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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">My condolences on your loss of Yang. <br>
<br>
You just have to take it one day at a time with Merlot, and savor
each day of good health. Survival time seems to be such a roll of
the dice with FeLV. I lost FeLV+ Milkdud in May, after 4.5 good
years. His buddy Harley is still with me after 3.5 years, but he
is lonesome for his friend. <br>
<br>
I don't think probiotics would be helpful for a FeLV+ cat. Feed
the highest quality diet you can afford, avoiding grains like corn
on the ingredients list. I personally would not feed a raw meat
diet to a cat with a disease that compromises their immune
system. <br>
<br>
For symptom-free Harley, I am currently giving a few drops of
Vetri-DMG in his canned food, and a VitaChews multivitamin. I am
looking at other possibilites also, but didn't want to throw too
much at him at once. He appeared to have the beginnings of
stomatitis at his last checkup, but it hasn't bothered him - he
eats with no discomfort. He will have a 3-month follow-up, and if
there has been progression, I will be looking at importing
Virbagen Omega. My vet conferred with others through the
Veterinary Information Network, and looked at informational
material I gave him, and didn't feel it would be beneficial at
this time.<br>
<br>
Marsha<br>
<br>
<br>
On 7/24/2014 2:12 PM, Maya D'Alessio wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAA=ZoLnSA+vQDkSgqbe5kCasxg=wOVMMJ0Rx7z4yGM1ygeYztQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Hello everyone,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>My cat Merlot, just tested positive for FeLV yesterday
afternoon. We had him tested, because my three year old cat
Yang (female) started acting ill at the end of June, the next
morning I took her in to the vets and we discovered she was
anemic, jaundiced and had a high fever. They checked her
blood levels and found she was anemic (about 13, vs 26 in a
healthy cat). She stayed at the vet during the day and her
blood levels didn't get any worse, and our vet was optimistic.
They transferred her over to the emergency clinic which was
open all evening and in to the weekend. They monitored her
overnight and her red blood cells decreased, her fever lowered
but she went past normal to too cold. That morning the blood
tests came back and she was positive for FeLV. We were
shocked. Even worse was that her detailed blood work showed
no uptick in blood cell production, where she should have
increased production, she actually had almost no production.
We then got to see her before we had to put her down. That
was the hardest day of my life.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Now, with Merlot testing positive I am terrified of losing
him so quickly, and I am still grieving for Yang. I know the
statistics are not great for long term prognosis, but he is
currently healthy (just a tiny bit of gingivitis - we are
going to start brushing his teeth). What can I do to keep him
healthy? How do I live with him everyday without starting to
grieve him already? I know we all are going to die someday,
but this just feels like it is going to hang over me. I am
still doing reading on the disease and newer treatments and
such, but do these all start after the cat becomes noticeably
ill, or are there things I can be doing now to help keep him
healthy? Are probiotics helpful in this case?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>For those who have or have had a healthy FeLV cat, how long
did they stay healthy for?</div>
<div><br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr">Maya D'Alessio
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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<br>
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