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

Sun Mar 1 21:23:41 CST 2015

Sally, I think I saw your post to a LTCI thread on thecatsite.com.  I
recall the cat's name, Rumi, because that's my boy's name :-)

He wasn't tested for myco and we are doing the doxy course just in case, so
hopefully that helps the situation if he's infected. The difference I see
in our Rumis is that mine not only has the immune mediated response, his
bone marrow isn't producing enough red blood cells. I'm not sure the LTCI
can bring him back from this, as much as I wish I was wrong about that. His
platelet count is so very low, as well, and I've been advised to watch him
closely for signs of hemorrhaging, which can be brought on by just about
anything at this point.

Everything I've read indicates that LTCI will buy maybe a few more months
if the condition is severe. Not sure if your Rumi was infected as a kitten
or adult, but age of onset dramatically impacts odds of recovery. My guy
was born with it.

I've started looking into Eastern medicine to help promote healthy bone
marrow function.  Not sure if it can help, but I doubt it can hurt.  And
maybe, just maybe, if meds and holistic therapies start to make a
difference, it might be worth trying the LTCI. At this point I need some
evidence, no matter how slight, that his body is capable of healing.

On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 7:56 PM, Sally Dwyer <sallyldwyer at yahoo.ca> wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> Sounds like you are doing and have so much to help your little guy.  I was
> just curious to know if they have done a pcr to determine if there is a
> mycoplasma? I know you are treating presumptively with Doxy for this, but
> it would be good to know.
>
> My guy, Rumi had a pcv of 8 three days after we got him from the SPCA  -
> he did have a mycoplasma and was also diagnosed with felv and fiv as well
> as immune mediated hymoltic anemia.  He is still with us 2 + years latter.
> We gave him doxy, 10 mg of prednislone a day and a gastro protectant.  His
> PCV climbed very slowly over the course of 3 weeks. The transfusions were
> necessary even though I remember feeling like we were pouring water into a
> bucket with a hole in it.  We crossed our fingers and prayed that the doxy
> and pred would eventually seal up "the hole."
>
> We started LTCI a year latter (wish I had started sooner) when he went IFA
> (in the bone marrow) positive.  I live in Canada and the internists we were
> working with were very negative about LTCI and had me sign a statement
> acknowledging that they did not recommend using it.6 months latter  we had
> him tested again and he was IFA negative!!!
>
> I have used Dr. Donna Spector as a consultant .  She is extremely
> competent - consults with upwards of (40 vets a day) and she recommended
> the LTCI.  You can check out her website - she will look at all the medical
> records, do a phone consult with you and also talk to/make recommendations
> to your vet.  I find her to be a wonderful combination of very sharp and
> compassionate as well as affordable.  She has often picked up on things
> that other vets have missed and I continue to run lab results by her
>
> Terry Beardsly, director and discoverer of LTCI is also very
> approachable.  He has lots of documented cases of cats responding very
> quickly in terms of PCV numbers ( in a couple of days).  Perhaps you can
> give him a call at Tcyte (800 483-2104 ext 88) and get his
> recommendations.  His wife Gale does the ordering end of things and they
> have shipped to my vet same day.   I kind of figure at this point you don't
> have a lot to lose.
>
> Hope this is helpful  and I will keep you in my thoughts,
>
> Sally
>
>
>
>
>
>   On Friday, February 27, 2015 3:01 PM, N. E. Juskowich <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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