and you might not have to do it very often at first. This is a very unconventional treatment for lymphoma (not steroids, they always use pred, but using these shots in combination instead of pred), but it is very effective. I learned it from a friend of a friend who is a vet and, when starting these early, has seen cats with lymphoma live good lives for up to six months (longer than chemo much of the time) on the shots alone. She did it with her own cat. When chemo started failing Simon, I asked my oncologist to do this combination of shots (1/2 cc depo with 1/2 cc dex) and at first he did not want to do it. But then he did a bunch of research on how tolerant cats are of high doses of steroids and agreed to do it, and even let me give Simon extra dex shots on top of it. And Simon bounced back from the steroids so he was able to get more chemo, and had another good month. The oncologist (who is at NEVOG in MA, very respected) said he learned something about use of these steroids. All of which is to say if you choose to go this route (which I would definitely do if you do not do chemo and you feel fairly sure it is lymphoma), you may have some convincing to do. But you do need to be more sure that it is lymphoma before going either of these routes, so I would do the ultrasound if I were you. I would also ask if there is anything else that can cause inflammation of the kidneys and liver at the same time. I do not think lymphoma usually goes to those two organs together, from my experience. I have heard that bad teeth can cause both kidney and liver problems, though I don't know about enlargement. That is my two or three cents. I have battled lymphoma more than I can stand, and it is my constant fear with my remaining three positives. But after trying it with and without chemo, and being on the lymphoma list serve (highly recommended-- you will learn a lot-- [EMAIL PROTECTED]), I would definitely at least try chemo with any of mine if they got lymphoma. If it did not work or they could not take the weekly visits I would switch to the steroids shots (assuming I can find someone down here in NJ who would do them, which scares me that I might not). Some cats really do go a long time on chemo with good quality of life, and with few or no side effects. Michelle In a message dated 12/11/2005 1:42:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, Do you remember the cost, so I can firstly compare pricing, and secondly so I can soften the blow for my husband? He's not excited about an expensive treatment used in prolonging the life of a terminally ill cat. He feels like it's pretty futile, and he worries that my optimism and concern for Cotton will cause the vet to throw a bunch of tests our way in order to milk us for more money. I would like to do what is best to keep everyone in the house happy, even unfuzzy ones. :) If you wish, you could email me privately about this more. I'm thankful that hubby at least isn't opposed. None the less, it may be a few weeks before we do all of the diagnostics. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Michelle, Do you remember the cost, so I can firstly compare pricing, and secondly so I can soften the blow for my husband? He's not excited about an expensive treatment used in prolonging the life of a terminally ill cat. He feels like it's pretty futile, and he worries that my optimism and concern for Cotton will cause the vet to throw a bunch of tests our way in order to milk us for more money. I would like to do what is best to keep everyone in the house happy, even unfuzzy ones. :) If you wish, you could email me privately about this more. I'm thankful that hubby at least isn't opposed. None the less, it may be a few weeks before we do all of the diagnostics. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Prognosis is relative. Yes, if he has lymphoma, he probably will not live out the year. But he could, with chemo. And it could be the difference of him having only a few weeks without it (lymphoma goes very fast) or a few months or more with it. My two who had it without chemo went three months on just the dex and depo shots. Simon, who was much worse when I discovered it, had chemo and, at one point, the steroid shots, and lived 2 months There are some whose cats go into remission entirely and stay that way for years. But remissions tend to be shorter for positive cats, though I think someone who was on this list reported a positive cat in remission for over a year and counting. Michelle In a message dated 12/9/2005 10:04:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: his prognosis is poor.
Re: Cotton
I highly recommend getting the diagnosis and trying chemo if it is lymphoma. Cats often do respond very well to it. Liver and kidney lymphoma have less chance of responding well than other kinds of lymphoma, but I think it gave Simon two months and made him feel a lot better, and he was extremely sick by the time they started it and were not sure it would do anything. If you do not do chemo or you do and it eventually stops working (though there are chemo agents to try when it stops working, like CCNU, that can cause second remissions and gave Simon his first remission), I would recommend doing heavy steroids, particularly dexamethasone and depomedrol shots as often as needed, usually every few weeks at first and then eventually every few days. It can keep them happy and eating until very close to death. All of this is assuming lymphoma, though, which I think given his positive status and the signs is probably, unfortunately, pretty safe to assume. The fact that you are catching this before he is clinically ill (lethargic, anorexic, etc.) is a very good thing. Michelle
Re: Cotton
Sandy, No opinions, but I'm sorry to hear this. I hope someone has some ideas for you and Cotton. tonyaDudes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy
Re: Cotton
Nina, Presto, Sherry: Cotton is acting like his zippy, happy little self! He's such a cutie, his coat is shiny, soft and he's growing! His eyes are bright and full of mischief, and he spends much of his days playing and following us so as not to miss anything. He's doing so well right now, it's hard to think of him as terminal. Presto, he's on Interferon and Lysine, but his lymph nodes remain enlarged. In fact, lately they are a bit larger than they have been in spite of everything, and they are feeling hard in his neck. His labs about 3 or so weeks ago were all normal, except a borderline high calcium, another indication that he might be dealing with lymphoma. The vet did give me a couple of options in order of aggresiveness: 1. Wait a couple of months to see how he is doing, re- xray and see how the sizes measure, check blood work again; 2. Ultrasound the abdomen; 3. Needle biopsy all enlarged organs and associated lymph nodes. The vet is supposed to check with her senior partner and make a final recommendation and give me an estimate as to what this will cost. I am a firm believer in treating the patient, and not the results of tests. Cotton's overall attitude and health is my biggest indicator for treatment. I guess my worry is that he will be in pain, and I don't want his last days full of vet visits, feeling bad and not being able to be his usual happy self. I don't want to selfishly prolong his life if he is miserable. However, everything I've read is encouraging, saying that cats usually respond to chemo very well. So we could buy a little quality time with chemo if need be. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. Sandy
Re: Cotton
