[Felvtalk] (no subject)

Thu Jun 9 16:36:39 CDT 2016

Kelley

One of the things that FeLV is known to do is to infiltrate the bone marrow, infect the precursor cells in there, and once the bone marrow is filled with infected cells, these cells, whose job it is to make new red cells, white cells and platelets, can no longer do so. This is what usually causes the anemia in FeLV, and that is why it is usually accompanied with a depression of the other two cell lines as well – the white cells and the platelets, because the virus has infected all the precursor cells.

There is no question that anemia can be caused by a whole lot of things. Hell, I’ve been living with profound anemia for most of my life, (probably a Mediterranean trait – no disease has caused it). Anemia can also be caused by tumours, especially bone marrow, because again, this prevents the bone marrow from making red cells. It can be caused by insufficient production of erythropoietin, often because of kidney disease, but not always. It can be diet-based – insufficient iron or nutrition. It can be caused by infections that target and destroy red cells like Hemobartonella in cats and Malaria in humans. But FeLV typically invades and destroys the bone marrow which is the red cell making “machine”, along with the source of platelets and white cells. You don’t normally see a depression of all three cell lines in other conditions. With FeLV, you can get a depression of one, two or three cell lines. Death usually is the result of having a profoundly anemic cat, who cannot transport oxygen or nutrients to cells in the body, but not always, as FeLV can also cause tumours to be produced in some cats.

So I agree with you that it isn’t the virus, per se, but it never is. Every problematic organism causes some undesirable effect on a body, and it is that undesirable effect that might cause the death.

Amani

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Kelley S
Sent: June-09-16 5:23 PM
To: felvtalk
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] (no subject)

Yes, but anemia is a condition  It isn't necessarily caused by FELV.  I've had cats with anemia who didn't have FELV, and if her kitty had FELV the bloodwork would not have come back right, unless her kitty wasn't tested for anemia, but anemia is one of the things all my vets have always checked on with bloodwork.   I guess anemia isn't an infection, and neither is cancer, so I completely misstated that, but I still believe cats don't die OF FELV, they die of something else.  As for the other kitty being pos, I just remembered that even cats who have tested pos and been housed with other pos cats can turn neg, it happens every once in a while.  So definitely not good to assume the other kitty is pos.

On Thu, Jun 9, 2016 at 4:12 PM, Amani Oakley <aoakley at oakleylegal.com<mailto:aoakley at oakleylegal.com>> wrote:
Kelley

I don’t think that is necessarily accurate. When FeLV acts to shut down the bone marrow, the cats usually die from severe anemia and/or internal bleeding (very low platelets) etc. While I agree that the depression of white cell production may allow for the introduction of opportunistic infections, I don’t think that is necessarily the cause of death. With my Zander, he wasn’t suffering from anything other than a profound lack of red cells that meant that (a) his blood couldn’t circulate oxygen properly; (b) he felt horrible and wouldn’t eat; (c) he was extremely fatigued by the profound anemia.

Amani

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org>] On Behalf Of Kelley S
Sent: June-09-16 5:01 PM
To: felvtalk
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] (no subject)

I'd look into a different vet, for starters.  Cats don't die of FELV, they die of opportunistic infections due to compromised immune systems.  If the blood tests were good, what specifically was being treated?  Chances are very good Dolce does NOT have FELV.  Many people here mix positive and negative, as do I with my vet's approval, although my negative cats are vaccinated against FELV.  I think it is just nutty to say not to even test him.

On Thu, Jun 9, 2016 at 2:48 PM, Mary Muzyka <mary.muzyka at gmail.com<mailto:mary.muzyka at gmail.com>> wrote:
Hello,

I've been following everyone's comments, which have been very informative.  I recently lost my 3 year old girl, Fiona, to feline leukemia.  She was gone within two weeks.  She went from a very active and healthy girl to barely walking and shaking in a two week period.  I first noticed that she wasn't jumping on my bed or anything else for that matter.  I took her to the vet and they did blood work and called me within an hour of leaving their office telling me she tested positive.  They then sent her blood out for other various tests and the results were all good for her not having any other problems.  Each day she got a little less active and then stopped eating and drinking.  I used a syringe to feed and give her water for a couple days and then took her back to the vet.  She injected fluids under her skin and when I got home, she began eating and drinking immediately.  They also gave me a couple pills to give her to stimulate her appetite - they only worked once.  She was shutting down and looked so sad.  The morning she could barely walk and was shaking told me it was time to put her down.  It broke my heart.  I rescued her from the streets and when I had her fixed at one year old, they tested for HIV & leukemia and she was negative.  She has been living with my four year old boy, Dolce, for two years sharing food bowls and litter boxes.  My vet tells me there is a 99% chance that Dolce was infected.  He is in perfect health right now.  The vet basically said she wouldn't bother testing him because she is certain he would have it.  From what I've been reading from the posts here, there is a change he might not be infected.  They used to run and play together, but never did I see her bight him.  I want to add that since I rescued her, she never was outside again.  From what I've been reading, no one has lost a cat this quickly to the disease.  Makes me think she had something else.  I don't have much faith in vets from my experience over the years.  I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Mary Muzyka

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