[Felvtalk] need some help/advice

Matt Pardo mpardo at velocitystorm.com
Tue Sep 16 14:39:27 CDT 2014


Thank you, Lee! I talked to my vet who is concerned that because of his stress levels, we should see if his current treatment will help enough. He is concerned that being hospitalized for a transfusion will be too much for him. He gets EXTREMELY stressed to the point of making himself violently ill. He was a feral cat for most of his life so he hates cars and all other people. Anyway, he seems to be improving a tiny bit although I am hoping it isn’t my mind playing tricks on me. I am excited that he is drinking water again and I am hopeful that he will start eating on his own.

No fleas…I haven’t let him outside (or any of my cats) for the last 4 years.

Anyway, thanks again, Lee!

From: Lee Evans [mailto:moonsister22 at yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2014 8:01 PM
To: Matt Pardo; felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] need some help/advice

Roughy needs a transfusion if his breathing is labored. The anemia is getting him. Can you take him to a clinic that offers blood-matching transfusions? My poor Bunny had labored breathing and progressive anemia towards the end. Her bone marrow was not producing any red cells. Maybe you can buy some time for Roughy. His bone marrow may still be producing red cells but not in the quantity he needs. If he gets a good dose of healthy blood, it will help him eat again. You may need to stop the cortisone. You need a second opinion from a vet who is up on the latest data regarding feline leukemia. What Roughy may have is non-generative anemia but maybe not. He may still be in the stage of generating red cells. Have you treated him for fleas? Cats can also get flea anemia which responds well to a transfusion.

On Sunday, September 14, 2014 7:14 PM, Matt Pardo <mpardo at velocitystorm.com<mailto:mpardo at velocitystorm.com>> wrote:

Thanks for the feedback, Lee. We were hoping that Roughy had turned negative because we have had him for four years. He is our only FeLV+ cat and he is FIV+/FeLV+. I feel like a real idiot for not getting him tested. I should have been prepared for this. Right now, I am just praying we get through the weekend. His breathing seems so difficult and I know he hasn’t slept very much (nor have I). I am reading more about treatments and I am not sure my vet is very current on treatments. He is a great vet, but he didn’t present any real options. Ugh.

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Lee Evans
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2014 5:54 PM
To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk at felineleukemia.org>
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] need some help/advice

Hi Matt -  I have had several cats who turned from FeLv+ to negative. One who turned back to positive after turning to negative passed away very quickly. Odd case because my other "turned cat" lived to be 12 years old. He was about a year old when I rescued him, he was positive and then turned negative. Lived a pretty long life too, considering he had been a street cat before I got him.  I still have one who was both FeLv+ and FIV+. He turned negative for leukemia but not for FIV but FIV is not a serious issue around my place. They usually live as long as negative cats.

I was under the impression that cats who are positive for leukemia are not supposed to be given cortisone shots or oral cortisone medication. It will increase a cat's appetite for a while, but not for long. Cortisone also has a bad effect on the cat's kidneys if given regularly. I could not find anything current on Facebook although there are a couple of pages for Leukemia positive cats but no postings since 2011 and 2012. I don't think you will be getting any up to the minute information on those pages.

On Sunday, September 14, 2014 12:12 PM, Matt Pardo <mpardo at velocitystorm.com<mailto:mpardo at velocitystorm.com>> wrote:

Hi everyone, I am new to the list. I have been looking through the archives for an answer, but haven’t found it yet. Sorry if this has been answered before.

My cat, named Roughy, was a feral cat with FIV and FeLV. I have had him for about four years now with only minor infections. However, on Thursday, he didn’t eat. On Friday, I took him to the vet. The vet said he was extremely anemic…unfortunately, I was too shell shocked to ask for a copy of the lab results so I can’t say what that means. He gave him a shot of dexamethasone on Friday and gave him fluids. He seemed much better when I took him home. He gave me some dex to give him to him. I could have sworn he said one time a day, but the label says 2 times per day (every 12 hours). My concern is that I am giving him too much dex. The dosage per pill is 0.5 mg which nets to 1 mg per 24 hours. Is this ok/normal? This is the first anemia I have experienced and I am really worried. Poor Roughy had a really rough night Friday. Last night was a bit better, but he still seems to be struggling. I would really appreciate it if anyone knows if that dosage is ok. Of course, I have tried contacting my vet, but I can’t get him.

Thanks!

Matt


_______________________________________________
Felvtalk mailing list
Felvtalk at felineleukemia.org<mailto: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/20140916/8e2ffb90/attachment-0001.html>


More information about the Felvtalk mailing list