Sandy,when I first found out my Maizee had felv I also found out she had a huge lymphoma that was crushing her airway and she couldn't swallow her food without regurgitating it first.As soon as we found out about the lymphoma they put her on chemo treatments and within 3 days she was breathing and eating as normal.Then 3 months later she started coughing again and they took another x-ray thinking she might be coming out of remission,and the tumor was 99% gone.But they still believe that she had come out of remission,and I decided to just keep going with the protocol we were doing,cause anymore would have stressed her and I decided not to put her through a ton of more tests.She lasted 6 months after the initial findings of everything.I spoiled her and took tons of pics of my beautiful girl.Good luck with your kitty,this disease is a horrible thing to deal with. SherryNina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I don't know Sandy, I don't have any experience with treating lymphoma. Michelle is our resident expert on that, (unfortunately for Michelle). I do know that I've stopped listening so gravely to the prognosis' of vets. Miracles happen every single day and since this is a suspicion and has not been determined, I would fight hard against the urge to give up hope that Cotton is here for a good long while. Didn't you say that he was acting like the feisty little kitten he is? What did this vet suggest as your next move? Is it possible that new xrays/diagnostics might show something different now that he seems in so much better health? What did his blood work indicate? Keep your chin up, we're all pulling for you and Cotton.NinaDudes wrote: Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping
Re: Cotton
Have you had an ultrasound done? Presto - Original Message - From: Nina To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 2:26 AM Subject: Re: Cotton I don't know Sandy, I don't have any experience with treating lymphoma. Michelle is our resident expert on that, (unfortunately for Michelle). I do know that I've stopped listening so gravely to the prognosis' of vets. Miracles happen every single day and since this is a suspicion and has not been determined, I would fight hard against the urge to give up hope that Cotton is here for a good long while. Didn't you say that he was acting like the feisty little kitten he is? What did this vet suggest as your next move? Is it possible that new xrays/diagnostics might show something different now that he seems in so much better health? What did his blood work indicate? Keep your chin up, we're all pulling for you and Cotton.NinaDudes wrote: Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy
Re: Cotton
I don't know Sandy, I don't have any experience with treating lymphoma. Michelle is our resident expert on that, (unfortunately for Michelle). I do know that I've stopped listening so gravely to the prognosis' of vets. Miracles happen every single day and since this is a suspicion and has not been determined, I would fight hard against the urge to give up hope that Cotton is here for a good long while. Didn't you say that he was acting like the feisty little kitten he is? What did this vet suggest as your next move? Is it possible that new xrays/diagnostics might show something different now that he seems in so much better health? What did his blood work indicate? Keep your chin up, we're all pulling for you and Cotton. Nina Dudes wrote: Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy
Re: Cotton
Are you using Interferon? Presto - Original Message - From: Dudes To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 10:04 PM Subject: Cotton Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy
Cotton
Hi Everyone; I got a second opinion on Cotton's xray of his 2 view abdomen which we got when he was sick almost a month ago. The vet said that Cotton's liver and kidneys are enlarged, which makes her very suspicious of lymphoma. She said that if this is the case in both his kidneys and liver at such a young age, his prognosis is poor. Any thoughts? Sandy
Re: Cotton crisis
Hello Tonya! And thanks for the
welcome!
With Cotton's fish and rice, I chose that
because I thought it might be bland enough, and I know he loves fish and
I didn't have any chicken broth at the time. So I saved the fish
water that it was boiled in, and poured it over the rice to make a slurry,
which he ate great.
Of course all of the other cats had to have a
taste. ;)
After he was feeling a little better, I added the
juices from wet cat food, and bigger chunks of fish and wet cat food, and
progressed slowly from there.
If he were to not like fish, I would have probably
done chicken broth. Thanks for the idea, I will keep it in mind for the
future.
Sandy
--- Original Message -
From:
catatonya
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2005 1:09
PM
Subject: Re: Cotton crisis
Hi Sandy,I don't think I've ever talked with you on
the list before, but let me say welcome! I'm an old timer here who mixes
my cats and have not had a problem with it in ten years. Not to say I
never will, but I never have.I wanted to ask you about the fish with
rice. Maybe your vet recommended it, but we always used chicken broth to
cook rice in for sick kitties at the shelter.Good thoughts coming your
way for little Cotton. I love that name!tonyaDudes
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Thank you Terri:
I will definitely look into
Pet Tinic.
I can tell by Cotton's
restlessness and the look on his face most of today that he's still not
feeling all that well. He mostly seems to feel bad right after he
eats. I'm thinking he's still having some spasms in his
intestines and nausea. But he's asking regularly for the faucet to be turned
on so he can drink water, he's eating the fish and rice and I mixed in a
little wet catfood today, which he kept down. I started him on his
Interferon, also. And he's been to the litterbox with normal results,
so I'm just going to keep progressing slowly with his diet, and talk to the
vet tomorrow about what we should do from here and possibly a kidney
ultrasound. It makes me realize that when he does change foods,
he's going to need to do it really slowly.
I'm still rooting for my little
Cotton-ball. He has such an expressive face, I can tell even when he's
a shade off color. And I'm trying to teach my son Kellen to watch him
closely too, since they spend so much time together. That way
he too will know the signs of illness. And I know I
probably over-reacted a bit when I found Cotton sick, but it
so breaks my heart to see anyone in my care anything but
happy.
Thanks for talking/listening to
me about him.
Sandy
- Original Message -
From:
Terri
Brown
To:
felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent:
Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:09 PM
Subject:
Re: Cotton crisis
Well, definitely keep us posted -- I don't write in much (mostly lurk
lately since I'm now FeLV free), but I can't bring myself to leave the
group.
If he seems to be holding his own, maybe try some Pet Tinic if you
can find it. Good antioxidant vitamins for the kitties! You
could mix it into some wet food for him. Great blood builder.
There's another vitamin like it, but I can't think of the name
offhand.
I know you can get the Pet Tinic from www.drsfostersmith.com if it
isn't available locally.
=^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis,
and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome'
=^..^=
Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My
Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350
-
Original Message -
From:
Dudes
To:
felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent:
Sunday, November 20, 2005 12:57 AM
Subject:
Re: Cotton crisis

Aw, thank you
Terri. I worry so much about my little Cotton- ball,
because he's still so young and still growing. He has been
eating boiled fish and rice today, and I can tell he is not feeling
as well as he could, but he seems to be on the mend. He's drinking
lots of water on his own, and tomorrow I may let him back on dry
kibble.
