[Felvtalk] Please help! Anemic felv kitty, what can be done??

Sat Feb 28 01:02:47 CST 2015

        Hi,
    No, Bailey didn't have any kidney issues, we strongly suspected he 
had cancer but couldn't get a conclusive diagnosis and without knowing 
what type of cancer we couldn't treat him for it (as I said in my 
previous email, turns out he had pancreatic cancer), I truly believe he 
had untreated pancreatitis that turned into cancer.  He became anemic 
during that time and was down to an HCT of 15%, by the time I got the 
epogen he was down to 12%, while taking the epogen his HCT went down to 
10% but then started to go up.  We got it up to 25%, 26% and maintained 
it there.  Epogen is not cheap but it was well worth it.  I had used 
procrit on my CRF kitty Fred, because at the time epogen wasn't 
available and we couldn't wait.  He lived with CRF for 4 years and I 
lost him in the end at 18 years old to heart failure.  Four years of 
fluids everyday finally caught up to him.

My vet didn't think it would help either but what did we have to lose, 
that was one thing about her I loved, she was very willing to work with 
me, I researched my butt off and I am sure she got tired of hearing me 
say "I found this on the internet" and then ask her if we could try it.  
She almost always let me try what I had found unless she really thought 
it would be harmful, I think she only talked me out of something once.  
She is the reason we live in the town that we live in.  Unfortunately 
she is no longer practicing here and I miss her so much, she was one of 
a kind, best vet ever!!

I had Bailey who was positive and at one time 7 other kitties, all 
negative.  None of the others ever became positive, they ate, slept, 
played and on occasion had spats together, she knew our situation and 
living arrangements and was fine with it.  The negatives were all 
vaccinated and tested for the first 3 years, always negative, Bailey 
always positive.  I lost my little Bailey in 2006.  He is the last 
positive I've had, I had 4 positives in the 80's, long before Bailey 
joined the family.  Back when not much was know or talked about FeLV, I 
had never heard of it when my guys were tested and came up positive.  
One of my positives back then turned negative and remained negative for 
the remainder of her life.  I lost the other 3 to cancer and anemia, my 
then vet had not recommended a transfusion or anything when Frankie was 
checked and his HTC was 6%, he passed at home that night, I don't think 
she had a clue what to do for him.  I learned more about FeLV then I 
ever wanted to know after that ...

On 2/27/2015 1:26 PM, N. E. Juskowich wrote:
> Belinda,
> Was Bailey diagnosed with kidney disease or did his bloodwork indicate 
> that anything was amiss with his kidneys? I did come across Epogen in 
> my research, but the doctor overseeing his care following the first 
> transfusion insisted it's only for anemia resulting from renal disease 
> and they wouldn't administer it to him because it could potentially 
> cause a reaction.  Not sure if I can convince a different doctor to 
> try it, but I am curious as to whether or not it could work in cats 
> with perfectly functioning kidneys.
>
> Very sorry for your loss, btw. What a horrible disease this is.
>
> On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 3:41 PM, Belinda <macat at bemikitties.com 
> <mailto:macat at bemikitties.com>> wrote:
>
>         When my Bailey was anemic and yes it was non regenerative
>     anemia, we tried Epogen, it kept his HCT within normal range, I
>     have also used Procrit, when my CRF kitty was anemic.  My vet
>     didn't think it would do any good but I figured what did we have
>     to lose except his life .... he lived for months until the cancer
>     we could diagnose took him.  We knew he had cancer but non of the
>     tests or ultra sounds gave us a definitive diagnosis.  After he
>     passed my vet did a necropsy and he had pancreatic cancer which I
>     suspected because he didn't want to eat and sometimes his tube
>     feedings seemed to bother him.
>
>     There is also something called Eprex, which I have not heard of or
>     used.
>
>
>     On 2/27/2015 12:21 PM, Katherine K. wrote:
>>
>>     On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 3:00 PM, N. E. Juskowich
>>     <nej917 at gmail.com <mailto:nej917 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>         Time is of the essence for us and I need to know if there's
>>         something else that can be done for my sweet little
>>         just-turned-one-year-old boy.  He had a PCV of 12% and
>>         received a blood transfusion, his PCV went up a little, then
>>         back down, then up to 17% over the course of 24 hours.  He
>>         was put on 7.5 mg. prednisone, 25 mg. mycophenolate, 18.75
>>         mg. plavix (to prevent clots from the pred/mycophenolate
>>         combo), 25 mg. doxycycline (in case of mycoplasma infection),
>>         and 5 mg. famotidine to prevent GI issues from the pred.
>>
>>         His anemia is currently non-regenerative with two most likely
>>         potential causes: he was agglutination positive, a sign of
>>         immune mediated red blood cell destruction; he may have
>>         leukemia in the marrow.  We did not do a bone marrow aspirate
>>         because cancer would be too advanced at this stage, the
>>         severe anemia indicating this to be the case.  The doctor
>>         said it could take a few days of immunosuppressant therapy
>>         for the bone marrow to respond.
>>
>>         Two days after the PCV of 17% we had a recheck and it is now
>>         down to 14%.  He is going to receive another transfusion.
>>
>>         I need to know as quickly as possible: Is there anything else
>>         that can be done at this stage?  I was looking into treatment
>>         with TCyte (LTCI), but my vet said it would be a waste of
>>         time and money.  I'd read on a forum that a severely anemic
>>         felv kitty responded very well to the drug and I would've
>>         been willing to give it a shot.  My vet is of the opinion
>>         that I should not have bothered with this second transfusion
>>         (he had to go to emergency hospital for it) and the TCyte is
>>         "hogwash".  I'm sitting here feeling hopeless and wondering
>>         if this really is the end and what do I do now if he doesn't
>>         respond to the transfusion.
>>
>>         Any advice would be greatly appreciated. No sugar coating
>>         necessary, but please be gentle.  If nothing can be done,
>>         what can I do for him to keep him happy and comfortable? 
>>         Will he need euthanized or will he pass peacefully?
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
>     -- 
>
>     Belinda
>     happiness is being owned by cats and Emma ...
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>
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Belinda
happiness is being owned by cats and Emma ...
http://MyFundit.com/site
http://FreeAnimalRescueWebsite.org
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