[Felvtalk] FW: Felvtalk Digest, Vol 47, Issue 6

[Amani Oakley]

Jennifer – I actually answered you yesterday, but the darned email was caught up by the FeLV filter which captures emails that have too long an email trail.

I have cut out some of the earlier emails to enable the email to go through (hopefully).

Amani

From: Amani Oakley
Sent: June-10-18 3:22 PM
To: 'felvtalk at felineleukemia.org'
Subject: RE: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk Digest, Vol 47, Issue 6

What a very sad story about your blind cat. I understand your heart break. I too have placed cats into what I thought were excellent homes, only to have a sad, and an unnecessarily tragic outcome. I have probably adopted out close to 400 cats in the time my husband and I have been rescuing cats. Thankfully, most of the time, people are just really happy to return a cat to me if things aren’t working out, but I know only too well that once out of my hands, you’re at the mercy of what someone else thinks is the right thing to do.

Your email to felv talk goes out to everyone on the list at the same time. I will often answer regarding FeLV because I was lucky enough to have stumbled on a medication protocol (which I was calling Zander’s protocol) which treated my Zander’s FeLV when EVERYTHING else had failed. I used to be a medical lab technologist so lab results are key to me. When trying Zander on the various medications that were suggested as assisting with FeLV, I got weekly bloodwork done and would study the results to see which direction his bloodwork was going. Nothing worked at all (Interferon, LTCI, combo of prednisone/Doxy) and I kept him alive with several blood transfusions. When that was no longer an option because he had had a reaction during his last blood transfusion and the next one would kill him, I rummaged around in my drawer of cat meds, and had nothing else at all to try but figured what the hell, and tried him on Winstrol (Stanazalol) which I thought might at least keep him eating and maybe keep him alive a bit longer. To my complete and utter amazement and disbelief, after just a few days on Winstrol, his ivory white gums and inner ears (signs of his profound anemia) started showing a slight pinkish blush. The next blood work (a few days later) showed the first uptick in haematocrit that I had seen with him since the FeLV crisis had begun, which was not brought on by the artificial increase in red cells from his transfusions.

I kept him on the combination of prednisone/doxycycline/winstrol  for more than a year, while his haematocrit climbed from 10 and back into the normal reference range of 25 to 45. Everytime I tried to stop or reduce the dosage of winstrol, his blood results would show an immediate drop in red cells and haematocrit, so even though his liver enzymes went way up (the reason Winstrol had fallen out of favour with the vets), I really had no choice but to continue since the vets had nothing else to offer me and the alternative was he was going to die from the FeLV infection. He recovered fully, looked marvelous and amazing, ate well, and his liver enzymes went right back to normal once I discontinued the Winstrol – something like 10 months later.

No one seemed to know this combination, and the vets I spoke with seemed wary or suspicious that this combination would indeed be helpful in FeLV (except mine – who had of course seen the weekly blood work showing a slow and steady rise in red cells and ultimately, in white cells and platelets, until his entire haematological profile looked perfectly fine). At the time, I was understandably extremely excited by the effects of the Winstrol and I believe that the Winstrol was able to cause the production of new bone marrow cells (something it has been found to do in osteoporotic women) and thus, new cells which could produce the red cells. However, I now also think that the combination worked because the Doxycycline was able to retard or slow down the viral replication, to allow the red cell production to move ahead with less risk that the FeLV would attack the new bone marrow cells. I have been told that the prednisone helps protect the liver from the Winstrol, but I also think that it’s anti-inflammatory properties helped in areas like intestinal inflammation (Zander had lots of trouble eating and keeping the food down). So, I think maybe I by accident stumbled on this combination, but was able to understand what might be happening and why it might have worked, because of my scientific/medical training.

Zander lived another 7 years and died from a heart condition which I wondered at the time if it was related, and it might have been, but it probably was that the virus had done a fair amount of damage to certain organs before I was able to get it under control. We loved Zander to a crazy extent, and I sure as hell wanted him with us for longer than 7 years, but given that the vets were telling us there was no hope when he was only six months old, I guess I must just be grateful that we had him for so much longer than that.

Amani

From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer Minnich
Sent: June-10-18 6:54 AM
To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk at felineleukemia.org>
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk Digest, Vol 47, Issue 6

Thanks so much Amani.  What an amazing global group.  Very awesome to have such support for folks and these cats, everywhere!

Amani, when I am emailing you now, is it going out to the group or just you? For example, is there a different email I should be using.  Please let me know, and then I’ll
have the hang of it, thanks!-:)

I really appreciate ur time, compassion, and advice and communication. I will keep in mind the advice on the doxy for sure.

Our understanding predominantly is that FIV is via bite wounds, where my experience with one cat who fortunately wasn’t aggressive and fit with the environment.
My understanding with Felv is via bites as well also general contact.  With so much contraversy about it, it’s very interesting from what u share how some seem to spread or get it while others don’t.... like life, a continual learning process for me..

Canada wow - I am in south florida and long story short I flew with a special needs senior blind cat I rescued and rehabbed to his furrever home in canada. He was purrfectly fine when I left him there (and yes I was very attached b/c I knew everything about him) (only reason I decided to home him was b/c I had a sick older cat and I feared it may stress her, and that he may have been better off.....he was an amazing special soul!!!  Very special.   I settled him in for a few says all was fine;  But 3 weeks later he took a crazy turn where he was worse off than when I first found him (and he was bad off with broken pelvis), and, they euthanized-:( my heart still and always will hurt over it.  They were nice people and good animal people with good intentions but IMO made mistakes and would not heed my advice for transitioning him. Rushed it with their other animals which freaked him out;  he fell off the bed, yada yada.   They said he had cancer.  Based on what I’d ask? No answer. Anything may have been b/c he too was community cat with unknown background, altho all his same tests I had from a month prior were fine.   I asked (begged) to share his medical records which aside from my own edification, I felt his story and whatever caused his demise, could Really help other cats somehow. His story was extraordinary, as was/is he. So for it to end that way and be ignored as to why, was cruel and unjust. Like if nothing to hide, why not share the records.  To this day a year and half later I still wish I had them for some kind of closure, not only for me but his story in order to help other cats in similar situations.   Sorry I strayed (no punn intended Lol) from the topic.

Like you said, and you have much more experience, about putting them back out, esp. being vulnerable/sick and after they’ve experienced love.

Jennifer

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