Sandy
-
Original Message -
From:
Terri Brown
To:
felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent:
S
Re: Cotton crisis
Hi Sandy,I don't think I've ever talked with you on the list before, but let me say welcome! I'm an old timer here who mixes my cats and have not had a problem with it in ten years. Not to say I never will, but I never have.I wanted to ask you about the fish with rice. Maybe your vet recommended it, but we always used chicken broth to cook rice in for sick kitties at the shelter.Good thoughts coming your way for little Cotton. I love that name!tonyaDudes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Thank you Terri: I will definitely look into Pet Tinic. I can tell by Cotton's restlessness and the look on his face most of today that he's still not feeling all that well. He mostly seems to feel bad right after he eats. I'm thinking he's still having some spasms in his intestines and nausea. But he's asking regularly for the faucet to be turned on so he can drink water, he's eating the fish and rice and I mixed in a little wet catfood today, which he kept down. I started him on his Interferon, also. And he's been to the litterbox with normal results, so I'm just going to keep progressing slowly with his diet, and talk to the vet tomorrow about what we should do from here and possibly a kidney ultrasound. It makes me realize that when he does change foods, he's going to need to do it really slowly. I'm still rooting for my little Cotton-ball. He has such an expressive face, I can tell even when he's a shade off color. And I'm trying to teach my son Kellen to watch him closely too, since they spend so much time together. That way he too will know the signs of illness. And I know I probably over-reacted a bit when I found Cotton sick, but it so breaks my heart to see anyone in my care anything but happy. Thanks for talking/listening to me about him. Sandy - Original Message - From: Terri Brown To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:09 PMSubject: Re: Cotton crisisWell, definitely keep us posted -- I don't write in much (mostly lurk lately since I'm now FeLV free), but I can't bring myself to leave the group. If he seems to be holding his own, maybe try some Pet Tinic if you can find it. Good antioxidant vitamins for the kitties! You could mix it into some wet food for him. Great blood builder. There's another vitamin like it, but I can't think of the name offhand. I know you can get the Pet Tinic from www.drsfostersmith.com if it isn't available locally. =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 12:57 AM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis  Aw, thank you Terri. I worry so much about my little Cotton- ball, because he's still so young and still growing. He has been eating boiled fish and rice today, and I can tell he is not feeling as well as he could, but he seems to be on the mend. He's drinking lots of water on his own, and tomorrow I may let him back on dry kibble. Sandy - Original Message - From: Terri Brown To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 5:56 PMSubject: Re: Cotton crisisNo thoughts, Sandy, but I am thrilled that he seems to be okay now. Sending positive thoughts his way! =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:36 PM Subject: Cotton crisis  Cotton and I have survived our first crisis together. He is fine now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria laden stools). I came home from work, and wondered why he didn't greet me as he usually
Re: Cotton and Cricket
Sandy, It sounds like his episode was caused by his taste for the forbidden :). How far into his recommended dose of antibiotics is he? If it wasn't the abx causing the problem, maybe you shouldn't stop them. Did you talk to your vet about it? I'm so pleased to hear that Cotton is feeling so much better, he sounds like such a scamp! You and Cricket have your hands full with that one. Give that sweet Cricket a kiss from me, it sounds like she's really trying to please you. Paws crossed for tomorrow's vet visit. N Dudes wrote: Nina, I don't know much about holistics, but have always been interested. But I know it's the holidays and time is scarce, so I won't impose to ask for a crash course, but I'd love to know what's worked for other FeLV cats. I think we will hold off on the antibiotics for a while until he's doing better. But I was so impressed with just a week or so's worth of Lysine's effect on Cotton's lymph nodes. (Thank you Jen!) Cotton is not a big fan of yogurt, although we tried it and it worked (he's more of a string/lettuce/Hot Cheetos kind of guy), but we can put it in his wet food. I know his gut flora is most likely a mess since he was so loaded with bacteria. And of course the minute I bragged on Cricket, she did corner Cotton today, but I believe he was a little rambunctious with her, and that upsets her. She looked so sad when we all jumped up to see what the commotion was, and she ran to the bedroom to hide under the nightstand. I went and told the nightstand that if Cricket was listening, it's ok, sometimes we all slip up from time to time, and I know she's trying. And to answer your question, Cotton's feeling just positively, 100% better today. I would go so far as to say he is zippy. He's happy and back to mischief, running at top speed all over the place, a blur of orange and white, stalking and pouncing as if he had catching up to do! Which is good to see, except he tried to steal a bite of pecan pie today off of an unsuspecting victim's plate. Dah! What am I going to do with him? He's like a little tabby spotted toddler. The ER Vet gave me his x-rays on CD, so I am taking it to the regular vet tomorrow to see if they recommend an ultrasound. I also thought she was very good, and was glad for her opinion. Thank you so much for asking and being concerned about him. Your suggestions are very much appreciated. Sandy.
Re: Cotton crisis
Michelle, I think you are right, and I think the prudent thing to do is to watch for a trend in his labs, which might indicate impaired function or disease in the kidneys. Sandy - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 1:29 PM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis Sandy, I would think that if he had lymphoma in his kidneys to the point that they are enlarged, that something would be off in his blood work. I could be wrong, but when Josephine's kidneys got big enough for me to notice (which is probably bigger than Cotton's are right now), her kidney values were terrible. So maybe it is a good sign that his blood work is normal, and maybe there is something else going on. Michelle In a message dated 11/21/2005 2:20:32 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Hi Michelle: My theories were for the stomach issues, not the kidneys. I am afraid that his kidneys being enlarged is a new finding. However, I agree with you, he may very well have lymphoma in the kidneys and intestines. His labs were all normal. So I still need to talk to the regular vet about his kidneys. Sandy
Re: Cotton and Cricket
Nina, I don't know much about holistics, but have always been interested. But I know it's the holidays and time is scarce, so I won't impose to ask for a crash course, but I'd love to know what's worked for other FeLV cats. I think we will hold off on the antibiotics for a while until he's doing better. But I was so impressed with just a week or so's worth of Lysine's effect on Cotton's lymph nodes. (Thank you Jen!) Cotton is not a big fan of yogurt, although we tried it and it worked (he's more of a string/lettuce/Hot Cheetos kind of guy), but we can put it in his wet food. I know his gut flora is most likely a mess since he was so loaded with bacteria. And of course the minute I bragged on Cricket, she did corner Cotton today, but I believe he was a little rambunctious with her, and that upsets her. She looked so sad when we all jumped up to see what the commotion was, and she ran to the bedroom to hide under the nightstand. I went and told the nightstand that if Cricket was listening, it's ok, sometimes we all slip up from time to time, and I know she's trying. And to answer your question, Cotton's feeling just positively, 100% better today. I would go so far as to say he is zippy. He's happy and back to mischief, running at top speed all over the place, a blur of orange and white, stalking and pouncing as if he had catching up to do! Which is good to see, except he tried to steal a bite of pecan pie today off of an unsuspecting victim's plate. Dah! What am I going to do with him? He's like a little tabby spotted toddler. The ER Vet gave me his x-rays on CD, so I am taking it to the regular vet tomorrow to see if they recommend an ultrasound. I also thought she was very good, and was glad for her opinion. Thank you so much for asking and being concerned about him. Your suggestions are very much appreciated. Sandy - Original Message - From: Nina To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 11:14 AM Subject: Cotton and Cricket Hi Sandy,I've been away from the computer for a couple of days and just saw your posts about Cotton's crisis. I'm glad to hear he's doing better, you must have been scared out of your mind when you found him like that! I sure hope he's much better by today. You know, Met is a pretty harsh antibiotic, how long has Cotton been on it? You might want to talk to the vet about trying another one, or making sure it's absolutely necessary to have him on antibiotics right now. Abx are true life savers, but they also suppress and kill the good bacteria too. Have you thought about treating Cotton holistically? I have a wonderful woman who has been helping me with finding the right remedies for my girl Gypsy who suffers from IBD. Patti and Hideyo have experience with them, maybe they'll have some suggestions. I know that Bioplasma (combination of 12 different tissue remedies), is a good overall support rx, you might want to try it with Cotton. Will Cotton lap plain yogurt? Think about adding some probiotics to his food to replace good bacteria in his gut, (Kydophilus is a good one). Also, slippery elm is good for coating as calming. Poor little lamb! If you want to talk, write me off-list and I'll send you my phone number.I'm thrilled to hear that Cricket and you had that talk! It sure sounds like she understood you. Isn't it amazing? I don't know if they understand our words, or if they are reading the pictures in our minds as we try to convey the meaning behind the words. I know that I have the best results if I try to "send" them pictures while I'm talking to them. Also, I've always heard it's better to speak and think in the affirmative. For example, when you want a dog to stop jumping, it's better to ask them to keep their feet on the floor, (sending the picture of them being calm, with four on the floor), rather than tell them NO jumping. I think it may have something to do with those "pictures" in our brain. When we say "no jumping", we are probably picturing them jumping up on us! So we can be saying no with our words, but sending them the picture of exactly the opposite thing we want from them. So when you talk to Cricket and Cotton about being nice, don't think about them being naughty at the same time! Picture instead, Cricket licking Cotton on the head, or at least ignoring him.Please let us know how little Cotton is doing this morning, I'm so worried about him.NinaDudes wrote: Nina, I have to thank you, thank you, thank you because I took your advice, and it's totally worked! I did go to bed after this
Re: Cotton crisis
Not a problem! I don't think you overreacted -- it's so hard to know
how seriously they're sick especially when there's a FeLV issue.
