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<div>Hi Bob,</div>
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<div>No, it does not sound disrespectful - it sounds like you are trying to come to grips with the unfairness of it all. There have been MANY kitties over the years that this group has been around that have succumbed before the age of 2, some never even made it to one year <sad>.</div>
<div>Yes, we have heard that there are various strains of the virus, and I suspect that some of them are more 'potent' than the others. Also, a kitten's immune system is not as strong as/developed as an adult cat's, so they are more susceptible to any virus or bacteria. So besides trying to find ways to suppress the virus, it helps to find something that can boost the immune system - but I get the feeling from your other posts that you already know this. </div>
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<div>Several years ago we had a Candle Lighting ceremony for any of our kitties that have left us - it was run by one of our members - Belinda, but I believe it has 'gone global'. If you go to our home page (http://www.felineleukemia.org/) you can click on the candle light service box on the left in the banner for more info. (some of the links no longer work, but you get the idea & the new links)</div>
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<div>I wish you much peace & gentle healing for your 2 kitties.</div>
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<div>Kat (Mew Jersey)</div>
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<div style="margin:0 0 10px 0;"><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 7:35 PM<br/>
<b>From:</b> "ROBERT CHAPEL" <bchapel@optonline.net><br/>
<b>To:</b> felvtalk@felineleukemia.org<br/>
<b>Cc:</b> felvtalk@felineleukemia.org<br/>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Felvtalk] Felvtalk Digest, Vol 32, Issue 54</div>
<div name="quoted-content">I hope this doesn't sound disrespectful... but I'm perplexed at all the<br/>
talk of whether or not an animal has or does NOT have the virus at 8,<br/>
10 and 12 years old... If an animal has lived this long it would<br/>
appear that he/she has a much milder form of the virus or a variant<br/>
about which little is known..... In truth though.... your cats have<br/>
already defied he odds and despite the sadness of having them (<br/>
potentially) have several years of life curtailed you will have had them<br/>
longer than the many Healthy cats I had a a youngster when it was not<br/>
uncommon for cats to die from any number of causes well before they were<br/>
10 years old..... If my boys live until 8 or 10 I will consider it<br/>
miraculous!!...... The kind of FeLV+ that REALLY concerns me is the<br/>
kind that my own boys have.... passed from the Queen.... established to<br/>
have moved into their marrow in the first 7 months of their<br/>
lives...Symptomatic from the time they were Kittens.... One looking (<br/>
yes there IS a "look" severely affected FeLV+ cats can have) very much<br/>
like a cat that simply is not going to last very long.... it is heart<br/>
wrenching to hold his little 5.8 lb body and feel all his ribs and<br/>
backbone despite his eating heartily.... He is barely a year and one<br/>
half and has already had IBD, Uveitis,Melting Corneal Ulcer, Keratitis,<br/>
Multiple bouts of Rhinitis, He is 70% blind..... I won't go on... If<br/>
he weren't not in obvious pain I would have put him down by now...<br/>
but... he is a good natured little boy who still loves his food and his<br/>
treats and curls up with me to keep warm because his body weight is so<br/>
low..... I can't tell you how happy it would make me to have him show<br/>
weight gain or be able to play again...( He's been able to play perhaps<br/>
one month of the time I've had him and his brother can't understand why<br/>
he can't play and still attacks him hoping to have a partner in his<br/>
games...... this is not what I expected when I adoped these boys but I<br/>
learned quickly...... may really have to foster another FeLV+ just so<br/>
the healthier one leaves my disabled one alone..... I've learned<br/>
quite a lot about the variants of FeLV since coming to this group but<br/>
honestly...... when I adopted these boys I never DREAMED of their<br/>
living to 8 years old and it seems quite a lot of people here are<br/>
discussing cats in that age range...... I'm having a hard time even<br/>
internalizing that as FeLV... Just wondering if there are many in the<br/>
group that have cats whose lives are being curtailed at VERY young ages<br/>
by this damnable Disease!!!<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
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