Thursday May 14, 1998 Part 1 20 Messages ====================================== From: "zimmerman" To: Subject: Re: Vet Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 01:24:03 -0400 Reply-to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Pam, Actually, I got all my information from Jim. When I took the treatment page to my current vet he told me JACKSON wouldn't get better, but when he saw I really wanted to try a treatment he started the Immuno. & when I wanted Interferon he ordered it because I bought the whole liter. I think he's overall a knowledgeable vet but was so skeptical because he didn't know where the information was coming from & there are alot of crazy ideas out there. So, I don't think he's ready for the list yet, but I heard he's using Immuno. on another cat because of JACKSON's success. Thanks to you, Angela, & Arlene for the welcome, Beth -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 01:35:08 -0500 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: Ann M Blais Subject: Vaccinating felv+ cat Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Well, the general concensus has been not to vaccinate Qetta and Honey. Thanks for all the input to help me in this decision, I really appreciate this. I'll just get them tested and let you know if they test out negative as soon as I find out. I dread to do this, in my case, ignorance feels like bliss. If one or both of them turn out to be positive I guess I will just have to deal with it. Nancy, that is great news on Panther. I probably would give the Immunoregulin shots, it will help any other felv problems that may develop. Kelly, I am sending good thoughts for Jade in hopes that the medicine will keep sight in the good eye. Welcome to the list, Beth, this is a great place with many helpful and supportive people here. Ann M. -------------------------------------- From: Kelly To: "'felvtalk@MailingList.net'" Subject: RE: Kelly & Jade's Uveitis Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 23:47:05 -0700 Reply-to: felvtalk@MailingList.net I read the information on your page about Acemannan and Interferon. The Acemannan sounds like very good thing to get Jade on. Although the Interferon links were down so I could not really research it very well. Would a combination of Prednisone, Acemannan, and Interferon work well? Or is that too much? I'm assuming the prices you gave me were in U.S. dollars, Im in canada so I'm probably looking at another 10$ each medication. Not too much of a big deal, I just gotta figure out my financial situation (which sucks) and squeeze the medication into the budget. My g/f said she would help. Thanks a lot for the info James, Jade and I really appreciate it. Were could I find some info on the COMBO eye drops is taking. Take care. Kelly. -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 08:22:17 +0100 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: BILL BEAMISH Subject: Re: Vaccinating felv+ cat Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Ann, Wait a minute. Am I confused here? Quetta and Honey are your NEGATIVE cats, right? Gretchen is your positive cat and they are all together now? If that is the case, then I most certainly would vaccinate the two negative cats against leukemia! I thought you were talking about getting the Felv vaccination for Gretchen. I wouldn't vaccinate Gretchen against leukemia if she is already positive. Judy -------------------------------------- From: katseven@pcsia.com Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 07:46:46 -0600 Subject: Re: Hey, I'm new To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi, Beth, A belated welcome to you. It sounds like you are on top of things. How can a cat be FeLV persistant but asymptomatic? I thought persistancy had to do w/ symptoms shown--do you mean Kix just keeps testing positive? Hmmm. Anyway, you've come to the right place. We're glad to have you. Susan -------------------------------------- From: "Moermond, Barbara" To: "'jade1@intergate.bc.ca'" , "'felvtalk@mailinglist.net'" Subject: prednisone etc Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 09:18:51 -0500 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi there Kelly! Well, I just started my Ninja on Pred about 2 weeks ago and as you know, that is very cheap!! I am also on a very tight budget, but I was able to start Ninja on Interferon last weekend. At my vet, it was $27 for a 6 week supply (this is one week on, one week off etc.). You will probably want to get it through a vet and not a pharmacy because pharmacies usually get it in a very concentrated form and must dilute it considerably. (Prednisolone is a form of prednisone which is easier for the kitty's system to use because it is partially broken down.) "Prednisolone is a steroid and acts to decrease the numbers of some circulating white blood cells (lymphocytes). A cat with leukemia may have an increased number of abnormal (cancerous) lymphocytes circulating in its bloodstream; therefore steroid treatment may help to destroy them. Prednisolone may also act directly against the cells of some solid tumors (such as lymphosarcoma) that are caused by FeLV. Steroids also inhibit the cells that are normally responsible for destroying senescent red blood cells; that effect may help to combat the anemia and excessive red blood cell destruction that often accompany FeLV. It is important to remember that because steroids and FeLV both suppress the immune system, an FeLV-positve cat undergoing steroid therapy is especially vulnerable to other infections." - Cornell University - College of Vet. Medicine pamphlet on the feline leukemia virus. I think that you should definitely think about adding Interferon treatment, even if the Acemannan proves to be prohibitively expensive. Also, some holistic treatments might be beneficial. Look into Echinacea particularly to help boost the immune system. As for the Acemannan, only your vet can get information about it from the manufacturer (the info is on the angelfire page) Carrington Labs; 1-800-255-4223 and have your vet ask for Dr. Yates. Maybe someone else out there who is using or has used Acemannan can let both of us know about the cost involved!! (Please!) Good Luck Kelly and Jade!!! Barb+Ninja -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 09:28:47 -0500 (CDT) From: "Nancy A. Schmall" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Vaccinating