[Felvtalk] Just tested positive

[Katherine K.]

Hi Maya,

I'm so sorry for your loss of Yang. Is Merlot also 3 years old? Last year I
had a litter of 4 kittens who all tested positive at 3 months of age. We
lost the first one at 8 months, and the last one died this May at 1 year
old. They were all very healthy and active until the last week or two of
their lives. My 12 year old cat was also diagnosed with the virus last
July. He was very sick then, but bounced back and is doing well now. He has
some minor health issues but energy, appetite, bathroom and
comfort/happiness levels are all normal. Every day I have with him is a
gift.

Yes, you can be pro-active now. The key to maintaining good health is to
feed high quality food, keep them indoors, in a low-stress environment, and
make a vet appt ASAP if something isn't right. You know him best, don't be
afraid to trust your gut.

For my 12 year old cat, since his initial illness, I have been giving him a
booster shot once a month of LTCI (http://tcyte.com/). It is not
inexpensive, unfortunately. A more economical immune system booster is
alpha interferon, which is given by mouth daily. You can search the mailing
list archives or website for more info on both of these, and talk to your
vet to decide what treatment might be best for you.

Let Merlot's happiness and joy for life guide you. Play with him, love him,
take video and photos of the two of you together having fun. It's tough
knowing they'll be gone too soon, but let that help you cherish the good
times together.

We aren't vets here, but we can offer you experience and support.

Katherine


On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 3:12 PM, Maya D'Alessio <mdelow at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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