[Felvtalk] Update on Harley & Brock

[Amani Oakley]

Marsha

If you saw my previous (and first post) you'll probably think I am a one-trick pony, but in your circumstances, you have little to lose and I am going to suggest again that you might try using Winstrol on Harley and possibly with Brock as well. I have used Winstrol (Stanozolol) in very dire situations with several cats, and always managed to get at least some benefit from it. With a 17 year old cat who had a nasal adenocarcinoma, with an infection, I got some reduction in the swelling of the tumour, increased appetite and less malaise. She lived another 2 years after the diagnosis was made, even though she was terribly fragile, even at the time of the cancer diagnosis.

With a second cat - less than a year old - who came from a feral colony where I later learned many of the other kittens died at just a few weeks old and several of the older cats were diagnosed with FIP - I was sure my new adoptee also had FIP. She was quite seriously ill for two weeks with a very elevated temperature, runny nose, eyes, etc., no appetite, and I could feel a very hard tummy and hear serious wheezing. My vet confirmed she had fluid surrounding her lungs (not in the lungs), which was possibly the wet form of the disease. Again, with little to lose, I put her on the Winstrol and she recovered very well, with the fluid around her lungs reducing significantly. There is nothing wrong with her now, except continued wheezing and I plan to place her back on the Winstrol for a month to see if there is a reduction in the wheezing. 

Obviously, the decision to try this stuff will be yours to make and there may well be significant risks to your cats because of everything else that is going on, especially Brock with his heart issues. I am not a vet, but I have looked after more than 300 strays and I routinely take the ones that others say have no hope. Sometimes I can make a difference. Sometimes I can't. I am lucky in having a vet (and before that, another vet) who both had confidence in my abilities with my animals and are prepared to allow me to try things that are not necessarily conventional when faced with a cat that has no prospect of recovery.

No matter what you choose to do, I wish you every luck and my heart simply aches for what you and your babies are going through. I can totally relate.

Amani

-----Original Message-----
From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Marsha
Sent: April-28-15 11:48 PM
To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: [Felvtalk] Update on Harley & Brock

Harley has been with me 4.5 years, since he was a kitten of almost 4 months old, FeLV+ since then.  Brock was adopted as a companion for Harley 7 months ago, after Harley's FeLV+ buddy Milkdud died last May.

Harley was diagnosed with cancer in the middle ear & jaw area in March, and he had one palliative radiation treatment at the end of March.  He was supposed to get his 2nd treatment a few days later, and the tumor had grown just enough that he could not be intubated. No anesthesia = no radiation treatment.  The tumor is causing some pressure behind his right eye, and is pressing on the inner ear also, causing balance issues sometimes.  He gets meloxicam and buprenorphine (extended release) every
3 days, and this keeps him comfortable enough to eat (soft food & liquid), groom a little, roll over for belly rubs, and once in a while bat a toy, scratch on his Turbo Scratcher with the light-up ball, or rub his nose on a catnip toy.

Brock gave me a shock.  I took him in for a voracious appetite without gaining weight, and itchiness around the head and neck, thinking maybe hyperthyroidism.  Blood work showed potential kidney issue, urinalysis the same, high blood pressure.  An ultrasound was scheduled to look at the kidneys, and everybody was surprise to find he had free fluid in his abdominal area.  110 cc of chyle was drawn off, needle aspirations taken of kidney and liver.  Almost certainly lymphoma, they thought.  Cytology came back negative for that, and he went to see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram.  Final diagnosis:  restrictive cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure.  He is only 4-5 years old.  He does not look or act like anything is wrong, and the physical exam never suggested he had that pleural effusion in there.  Now he is on 4 heart meds, and a potassium supplement.  The pleural effusion is under control for now, but I've been told this kind of cardiomyopathy is the worst of 3 kinds.

Marsha, Harley, & Brock

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