[Felvtalk] Harleys

[Lee Evans]

Hello Kat. I'm Lee. I have been with this group for several years and it's awesome. Most of the people here know more than the vets about FeLv+ cats. 

My cat Honey Bunny was rescued in 2012, on Easter Sunday, thus her name Bunny. She tested positive for FeLv but was asymptomatic. I kept her isolated from my other cats for about 4 months and then retested. She had turned  negative. She was under 2 years old and at that age, many cats do turn negative, throwing off the disease. I could not believe my good luck so did a second ELISA test and it was the same, negative . So I moved her into my home office where there are two other cats, both never having tested positive for anything. She was a little bundle of mischief and happiness for almost 2 years, then she began to fade, tired, lack of appetite. I thought at first it was the weather. October of that year in South Texas was changeable. But she went from active almost 24/7 to isolating herself in the bathroom and sleeping most of the time. When I saw that her appetite was failing I took her to the vet again. To my horror she tested positive for FeLv.
 This has never happened before. I have two cats who turned negative and they are still in excellent health after 8 years (Moses) and 3 years (Percy who is FIV+ but that's not a problem). Bunny had lymphoma and was slightly jaundiced. She received antibiotics by injection, a small dose of steroid, and a B-complex shot. It seemed to perk her up for a few days. Her food intake increased slightly. Meanwhile, the other two cats in the room kept their distance from her, as if they knew and Bunny no longer slept on the lounger with me and the other two. Three weeks and three more vet visits after I noticed her change in energy level, on Oct. 31, 2013 she passed away in the sleeping box I had fixed for her in the room. She wanted so much to live. It was just so unfair and I can't understand her turning positive after testing twice negative. Oct. 31 is also my birthday. I did not stop crying for a month. Of all the cats who have shared their lives with me and
 passed to the other side, I miss Bunny the most because she was so young and bouncy and happy.

Give Milkdud as much love and attention as you can. At the point he is at, I feel that this is the most you can do without subjecting him to stressful tests and medications. I'm so sorry the three of you are going through this tragedy. After Milkdud passes, you might see a personality change in Harley. This is normal, especially for bonded cats. It has been almost 4 months now and Samson and Delilah are not showing any signs of having caught the disease. I will probably take them in for testing at some point when I have more money. Right now I need to save every penny in case one of my other cats (of the 40 I am sheltering here) has an emergency illness.

Give yourself some special attention also. This is a difficult time for the cats and you. Virtual hugs coming your way.


On Saturday, April 26, 2014 7:37 PM, Marsha <martia at lynxe.com> wrote:
 
Awww, Kat.  I am new to this list also, and I also have a FeLV+ boy named Harley!  He probably close to 4 years old (I got him as a kitten in the Fall of 2010).  He is also black, with a little white spot on his chest, and his belly. 
>
>His buddy Milkdud is in the hospital now, after being symptom-free
    for 4 and a half years.  I felt a lump early this week, then before
    his vet appointment he seemed to be getting tired and not interested
    in food, though he played a little with a catnip toy.  At the vet's
    office we saw he was jaundiced, and I transferred him to the
    emergency clinic.  An ultrasound revealed more than one mass
    (including in the spleen), and several enlarged lymph nodes.  Plus
    his kidneys and liver don't look too great either (on the
    ultrasound).  Lymphoma highly likely.  I declined the needle
    aspiration for confirmation.  Milkdud is greatly annoyed with his
    cramped accommodations at the hospital.  They have also been swamped
    this weekend, so he can't get a bigger cage, and this afternoon we
    couldn't have a room to visit together so he can move around.  He
    has more energy than some of the other cats I see there.  I don't
    think Milkdud is long for this world...a week or two?  I will
    probably take him home Monday to enjoy as much cuddle time as
    possible before the time comes.  Is it too late for LTCI?  Does that
    help with lymphoma?  My local vet and one I asked at the emergency
    clinic didn't seem to familiar, except one told me it is still
    experimental.
>
>Harley is feeling very anxious about Milkdud being gone, so I am
    trying to give him some extra attention.  
>
>Marsha
>
>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:06:34 -0700
>
>From: NEW NEW <backatit24 at gmail.com>
>>>To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
>>>Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk Digest, Vol 1, Issue 5
>>>Message-ID:
>>>        <CAOERAbT1w=QA4rmQ2zHZyvF=JyMtiNdy7k_fUR=21oUhd770NA at mail.gmail.com>
>>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>>Hey I'm new to the group. My Name Is Kat. And I am owned by a
          FeLV+ two
>>>year old black cat named harley.
>>>
>_______________________________________________
>Felvtalk mailing list
>Felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
>http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://felineleukemia.org/pipermail/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org/attachments/20140426/55bfa167/attachment.html>