[Felvtalk] help for Charlie

[Katherine K.]

Hi Emily,

I don't have enough experience to offer you any real insight or advice
about your situation, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry you
and Charlie are going through this right now. I know how it is to be
stressed out and frustrated about tests, vet expenses, and not knowing the
best solution for your little friend. But like you said, it's great that
he's acting like his happy self at the moment. Take video of him doing his
favorite things while he is still happy and healthy, you will enjoy it
later.

If you are new to the list, searching/browsing the mail archives can be
helpful when considering different treatments, symptoms, etc.
http://www.mail-archive.com/felvtalk%40felineleukemia.org/maillist.html

Please keep us posted. Sending good thoughts to Charlie!

Katherine


On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 10:43 PM, Emily Cordeaux <ecordeaux at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm looking for some help in determining next steps for our cat Charlie.
> We adopted our beloved Charlie three years ago from a shelter. He is now
> about four years old. We found out in December while doing routine tests
> that he has feline leukemia (at the time trying to figure out the cause of
> his IBS- switching his food ended up doing the trick). We were quite
> surprised- at the time the only symptom that matched were his gums were
> relatively inflamed.
>
> At the end of March / beginning of April Charlie became ill. He lost
> weight and became lethargic. He kept eating but needed me to keep bringing
> his food to him in order for him to eat. He underwent different tests- the
> xrays/blood tests showed that his organs were fine. There was however some
> bacteria in his urine and so we thought it might be an infection. He also
> had a slight fever and his white blood cell count was low. We tried him on
> an injectable antibiotic initially which didn't help, but then switched him
> to Baytril to which he has responded really well.
>
> Charlie started to become sick again once he finished his first round of
> Baytril, and so we put him back on the antibiotic. He also underwent more
> tests- this time there was no bacteria in his urine but his white blood
> cell count was still low. Since this time he has stayed on Baytril (we
> tried him on a stronger antibiotic but he couldn't stomach it and so we
> stayed put).
>
> Charlie for the past few weeks has seemed incredibly well. He is vibrant,
> affectionate, and he eats incredibly well (he's even put on a pound).
> However, his white blood cell count is plummeting. He went from a 3.1 on
> April 2nd, to a 2.7 on May 27th, to 1.8 on June 13th.
>
> At this point it seems as though this isn't the result of an infection,
> but the progression of his leukemia. Our vet has presented us with some
> options moving forward but I'm not sure of what we should do.
>
> What's challenging is that he is so happy and vibrant right now. We're
> really afraid of doing anything that might compromise that. He is his happy
> little cheeky self and we are making the most of every moment.
>
> Our vet has suggested a series of tests (more blood, xray, urine, bone
> marrow) and they don't seem like our best option. Some are really
> invasive-like a bone marrow biopsy-and incredibly costly. We've maxed out
> all our credit options paying for Charlie's treatments so far, and there is
> only so much more we can do.
>
> Our vet has also suggested that we try putting him on steroids to see if
> that boosts his white blood cell count. She mentioned however that if this
> is an aggressive infection (and not the progression of his leukemia) the
> steroid could worsen it. She hinted that this is an option that she would
> at least try. At this point we don't have much to lose, but again we don't
> want to compromise any quality time we do have with Charlie.
>
> Our other option is to just keep him on the Baytril, and let things run
> their course. We could also wait and put him on the steroid once things
> worsen.
>
> I'd really appreciate any insights anyone can provide. This has been
> harder than I ever could have imagined. We've fallen so hard for this
> little guy and it's just been one heartbreaking visit to the vet after
> another.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Emily
>
>
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>
>
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