Although I don't post much, I do read them all, so don't be discouraged if
you don't hear from me! I'm always here, lurking in the background!
Terri
- Original Message -
From: Dudes
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 12:02
AM
Subject: Re: Cotton crisis
Thank you Terri:
I will definitely look into
Pet Tinic.
I can tell by Cotton's
restlessness and the look on his face most of today that he's still not
feeling all that well. He mostly seems to feel bad right after he
eats. I'm thinking he's still having some spasms in his intestines
and nausea. But he's asking regularly for the faucet to be turned on so he can
drink water, he's eating the fish and rice and I mixed in a little wet catfood
today, which he kept down. I started him on his Interferon,
also. And he's been to the litterbox with normal results, so I'm just
going to keep progressing slowly with his diet, and talk to the vet tomorrow
about what we should do from here and possibly a kidney
ultrasound. It makes me realize that when he does change foods,
he's going to need to do it really slowly.
I'm still rooting for my little
Cotton-ball. He has such an expressive face, I can tell even when he's a
shade off color. And I'm trying to teach my son Kellen to watch him
closely too, since they spend so much time together. That way
he too will know the signs of illness. And I know I
probably over-reacted a bit when I found Cotton sick, but it so
breaks my heart to see anyone in my care anything but happy.
Thanks for talking/listening to me
about him.
Sandy
- Original Message -
From:
Terri Brown
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:09
PM
Subject: Re: Cotton crisis
Well, definitely keep us posted -- I don't write in much (mostly lurk
lately since I'm now FeLV free), but I can't bring myself to leave the
group.
If he seems to be holding his own, maybe try some Pet Tinic if you can
find it. Good antioxidant vitamins for the kitties! You could
mix it into some wet food for him. Great blood builder. There's
another vitamin like it, but I can't think of the name offhand.
I know you can get the Pet Tinic from www.drsfostersmith.com if it isn't
available locally.
=^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and
6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome'
=^..^=
Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My
Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350
- Original Message -
From: Dudes
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 12:57
AM
Subject: Re: Cotton crisis
Aw, thank you
Terri. I worry so much about my little Cotton- ball,
because he's still so young and still growing. He has been
eating boiled fish and rice today, and I can tell he is not feeling
as well as he could, but he seems to be on the mend. He's drinking
lots of water on his own, and tomorrow I may let him back on dry
kibble.
Sandy
- Original Message -
From:
Terri Brown
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005
5:56 PM
Subject: Re: Cotton crisis
No thoughts, Sandy, but I am thrilled that he seems to be okay
now. Sending positive thoughts his way!
=^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis,
and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec &
Salome' =^..^=
Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My
Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350
- Original Message -
From: Dudes
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005
4:36 PM
Subject: Cotton crisis
Cotton and I
have survived our first crisis together. He is fine
now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning
he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's
been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria
laden stools). I came h
Re: Cotton crisis
Sandy, I would think that if he had lymphoma in his kidneys to the point that they are enlarged, that something would be off in his blood work. I could be wrong, but when Josephine's kidneys got big enough for me to notice (which is probably bigger than Cotton's are right now), her kidney values were terrible. So maybe it is a good sign that his blood work is normal, and maybe there is something else going on. Michelle In a message dated 11/21/2005 2:20:32 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Hi Michelle: My theories were for the stomach issues, not the kidneys. I am afraid that his kidneys being enlarged is a new finding. However, I agree with you, he may very well have lymphoma in the kidneys and intestines. His labs were all normal. So I still need to talk to the regular vet about his kidneys. Sandy
RE: Cotton and Cricket
Title: Message Nina Yes, I did indeed get the email from you (about medical possibility/low litter/new litter) thanks v. much and thought I replied but I bet it's still in my outbox, I'll check tonight. He goes about once every 2 weeks outside the box. I haven't been able to detect a pattern, BUT I thought I would start keeping notes and maybe that will give a clue. He seems ok in every other way. Eating, drinking, picking fights with Trixie, wanting attention, etc. I wonder if this throws any light: for years, I noticed that as soon as I came home from work, every night without fail, Tiger would go to the box and do his business. It was such a pattern that I asked my vet what he thought. He gave me a wordy and (to my mind) jargon-laden explanation, the gist of which I believe was, he's just very excited to see you. I remember Trixie, completely out of character for her, going outside the box poor love when 4 members of my family stayed with me for a week. She must have been totally stressed out, for this was the same fastidious Trixie whose behavior mystified me way back in the early days when she used the yucca plant instead of the box 2 days in a row until i realized *I* was the problem---I'd put the litter box cover on back to front and she couldn't get to it. I believe it's stress-related with Tiger (he's on kitty Prozac). I don't think it makes him happy at all that he has to share me with other cats and has never been allowed to usurp Katyis (topcat in our house). I've always been at pains to maintain the heirarchy. Tiger was third to arrive, so he has to wait his turn after Katyis and Trixie for the petting etc. Kerry -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of NinaSent: Monday, November 21, 2005 11:31 AMTo: felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgSubject: Re: Cotton and CricketKerry,Does Tiger always go in the same spot outside the box? If so, why don't you try putting an empty litter box, or one lined with newspaper, in the spot he likes to go? If that doesn't work, you could put plastic on the floor and then cover it with a washable throw rug, or towel. Maybe you can work your way up to getting him to use a box again. If he'll use a litterbox with newspaper lined flat, you could start to shred paper, and then mix it with litter and then finally, all litter. Talking to him about it certainly can't hurt, but I'm betting he already knows that you prefer him to use the box. Something else is going on here with this behavior. Did you get my last email about it?NMacKenzie, Kerry N. wrote: Sandy & Nina Agree---you must be thrilled Sandy by the outcome of your talk! I'm going to try it with Tiger..and I'll do it in the affirmative, Nina---explain to him how much nicer, better, healthier it is for everyone if he goes in the box. (Thinks---maybe I'll even be able to get him to cover up!). Kerry =00IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE. Any advice expressed above as to tax matters was neither written nor intended by the sender or Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP to be used and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed under U.S. tax law. If any person uses or refers to any such tax advice in promoting, marketing or recommending a partnership or other entity, investment plan or arrangement to any taxpayer, then (i) the advice was written to support the promotion or marketing (by a person other than Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP) of that transaction or matter, and (ii) such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayers particular circumstances from an independent tax advisorThis email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.
