Wednesday April 1, 1998 Part 2 20 Messages ====================================== From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 04:34:48 -0600 Subject: Re: Ernie, Ann To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Ann, Thanks for the good thoughts. I have been reading "The Gretchen Chronicles" religiously, and am so glad things are working out. You are really enlightening your vet by bringing him all this info. (He must be "old school" if he has still been giving injections in the back/neck area.) I'm glad you found out the interferon info--I was at a loss to help you as Ernie has only been on Immunoregulan (briefly) and then Acemannan, but I want to learn more about interferon. (Also want to do some research on it for a friend of mine w/ lupus.) As for screens, what we have done is the old double-screen trick: You can buy adjustable screens at the hardware store; these sit in the window, held in place by the window itself, in front of your "outside" screen. This has worked well for us as the adjustable screens are easily replaced if torn and this offers a double barrier for the kitties. I have always wanted to tell you how much I like the name Gretchen for your kitty. Where did you get the name Qetta? Take Care, Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 04:41:36 -0600 Subject: Re: Being Absent To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Linda, I wasn't in the group yet when you lost Russian, but I read your tribute to your baby on the Rainbow Bridge site. I hope you will be able to put your baby's picture in there. You have been through so much. I will certainly put you in my prayers while you are caring for your ill hubby and trying to manage all that work yourself. Best Wishes, Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 04:45:48 -0600 Subject: Re: Stinker To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Lynn, I hope Stinker is feeling better today. Please let us know how he's doing. I'm glad his pain has somewhat subsided. You're doing a wonderful job!!! Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 04:53:52 -0600 Subject: Re: Barb Re: Nancy To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Ann, I thought you came up with the interferon for FeLV- cats idea!!! We bounce so many ideas around, it's hard to remember what came from where. Susan -------------------------------------- Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 07:29:18 -0500 (EST) From: Kat To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Ernie Update Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net susan, Is it possible that the 1/2 lb. drop in Ernie's weight is due to the tumor draining and not actual loss of body weight??? Kat (New Jersey) -------------------------------------- From: "James G. Wilson" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 13:31:05 +0000 Subject: Re: Jim-Interferon Info Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hey Susan, > Jim, > > Could you send me this info too? I am putting together info on newer > treatments for FeLV cats for my vet. Thanks, Susan If you have your vet order the Interferon from the address below, it will be pre-mixed to 30 units per mL (the proper dosage needed to treat FeLV+ cats). Island Pharmacy Services 1707 Highway 51 N. Woodruff, Wisconsin 54568 1-800-328-7060 PROTOCOL: Human recombinant alpha interferon: 30 units per day orally (targetted under the tongue) for seven days on, then seven days off, alternately until the symptoms subside. Some folks have had success using the protocol of giving it every third day at the same dosage and target. > PS (I have been unable to access the company info on interferon for > FeLV+ cats and couldn't find any articles on its use in cats when I did a search. > Is most of the info on interferon just anecdotal?) Yes, it is all anecdotal. Funding problems, lack of faith in the results, and any myriad of "administrative" hinderances have put FeLV research at a crawl. Hopefully, with the evidence we are amassing here, we can help researchers gain the thrust they need to get proper backing for full studies on these treatments. If you need more info on the Interferon or other treatments, please do not hesitate to ask. Take care, and best wishes. In loving memory of Vyvyan: March 20, 1988 - August 15, 1997 James G. Wilson phaedrus@ctnet.net, phaedrus69@hotmail.com, felv@angelfire.com http://www.angelfire.com/il/felv/ http://www.litchfieldil.com/members/phaedrus/ http://www.fortunecity.com//skyscraper/sterling/20/niu.html -------------------------------------- From: "Lynn Stickels" To: "felvtalk" Subject: Stinker Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 07:25:26 -0800 Reply-to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Stinker is still feeling pretty bad. He was vomiting all night and this morning. I did get up in the night cause he was trying to eat the hard cat food and it hurt him so I gave him his turkey baby food. He ate it up.:) I think he will be alright with a little more time. I don't know about me though.:) I will hold off on his medicine and supplements till this afternoon and see how his tummy is doing then. Thanks for all of the letters I got this morning.:) I think of you all and your kitties and keep up with each one even if I don't write to all of you.................Lynn(Stinker) -------------------------------------- From: "James G. Wilson" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 13:59:46 +0000 Subject: (Fwd) Re: Stinker Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 21:53:13 +0200 From: Nina To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Stinker Reply-To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Oh Lynn I am hoping for you...... Nina -------------------------------------- Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 11:03:12 -0500 From: Kathy To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Stinker Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Lynn, My furries and I are sending you many, many FEEL BETTER VIBES for Stinker and for you too! I sure hope things will settle down for him. Have you called the vet to report on what's happening? > Poor little guy, we're all pulling for him. Keep us informed! > Kathy G and the 3 furries in Daytona Beach =^.^= Rusty =^.^= Smokey =^.