Re: Beth's family update and shelter idea (and questions about interferon etc)

[Nina]

Gary Murphy wrote: Hi Nina,     Thank you for the link to the indyferal group, what a great site!  I have some of the supplies to make a shelter already, would only have to buy the insulation, I'll try to get something together this weekend.  The real trick is going to be sneaking it into their yard and hiding it somewhere, brush pile would be good, but they're talking of paying someone to come out and chip it.  MIL thinks that anything I do for the cats is attracting skunks and racoons instead.  I'll work it out somehow... Hi Beth, Pardon me for saying so, but I'd like to shake your MIL.  It sounds like she lives someplace fairly rural, does she have immediate neighbors?  Have you tried talking to some of them about the possibility of setting up feeding/shelters in their yards?  It seems ridiculous that you'd have to do that with your own family members right there, but maybe there's someone else near by that would be willing, if not to caretake themselves, at least not be hostile to your efforts to help the cats.  How many cats are there?  Could you relocate them to your back yard?  If that's possible, they'd have to be contained in your back yard until they recognize it as their new territory.  As far as the skunks and raccoons...  I don't have much of a problem with wildlife in my area, but I've seen it suggested that if you spot an unwelcome guest, you should feed only once a day and pick up the food when the cats are done eating.  It is also recommended to block the shelters until the wild critters find another place to nest.     I have been meaning to write for advice on Will's med protocol and neutering tips, but got sidelined by Moxy.  I think the initial reason she recommended Will be on continuous antibiotics is because she and I both got so frightened by how quickly things turned bad for his little sister Ally when she went off of them.  Her URI returned, she developed a bright red "swimmer's ear" infection, and she spiked a recurring high fever.  None of this responded as well to the antibiotics as her initial URI and eye infection did.  It just kind of felt like we'd left the door open a crack and couldn't shut it again.  She was eventually pts with suspected wet FIP, (although this wasn't confirmed by necropsy and I have my doubts on the diagnosis).  Maybe it was just the FCov mutating into FIP that made her so susceptible to the other infections and it had nothing to do with stopping the antibiotic, but it all came on so quickly after the first round of meds ended... I can understand you concern after what you've been through.  I don't know if prolonged use of antibiotics is the answer for preventative care though.  There's the immunity factor and I'm sure you know that even with broad spectrum abx, there's no one abx that will battle all illnesses.  They are specific to different maladies, and it just doesn't sit right with me to have their systems weakened with abx use "just in case".  This is just my personal opinion, but would rather boost their immune systems, keep a very close eye on them to watch for symptoms and then hit them with the appropriate abx if necessary.   Now, I think that part of the reason he is still on it is maybe because of the interferon alpha.  I know that a side effect for humans receiving it as an injectable is a temporary reduction in circulating WBC's.  Also, viral infections in general suppress WBC's.  This would lead to an increased risk for bacterial infections.  What I don't know is if the low oral dose he receives has the same effect?  I've got a list of questions for my vet, but have more confidence that this list can give me answers than her.  She has never recommended a probiotic, but that was something I've been meaning to ask about.  I think he's lasted longer than she expected and we need to sit down and come up with a long-term plan for him.  The staff at this clinic are wonderful, the techs race each other to be the one who gets to check in my babies, I can feel them rooting for the whole bunch.  And I like the idea of one clinic knowing them from beginning to end.  I just wish the vet was a little more knowledgeable and proactive. I would ask your vet for a referral to a specialty vet, a board certified internist.  Someone that would have more experience with the sort of illnesses our guys are prone to.  I'd take Will in to see them and then you'd have someone to bring him to if he ever gets sick and needs more specialized care.   Anyway, here are my questions:   1.  What are the risks/side effects of long-term antibiotics?  (I'll see if I can find some Pet Dophillus to try) I started to Google this for you.  I think you should do the same.  The little I read, (I was looking for long term use of Clav specifically), doesn't seem to be too negative.  I just don't know if it's necessary and/or beneficial. 2.  How often should he be having a blood panel run?  Do we do this on an interferon on week, or an off week, or on      a longer interferon break?  Does it have to be run immediately before the surgery, or wait a few days? a week? to      see how the poke heals before slicing into his privates? It seems to me that if you are running a blood panel to determine his health status for surgery, then the closer to surgery the better.  Other than that, there's no reason to run blood panels unless you suspect a problem.  I don't know what you'd accomplish with running periodic blood panels, (I don't even retest for felv/fiv once I'm sure they truly have it).  If you are going to do one before surgery, then you would have it for your base line information.  I don't think that it matters about whether or not he's on interferon for blood tests.  If it works the way we hope, then it might not be a bad idea for him to be on it during the process, (before and after).  I think these are questions for an experienced vet.  Finding one you trust, ah, there's the rub!  There are many differing opinions about interferon alpha use.  I use it when someone is presenting symptoms and then everyday, the worse the symptoms the higher the dose.  I don't think I've ever given anyone more than 2ccs daily, but I seem to recall others on the list giving more.  From all I've read interferon is safe to use.  You might want to take a survey on the list to see if anyone has had adverse reactions from it's use.  I know that Hideyo has heard an anequdotal side effect story about it with human use that has her more nervous to use it, but I've never been able to get specifics about that. 3.  Do we discontinue the interferon before his neuter surgery? I would get with an internist that has had more experience with the use of interferon, (heck, more experience period), for questions/fears like this.  My cats were not on interferon before their surgeries, so I can't answer from my personal experience whether it would be a good thing or not. 4.  Don't they build up a resistance/antibodies to the human interferon eventually?  Is it still helping him at this point? <>     Would feline interferon be affected by these antibodies, or would it still work after he has received several months  of the human stuff? I was told that this built up "resistance" factor to the human interferon is why some vets recommend the "pulse" method protocol, (on 7 days, off 7 days).  I was also told that feline interferon, (interferon omega), is different from the human interferon (interferon alpha) and that the two wouldn't "interfere" with each other.  One of the reasons that everyone was so excited about the prospect of using feline interferon, vs human interferon, was that it is supposed that the immunity problems would not be associated with it.   I know this is another long book, you don't have to answer all that, it helps me to clarify what I need to ask the vet if I write it out first.  Are there any other questions I should be asking? I don't mind answering your questions at all.  We're all in the same boat.  We all love our babies and want to to the best we can to safeguard them and protect them.  Please keep in mind that I'm just passing along info that I've learned from researching and asking the same sort of questions.  Hopefully others in the group will chime in too. Nina