Re: Cotton and Cricket
Kerry, Does Tiger always go in the same spot outside the box? If so, why don't you try putting an empty litter box, or one lined with newspaper, in the spot he likes to go? If that doesn't work, you could put plastic on the floor and then cover it with a washable throw rug, or towel. Maybe you can work your way up to getting him to use a box again. If he'll use a litterbox with newspaper lined flat, you could start to shred paper, and then mix it with litter and then finally, all litter. Talking to him about it certainly can't hurt, but I'm betting he already knows that you prefer him to use the box. Something else is going on here with this behavior. Did you get my last email about it? N MacKenzie, Kerry N. wrote: Message Sandy & Nina Agree---you must be thrilled Sandy by the outcome of your talk! I'm going to try it with Tiger..and I'll do it in the affirmative, Nina---explain to him how much nicer, better, healthier it is for everyone if he goes in the box. (Thinks---maybe I'll even be able to get him to cover up!). Kerry
RE: Cotton and Cricket
Title: Message Sandy & Nina Agree---you must be thrilled Sandy by the outcome of your talk! I'm going to try it with Tiger..and I'll do it in the affirmative, Nina---explain to him how much nicer, better, healthier it is for everyone if he goes in the box. (Thinks---maybe I'll even be able to get him to cover up!). Kerry -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of NinaSent: Monday, November 21, 2005 11:15 AMTo: felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgSubject: Cotton and CricketHi Sandy,I've been away from the computer for a couple of days and just saw your posts about Cotton's crisis. I'm glad to hear he's doing better, you must have been scared out of your mind when you found him like that! I sure hope he's much better by today. You know, Met is a pretty harsh antibiotic, how long has Cotton been on it? You might want to talk to the vet about trying another one, or making sure it's absolutely necessary to have him on antibiotics right now. Abx are true life savers, but they also suppress and kill the good bacteria too. Have you thought about treating Cotton holistically? I have a wonderful woman who has been helping me with finding the right remedies for my girl Gypsy who suffers from IBD. Patti and Hideyo have experience with them, maybe they'll have some suggestions. I know that Bioplasma (combination of 12 different tissue remedies), is a good overall support rx, you might want to try it with Cotton. Will Cotton lap plain yogurt? Think about adding some probiotics to his food to replace good bacteria in his gut, (Kydophilus is a good one). Also, slippery elm is good for coating as calming. Poor little lamb! If you want to talk, write me off-list and I'll send you my phone number.I'm thrilled to hear that Cricket and you had that talk! It sure sounds like she understood you. Isn't it amazing? I don't know if they understand our words, or if they are reading the pictures in our minds as we try to convey the meaning behind the words. I know that I have the best results if I try to "send" them pictures while I'm talking to them. Also, I've always heard it's better to speak and think in the affirmative. For example, when you want a dog to stop jumping, it's better to ask them to keep their feet on the floor, (sending the picture of them being calm, with four on the floor), rather than tell them NO jumping. I think it may have something to do with those "pictures" in our brain. When we say "no jumping", we are probably picturing them jumping up on us! So we can be saying no with our words, but sending them the picture of exactly the opposite thing we want from them. So when you talk to Cricket and Cotton about being nice, don't think about them being naughty at the same time! Picture instead, Cricket licking Cotton on the head, or at least ignoring him.Please let us know how little Cotton is doing this morning, I'm so worried about him.NinaDudes wrote: Nina, I have to thank you, thank you, thank you because I took your advice, and it's totally worked! I did go to bed after this email, and I had a talk with Cricket! My husband was working late, so I had the perfect opportunity to do it without feeling silly, and I thought what the heck, I will try it. As she sat on my chest and kneaded my neck like she always does, I told her that she needed to be nicer to Cotton and it makes me sad when she attacks him and I have to yell at her. I told her what you said, that he already knew that she was a strong girl, and that he was just a little boy, who could learn a lot from her because she's so smart. I told her that he's sick and we might not get to have him around for very long, and it was not good for him to feel bad feelings, that it could make him sicker. (At this point she put her paw on my mouth, but until what happened later, I thought it was just a coincidence, but I now wonder if it wasn't) I kissed her little foot, and I told her to be patient with him until he learned to act like her-a very good girl. Now I know that sounds like a long speech to give a cat, but I stroked her head and talked very softly and she looked at me the entire time. Sometimes she looked away, as if she was hearing something uncomfortable, and some of the time she stared at me and seemed interested in my lips moving. I felt better, anyway. The next day there were NO incidents of her chasing him or stalking him. NONE! It was the first time since he's been here. I saw her watching him at one point, and I thanked her for being such a good big sister to him. They both looked up at me, as did Miss, who was nearby. I could just swear that she puffed up a little and p
Cotton and Cricket
Hi Sandy, I've been away from the computer for a couple of days and just saw your posts about Cotton's crisis. I'm glad to hear he's doing better, you must have been scared out of your mind when you found him like that! I sure hope he's much better by today. You know, Met is a pretty harsh antibiotic, how long has Cotton been on it? You might want to talk to the vet about trying another one, or making sure it's absolutely necessary to have him on antibiotics right now. Abx are true life savers, but they also suppress and kill the good bacteria too. Have you thought about treating Cotton holistically? I have a wonderful woman who has been helping me with finding the right remedies for my girl Gypsy who suffers from IBD. Patti and Hideyo have experience with them, maybe they'll have some suggestions. I know that Bioplasma (combination of 12 different tissue remedies), is a good overall support rx, you might want to try it with Cotton. Will Cotton lap plain yogurt? Think about adding some probiotics to his food to replace good bacteria in his gut, (Kydophilus is a good one). Also, slippery elm is good for coating as calming. Poor little lamb! If you want to talk, write me off-list and I'll send you my phone number. I'm thrilled to hear that Cricket and you had that talk! It sure sounds like she understood you. Isn't it amazing? I don't know if they understand our words, or if they are reading the pictures in our minds as we try to convey the meaning behind the words. I know that I have the best results if I try to "send" them pictures while I'm talking to them. Also, I've always heard it's better to speak and think in the affirmative. For example, when you want a dog to stop jumping, it's better to ask them to keep their feet on the floor, (sending the picture of them being calm, with four on the floor), rather than tell them NO jumping. I think it may have something to do with those "pictures" in our brain. When we say "no jumping", we are probably picturing them jumping up on us! So we can be saying no with our words, but sending them the picture of exactly the opposite thing we want from them. So when you talk to Cricket and Cotton about being nice, don't think about them being naughty at the same time! Picture