^= Money see us at: http://cgi.gambitsys.com/homey/webdoc5.htm The Cat: Mother Nature's Masterpiece -------------------------------------- Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 10:12:16 -0600 (CST) From: "Nancy A. Schmall" To: felvtalk Subject: Re: Stinker Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Lynn, Looking forward to Stinker feeling better! Sending positive energy. Nancy -------------------------------------- Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 11:32:31 -0500 From: Selena Walker To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Selena -Reply Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Ann, I'm glad that you made the decision to introduce your kitties to each other. The hardest part is deciding what to do--once you've decided a huge weight has been lifted, and as you say, everything becomes peaceful. I'm sure all your kitties will adjust to each other and then one day you'll find a heap of kitties sleeping together on your bed or the couch. All evidence that they hadn't always been happy, together, since forever, will have vanished! It always works that way for my cats anyhow. (Well...except for a little squabble here and there). Kudos to you for working hard to enlighten your vet. Obviously he just needed a push in the right direction from someone determined--like you! I wonder though if it is more common for general vets rather than vets who focus on cats only, to recommend euthanasia of felv + kitties. I have been very lucky with my 'cats only' vet. He never recommended euthanasia for my Zachie, even all those years ago when Zachie was first diagnosed, and felv was a (relatively) newly diagnosed disease. Your family tree project sounds wonderful. An adventure in search of your roots. I hope you have a nice visit with your newly found relatives. Ontario is a great place to live and visit. Summer is especially nice--provided you have air conditioning for the couple of weeks of really hot humid weather we get sometimes in July :). There are many great places to see and things to do. Good luck and head butts all around! Selena swalker@rohcg.on.ca in memory of Zachie, June 1982-November 1994 -------------------------------------- From: "Steve Lackow" To: "FeLV Talk" Subject: Flea Season Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 13:01:18 -0800 Reply-to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi everyone. Just wanted to remind everybody that April means the start of flea season, and if your FeLV cat has any exposure to fleas (from other animals, including you) you really need to be proactive as anemia is a killer for our kitties. Since our cats are already getting drugs and supplements, and because there are nontoxic topical solutions like Frontline that have become available in the past year, it does seem that monthly topical rather than systemic (internal) solutions to fleas are better. Pointedly, I use an herbal collar containing eucalyptus and pass eucalyptus leaves over my cat, and that may not be a very smart way to go because you don't want kitty absorbing large amounts of the oil, especially when grooming. Dr. Myers has been kind enough to point that out, and I have also read about this in the last few days. The whole issue has unexpectedly come up because, one sunny day a few weeks ago when the temperature was in the 80's, I decided to let Chloe out in the backyard to lay in the sun for a while in her old favorite spot while I read the paper. The fleas were on her like white on rice. I violated my own cardinal rule, which is to limit opportunistic illness in an immunodeficient animal. Stuff happens. Chloe is certainly paying a high price right now for her half hour of joy, and it seems at least as emotional than physical. Not worth it, definitely not doing this ever again. Inside means inside. -- Steve -------------------------------------- From: WORKPARK Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 16:01:37 EST To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Flea Season Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Oh Steve, I'm sorry to hear about Chloe. I know you were just giving her a treat. :( I'm sure that you'll be able to nurse her through this, as you've been a wonderful dad. :) Pam -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 17:51:20 -0600 Subject: Re: Ernie Update To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Kat, That is something we didn't consider, thanks. However, he seems thinner. I hope that the drainage is what caused the loss. I am trying a/d food now. If I can't get him eating more soon, my vet suggested an anabolic steroid, not the corticoid (sp?) kind, which is the kind that poses serious risks, I believe. (Prednisone is a corticoid, isn't it?) Best, Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 18:01:04 -0600 Subject: Re: Flea Season To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Steve, I'm sorry you are having to struggle w/ the fleas and the fear the harm they could do to Chloe welfare. It is hard to be so vigilant all the time. Sometimes you want to relax, HAVE to. Chloe is lucky to have you. Thanks for reminding us all to be more cautious when spring fever strikes. Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 18:04:34 -0600 Subject: Re: Stinker To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Lynn, I'm sorry your baby is suffering still. Is he feeling any better now? (I notice you posted this this morning.) Let us know. Susan -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 18:27:36 -0600 Subject: Ernie, odd dilation To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, I wasn't going to say anything because my vet says Ernie is fine, but I'm still worried. Today at lunch I came home to check Ernie and saw that his eyes were dilating back and forth, not dramatically, but there was no change in the light so it scared me. Also frightening: one pupil looked larger than the other. I took him to the vet's and he spent the afternoon there. She feels he is doing allright, so I shouldn't worry, right? Not unless he shows some other symptoms. It's just that in my gut I felt that something was wrong, but am trying very hard not to overreact. Okay, thanks for listening. Susan -------------------------------------- From: "Cheri Gardiner" To: Subject: Re: Surf Finds Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 18:50:47 -0600 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi all! I need help. I took Kitty and Chaz to the doctor today for FeLV and blood tests. Chaz is doing pretty good. His blood tests were actually better than in November. Unfortunately KItty is doing doing as well. She has a kidney infection caused by the FeLV.The vet has her on Clavamox twice a day. I still give her cranberry powder in her wet food. She is also back on the immunoregulin shots. Twice a week for two weeks, then once a week for four weeks. ANy ideas on what else I can do? This is my little "girl." She is such a sweetheart and a good friend. I'm open to suggestions. Cheri G., Kitty & Chaz In memory of my little boy Mickye -------------------------------------- From: "Cheri Gardiner" To: Subject: Re: Being Absent Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 18:56:10 -0600 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Linda, My thoughts and prayers are with your and your husband. If you want to chat privately, e mail moshiko@netconx.net. Cheri G., Kitty & Chaz In memory of my little boy Mickey -------------------------------------- From: AskforArt Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 20:14:56 EST To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Ernie, odd dilation Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Susan-- the unequal dialation of pupils is not an unusual occurance in Felv kitties, and the book that I have that addresses the subject states that no one knows why that happens. I know that doesn't help much, but that's just part of the disease. Hoover has been like that for almost a year now, and it comes and goes. Linda P -------------------------------------- END