[Felvtalk] Just tested positive

[Maya D'Alessio]

Hello everyone,

My cat Merlot, just tested positive for FeLV yesterday afternoon.  We had
him tested, because my three year old cat Yang (female) started acting ill
at the end of June, the next morning I took her in to the vets and we
discovered she was anemic, jaundiced and had a high fever.  They checked
her blood levels and found she was anemic (about 13, vs 26 in a healthy
cat).  She stayed at the vet during the day  and her blood levels didn't
get any worse, and our vet was optimistic.  They transferred her over to
the emergency clinic which was open all evening and in to the weekend.
 They monitored her overnight and her red blood cells decreased, her fever
lowered but she went past normal to too cold.  That morning the blood tests
came back and she was positive for FeLV.  We were shocked.  Even worse was
that her detailed blood work showed no uptick in blood cell production,
where she should have increased production, she actually had almost no
production.  We then got to see her before we had to put her down.  That
was the hardest day of my life.

Now, with Merlot testing positive I am terrified of losing him so quickly,
and I am still grieving for Yang.  I know the statistics are not great for
long term prognosis, but he is currently healthy (just a tiny bit of
gingivitis - we are going to start brushing his teeth).  What can I do to
keep him healthy?  How do I live with him everyday without starting to
grieve him already?  I know we all are going to die someday, but this just
feels like it is going to hang over me.  I am still doing reading on the
disease and newer treatments and such, but do these all start after the cat
becomes noticeably ill, or are there things I can be doing now to help keep
him healthy?  Are probiotics helpful in this case?

For those who have or have had a healthy FeLV cat, how long did they stay
healthy for?


-- 
Maya D'Alessio
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