instead, Cricket licking Cotton on the head, or at least ignoring him. Please let us know how little Cotton is doing this morning, I'm so worried about him. Nina Dudes wrote: Nina, I have to thank you, thank you, thank you because I took your advice, and it's totally worked! I did go to bed after this email, and I had a talk with Cricket! My husband was working late, so I had the perfect opportunity to do it without feeling silly, and I thought what the heck, I will try it. As she sat on my chest and kneaded my neck like she always does, I told her that she needed to be nicer to Cotton and it makes me sad when she attacks him and I have to yell at her. I told her what you said, that he already knew that she was a strong girl, and that he was just a little boy, who could learn a lot from her because she's so smart. I told her that he's sick and we might not get to have him around for very long, and it was not good for him to feel bad feelings, that it could make him sicker. (At this point she put her paw on my mouth, but until what happened later, I thought it was just a coincidence, but I now wonder if it wasn't) I kissed her little foot, and I told her to be patient with him until he learned to act like her-a very good girl. Now I know that sounds like a long speech to give a cat, but I stroked her head and talked very softly and she looked at me the entire time. Sometimes she looked away, as if she was hearing something uncomfortable, and some of the time she stared at me and seemed interested in my lips moving. I felt better, anyway. The next day there were NO incidents of her chasing him or stalking him. NONE! It was the first time since he's been here. I saw her watching him at one point, and I thanked her for being such a good big sister to him. They both looked up at me, as did Miss, who was nearby. I could just swear that she puffed up a little and put her tail a little higher, and looked very pleased with herself! We have not had another incident of chasing/ambushing/batting heads since. Even when Cotton took a playful swat at her with outstretched paw, claws out as she walked by. She just stopped for a minute and stared at him, but I could see her ear cocked at me, like she thought I might say something. She didn't do a thing, she just walked on. Unless I'm imagining things, she totally got it. Anybody else ever talk to their cats and SWEAR they understand? PEACE is nice. I'm so happy that we have some. :) Sandy - Original
Re: Cotton crisis
Thank you Terri: I will definitely look into Pet Tinic. I can tell by Cotton's restlessness and the look on his face most of today that he's still not feeling all that well. He mostly seems to feel bad right after he eats. I'm thinking he's still having some spasms in his intestines and nausea. But he's asking regularly for the faucet to be turned on so he can drink water, he's eating the fish and rice and I mixed in a little wet catfood today, which he kept down. I started him on his Interferon, also. And he's been to the litterbox with normal results, so I'm just going to keep progressing slowly with his diet, and talk to the vet tomorrow about what we should do from here and possibly a kidney ultrasound. It makes me realize that when he does change foods, he's going to need to do it really slowly. I'm still rooting for my little Cotton-ball. He has such an expressive face, I can tell even when he's a shade off color. And I'm trying to teach my son Kellen to watch him closely too, since they spend so much time together. That way he too will know the signs of illness. And I know I probably over-reacted a bit when I found Cotton sick, but it so breaks my heart to see anyone in my care anything but happy. Thanks for talking/listening to me about him. Sandy - Original Message - From: Terri Brown To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:09 PM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis Well, definitely keep us posted -- I don't write in much (mostly lurk lately since I'm now FeLV free), but I can't bring myself to leave the group. If he seems to be holding his own, maybe try some Pet Tinic if you can find it. Good antioxidant vitamins for the kitties! You could mix it into some wet food for him. Great blood builder. There's another vitamin like it, but I can't think of the name offhand. I know you can get the Pet Tinic from www.drsfostersmith.com if it isn't available locally. =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 12:57 AM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis Aw, thank you Terri. I worry so much about my little Cotton- ball, because he's still so young and still growing. He has been eating boiled fish and rice today, and I can tell he is not feeling as well as he could, but he seems to be on the mend. He's drinking lots of water on his own, and tomorrow I may let him back on dry kibble. Sandy - Original Message - From: Terri Brown To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 5:56 PM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis No thoughts, Sandy, but I am thrilled that he seems to be okay now. Sending positive thoughts his way! =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:36 PM Subject: Cotton crisis Cotton and I have survived our first crisis together. He is fine now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria laden stools). I came home from work, and wondered why he didn't greet me as he usually does. I found him in his favorite boy's room laying by the litterbox with a puddle of watery diarrhea next to him. He was weak, lethargic, straining/cramping, vomiting and shivering from pain. He seemed to have the most pain in his back. When I picked him up, the look on his face was a mixture of fear, pain and sadness and broke my heart. I will never forget it. My son and I rushed him to the Vet ER, where he had xrays, bloodwork, etc. He didn't have any urine to analyze, nothing but gel in his rectum. He was found to have enlarged kidne
Re: Cotton crisis
Well, definitely keep us posted -- I don't write in much (mostly lurk lately since I'm now FeLV free), but I can't bring myself to leave the group. If he seems to be holding his own, maybe try some Pet Tinic if you can find it. Good antioxidant vitamins for the kitties! You could mix it into some wet food for him. Great blood builder. There's another vitamin like it, but I can't think of the name offhand. I know you can get the Pet Tinic from www.drsfostersmith.com if it isn't available locally. =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 12:57 AM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis Aw, thank you Terri. I worry so much about my little Cotton- ball, because he's still so young and still growing. He has been eating boiled fish and rice today, and I can tell he is not feeling as well as he could, but he seems to be on the mend. He's drinking lots of water on his own, and tomorrow I may let him back on dry kibble. Sandy - Original Message - From: Terri Brown To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 5:56 PM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis No thoughts, Sandy, but I am thrilled that he seems to be okay now. Sending positive thoughts his way! =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:36 PM Subject: Cotton crisis Cotton and I have survived our first crisis together. He is fine now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria laden stools). I came home from work, and wondered why he didn't greet me as he usually does. I found him in his favorite boy's room laying by the litterbox with a puddle of watery diarrhea next to him. He was weak, lethargic, straining/cramping, vomiting and shivering from pain. He seemed to have the most pain in his back. When I picked him up, the look on his face was a mixture of fear, pain and sadness and broke my heart. I will never forget it. My son and I rushed him to the Vet ER, where he had xrays, bloodwork, etc. He didn't have any urine to analyze, nothing but gel in his rectum. He was found to have enlarged kidneys, left greater than right (enough to be pushing on his stomach), an elevated white count, a very slightly high calcium level, which concerned the vet, and a density of some sort in his colon which the vet wasn't sure about, because it wasn't clear on xray. She said she wasn't sure why he was vomiting and straining to defacate, but she said it didn't really look like a foreign body, and there was a lot of gas. Poor baby. The night before he was seen carrying around a dropped piece of lettuce that was probably unwashed and fallen from the trashcan. He was batting it around and playing with it, but I took away from him, fearing he might eat it. In his vomit on Friday, I noticed that there was little bits of green, and pieces of what I thought might have been worms, but were little pieces of red string from a decorative sword tassle. I wish I had thought to examine it more closely. Anyway...mentioned all this to the vet, who said worse case scenario is that he might need an exploratory laperotomy to investigate the colon, and perhaps while he is under, to biopsy his kidneys. The vet did some further labwork, and wasn't too concerned with the findings, and so she agreed that outpt therapy was the best. He got sub-q fluids, a dex (steroid) shot, some Zantac, and something else I can't remember for nausea. I came home and put a cold compress on his poor little bottom, which was all red and swollen and put him to bed with his favorite boy. This morning, he was his usua
Re: Cotton crisis
Hi Michelle: My theories were for the stomach issues, not the kidneys. I am afraid that his kidneys being enlarged is a new finding. However, I agree with you, he may very well have lymphoma in the kidneys and intestines. His labs were all normal. So I still need to talk to the regular vet about his kidneys. Sandy - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 5:03 PM Subject: Re: Cotton crisis I don't think any of your theories explain the enlarged kidneys. Did the vet rule out lymphoma? That can occur in the kidneys and intestines, is common in FeLV+ cats, and responds well to dexamethasone (it shrinks lymphoma). It might not have anything to do with lymphoma, and I hope it does, but if it does chemo might help in addition to dex. What were his kidney values like on his blood panel? Michelle
Re: Cotton crisis
I don't think any of your theories explain the enlarged kidneys. Did the vet rule out lymphoma? That can occur in the kidneys and intestines, is common in FeLV+ cats, and responds well to dexamethasone (it shrinks lymphoma). It might not have anything to do with lymphoma, and I hope it does, but if it does chemo might help in addition to dex. What were his kidney values like on his blood panel? Michelle
Re: Cotton crisis
No thoughts, Sandy, but I am thrilled that he seems to be okay now. Sending positive thoughts his way! =^..^= Terri, Siggie the Tomato Vampire, Guinevere, Sammi, Travis, and 6 furangels: RuthieGirl, Samantha, Arielle, Gareth, Alec & Salome' =^..^= Furkid Photos! http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7sgqa/My Personal Page: http://www.geocities.com/ruthiegirl1/terrispage.html?1083970447350 - Original Message - From: Dudes To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:36 PM Subject: Cotton crisis Cotton and I have survived our first crisis together. He is fine now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria laden stools). I came home from work, and wondered why he didn't greet me as he usually does. I found him in his favorite boy's room laying by the litterbox with a puddle of watery diarrhea next to him. He was weak, lethargic, straining/cramping, vomiting and shivering from pain. He seemed to have the most pain in his back. When I picked him up, the look on his face was a mixture of fear, pain and sadness and broke my heart. I will never forget it. My son and I rushed him to the Vet ER, where he had xrays, bloodwork, etc. He didn't have any urine to analyze, nothing but gel in his rectum. He was found to have enlarged kidneys, left greater than right (enough to be pushing on his stomach), an elevated white count, a very slightly high calcium level, which concerned the vet, and a density of some sort in his colon which the vet wasn't sure about, because it wasn't clear on xray. She said she wasn't sure why he was vomiting and straining to defacate, but she said it didn't really look like a foreign body, and there was a lot of gas. Poor baby. The night before he was seen carrying around a dropped piece of lettuce that was probably unwashed and fallen from the trashcan. He was batting it around and playing with it, but I took away from him, fearing he might eat it. In his vomit on Friday, I noticed that there was little bits of green, and pieces of what I thought might have been worms, but were little pieces of red string from a decorative sword tassle. I wish I had thought to examine it more closely. Anyway...mentioned all this to the vet, who said worse case scenario is that he might need an exploratory laperotomy to investigate the colon, and perhaps while he is under, to biopsy his kidneys. The vet did some further labwork, and wasn't too concerned with the findings, and so she agreed that outpt therapy was the best. He got sub-q fluids, a dex (steroid) shot, some Zantac, and something else I can't remember for nausea. I came home and put a cold compress on his poor little bottom, which was all red and swollen and put him to bed with his favorite boy. This morning, he was his usual self! Loudly meowing to be allowed out, jumping, running, being naughty, complaining when I picked him up to look at him. He is bright and cheery, and hungry now! I'm still reeling! Any advice on what happened, what might be the best way to proceed to feed him? I am so glad he's better, and I know you are not all vets, but so much of his severe symptoms kept coming back to his FeLV+ status. I'm concerned that he might have something going on with his kidneys, and may consider ultrasound of them in the future. Here are my theories, in order of probability: 1. The lettuce might have been a source of bacteria that might not have made a normal cat ill, but because of his weakened immune system, Cotton got sick. 2. The string caused him to have his symptoms or contributed to his symptoms. (but that doesn't exactly explain the diarrhea) 3. Since he went to the vet last week, he might have been exposed to a stomach virus. (He was all over the exam room and was beginning to eye the tops of the cabinets.) 4. ? Does anyone have any thoughts? You all know how new I am to all of this, and if there is something I can do to prevent such occurances in the future, I will do whatever it takes. Sandy
Cotton crisis
Cotton and I have survived our first crisis together. He is fine now, but last night I thought I might lose him. Friday morning he was his usual bouncy self, just a little less hungry, like he's been since he started taking the Metranidazole (for his bacteria laden stools). I came home from work, and wondered why he didn't greet me as he usually does. I found him in his favorite boy's room laying by the litterbox with a puddle of watery diarrhea next to him. He was weak, lethargic, straining/cramping, vomiting and shivering from pain. He seemed to have the most pain in his back. When I picked him up, the look on his face was a mixture of fear, pain and sadness and broke my heart. I will never forget it. My son and I rushed him to the Vet ER, where he had xrays, bloodwork, etc. He didn't have any urine to analyze, nothing but gel in his rectum. He was found to have enlarged kidneys, left greater than right (enough to be pushing on his stomach), an elevated white count, a very slightly high calcium level, which concerned the vet, and a density of some sort in his colon which the vet wasn't sure about, because it wasn't clear on xray. She said she wasn't sure why he was vomiting and straining to defacate, but she said it didn't really look like a foreign body, and there was a lot of gas. Poor baby. The night before he was seen carrying around a dropped piece of lettuce that was probably unwashed and fallen from the trashcan. He was batting it around and playing with it, but I took away from him, fearing he might eat it. In his vomit on Friday, I noticed that there was little bits of green, and pieces of what I thought might have been worms, but were little pieces of red string from a decorative sword tassle. I wish I had thought to examine it more closely. Anyway...mentioned all this to the vet, who said worse case scenario is that he might need an exploratory laperotomy to investigate the colon, and perhaps while he is under, to biopsy his kidneys. The vet did some further labwork, and wasn't too concerned with the findings, and so she agreed that outpt therapy was the best. He got sub-q fluids, a dex (steroid) shot, some Zantac, and something else I can't remember for nausea. I came home and put a cold compress on his poor little bottom, which was all red and swollen and put him to bed with his favorite boy. This morning, he was his usual self! Loudly meowing to be allowed out, jumping, running, being naughty, complaining when I picked him up to look at him. He is bright and cheery, and hungry now! I'm still reeling! Any advice on what happened, what might be the best way to proceed to feed him? I am so glad he's better, and I know you are not all vets, but so much of his severe symptoms kept coming back to his FeLV+ status. I'm concerned that he might have something going on with his kidneys, and may consider ultrasound of them in the future. Here are my theories, in order of probability: 1. The lettuce might have been a source of bacteria that might not have made a normal cat ill, but because of his weakened immune system, Cotton got sick. 2. The string caused him to have his symptoms or contributed to his symptoms. (but that doesn't exactly explain the diarrhea) 3. Since he went to the vet last week, he might have been exposed to a stomach virus. (He was all over the exam room and was beginning to eye the tops of the cabinets.) 4. ? Does anyone have any thoughts? You all know how new I am to all of this, and if there is something I can do to prevent such occurances in the future, I will do whatever it takes. Sandy
Re: Cotton visit to new vet
Hi Michelle: I live north of Houston, TX. The vet clinic where I took Cotton is called Just Cats. Sandy - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 10:17 AM Subject: Re: Cotton visit to new vet Where are you located? Michelle
Re: Cotton visit to new vet
I also know what a relief that can be :) N Nina wrote: Sandy, How wonderful that you and Cotton have found a good vet! I know what a relieve that can be. It's great that they have an Internist in the office. Hugs and headbutts to you and your babies, Nina Dudes wrote: Cotton's much anticipated visit to the new vet was a great experience. This vet agreed with me that Cotton's immediate health was the first concern. He got his fecal and his ears checked. He got his ears cleaned, and he was found to be loaded with spirochites sp(?), and he was given a course of Metranidazole. She agreed that the next step was getting the IFA, and a baseline cbc, and a basic metabolic panel to evaluate his general health. I told her that since I started him on the L-Lysine (that Jen suggested!-THANK YOU!) _his lymph nodes are actually smaller_. She took this as a positive sign, and said that with good supportive care, he may continue to fight off the FeLV, but wanted to make sure we knew that his life expectancy was uncertain. She was happy to prescribe Interferon, and even apologized for not mentioning it before I did! She told me she is going to discuss Cotton's case with her senior vet, who is a cat internist, who is at a week long symposium, to make sure that she isn't missing anything and to come up with a testing schedule for my other cats. I learned too, that she herself has 6 cats of her own, and she felt like if she was presented with this situation herself, she might be inclined to proceed as I have. I was so put at ease by knowing that she thinks like this. I couldn't ask for a better visit. I feel so much better about our little Cotton-ball. :) We got him out of there just as he was starting to eye the tops of the cabinets over the sink. So naughty, but we love him so much. Thank you all for being so helpful with advice. Sandy
Re: Cotton visit to new vet
Sandy, How wonderful that you and Cotton have found a good vet! I know what a relieve that can be. It's great that they have an Internist in the office. Hugs and headbutts to you and your babies, Nina Dudes wrote: Cotton's much anticipated visit to the new vet was a great experience. This vet agreed with me that Cotton's immediate health was the first concern. He got his fecal and his ears checked. He got his ears cleaned, and he was found to be loaded with spirochites sp(?), and he was given a course of Metranidazole. She agreed that the next step was getting the IFA, and a baseline cbc, and a basic metabolic panel to evaluate his general health. I told her that since I started him on the L-Lysine (that Jen suggested!-THANK YOU!) _his lymph nodes are actually smaller_. She took this as a positive sign, and said that with good supportive care, he may continue to fight off the FeLV, but wanted to make sure we knew that his life expectancy was uncertain. She was happy to prescribe Interferon, and even apologized for not mentioning it before I did! She told me she is going to discuss Cotton's case with her senior vet, who is a cat internist, who is at a week long symposium, to make sure that she isn't missing anything and to come up with a testing schedule for my other cats. I learned too, that she herself has 6 cats of her own, and she felt like if she was presented with this situation herself, she might be inclined to proceed as I have. I was so put at ease by knowing that she thinks like this. I couldn't ask for a better visit. I feel so much better about our little Cotton-ball. :) We got him out of there just as he was starting to eye the tops of the cabinets over the sink. So naughty, but we love him so much. Thank you all for being so helpful with advice. Sandy
Re: Cotton visit to new vet
Where are you located? Michelle
Cotton visit to new vet
Cotton's much anticipated visit to the new vet was a great experience. This vet agreed with me that Cotton's immediate health was the first concern. He got his fecal and his ears checked. He got his ears cleaned, and he was found to be loaded with spirochites sp(?), and he was given a course of Metranidazole. She agreed that the next step was getting the IFA, and a baseline cbc, and a basic metabolic panel to evaluate his general health. I told her that since I started him on the L-Lysine (that Jen suggested!-THANK YOU!) his lymph nodes are actually smaller. She took this as a positive sign, and said that with good supportive care, he may continue to fight off the FeLV, but wanted to make sure we knew that his life expectancy was uncertain. She was happy to prescribe Interferon, and even apologized for not mentioning it before I did! She told me she is going to discuss Cotton's case with her senior vet, who is a cat internist, who is at a week long symposium, to make sure that she isn't missing anything and to come up with a testing schedule for my other cats. I learned too, that she herself has 6 cats of her own, and she felt like if she was presented with this situation herself, she might be inclined to proceed as I have. I was so put at ease by knowing that she thinks like this. I couldn't ask for a better visit. I feel so much better about our little Cotton-ball. :) We got him out of there just as he was starting to eye the tops of the cabinets over the sink. So naughty, but we love him so much. Thank you all for being so helpful with advice. Sandy