felv+ cat Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Ann, Thanks for the input; it is much appreciated! Nancy -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 15:20:33 +0000 From: LawBet Subject: Re: Vaccinating felv+ cat To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Organization: Home for Wayward Felines Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Ann, Absolutely!! The 2 FeLV negative kitties should definitely be vaccinated! They should also be separated from the positive one until at least the vaccinations take effect. Larry -------------------------------------- From: Boonedagel Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:22:15 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Copies to: ccmyers1@erols.com Subject: Pooters II Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi All, I don't update often, I know. I tend to save updates for substantive changes. First, the good news. Nutritionally, Pooters II, who is FeLV+, and all my other 10 rescue cats, who thankfully are all FeLV-, have been on Nutro canned and dry, plus The Missing Link For Healthy Cats for a couple of months, and Wysong products for a few weeks. The negative cats get The Missing Link and Wysong's F-Biotic plus some occasional PDG and EFA. Also, for Pooters II, I get Shelton's chicken roasters and bake them for her. She loves this. The F- Biotic has feline enzymes in it, among many other very good ingredients. No raw meat for her. This is especially a no no with Toxoplasmosis. Pooters II, gets Wysong's F-Biotic, PDG, and Pet Innoculant, mixed in her food in very modest amounts, when I can get her to eat the mixture, because she is quite suspect of anything added to her food. It is hit and miss on this. Supplementally via oral syringe, Pooters II also gets 1\4tsp ambrotose, 1\4tsp Kyo-Green, 1\8tab spirulina, 1\10 to 1\5 of a cap of Dandelion and the same amount of Red Clover complex, an occasional 1\4dropper of Pau D'arco extract, and 3\8tsp of The Missing Link, all mixed with 10cc of good water. (Occasionally I vary the herbs with astragalus. And, about 3 times a week, some CoQ10 and vitamin E.) She gets this mixture ideally 2x a day, but more oftern than not, once a day. Over the last week, I began to add 1\8 to 1\4 tab, crushed and mixed in, of Hi Po Kyolic Garlic. Yesterday, I discovered that her weight, 7lbs. & 13.5ozs at her first visit to the Cat Doctor on March 26, had risen to 8lbs, 11ozs! Since her eating has dropped off for about the last 4 to 5 days, I suspect that last week she was 9lbs or better. She looked it anyway. That is the good news. Pooters II went to the Cat Doctor again, yesterday, because she started having seizures again about 5pm Monday night. Coincidentally, the Clyndamycin ran out 3am Monday morning. As some of you may recall, Pooters has been on 1cc of Clyndamycin 2x a day since April 8, for Toxoplasmosis. I ran out of it Monday morning, and wasn't sure I was going to continue her on it any further as I had not witnessed any seizures for at least a week or more. So The Cat Doc wanted to see her again. That is how I know of her nice weight gain. There is bad news though. That dilated left pupil I have mentioned before, is now worse. The Doc called it, "a classic Reverse "D" pupil." Apparently this means she has FeLV in her little brain for sure. And it is wasting no time. The Cat Doc wants to continue the Clyndamycin. I addition, she recommended having liquid phenobarbitol or liquid diazepam (Valium) on hand, to give her a 1/2ml (2.5mg) oral when it gets bad. I opted for the Valium. I will start with less than that though, probably 0.2ml per oral. I pick it up today. Doc guessed she has 1 to 6 months... and at some point should consider "putting her to sleep." I said, "Pooters will let me know about that." I have faith in Dr. McFarland. She is not holistic, but she is cutting edge otherwise. She went to UC Davis and is a Fellow, Academy of Feline Medicine. But, Pooters will let me know about the sleep business. I will not take her life form her, unless she is crying for me to do it. I am going to cut way back on nutriceuticals, including ambrotose, until I can speak with Dr. Nancy Scanlon, a good holistic vet here that Dr. McFarland referred my to. However, she is in Canada giving a seminar on holistic medicine until next Tuesday. My concern is whatever I am giving her, though well intended, may trigger and exacerbate the seizures. No more C. Just some Missing Link and Kyo Green or Spirulina. May stop those too. I am just going to give Pooters whatever she wants at this point, mostly love, and Shelton's chicken. I am going to make things easy and stress free on her. I am not going to extraordinary measures from here on out. She is tired of syringes in her mouth. She just wants to be held. She wants to be with me. I am her world. I love her. Too much. Thank you all for trying to help. I am still open to suggestions about this '"Reverse D" pupil, and the corresponding FeLV in her brain. But it appears I should have discovered you folks three years ago, when I rescued her from L.A.'s mean streets, instead of 2 months ago. It just looks like Pooters got unlucky with her FeLV, and is now a short timer. I want that time to be quality, love time. If anyone thinks anything can really be done for her advanced condition, without putting Pooters II through the mill, I am all ears. Thanks again. Sincerely, Greg Sherrow & Pooter Toot Toot + 12... and growing. BOONE'S FARM "Home At Last" Animal Rescue & Sanctuary -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 18:11:00 +0100 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: BILL BEAMISH Subject: Re: FeLV test Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi Beth, I just wanted to tell you not to get discouraged with statistics on the life expectancy of positive cats. I've worked with positive cats for 14 years and I have one cat here 12 years and he has tested positive all that time. Another will be here 8 years and yet another 7 years. Generally, on the average, my cats live about 7-8 years after testing positive. Some, of course, don't live that long. I have a harder time keeping kittens born with the virus alive and comfortable for any length of time. I think the longest time with a kitten was a little over 3 years. The disposition or personality of the cat when they come in here has a LOT to do with how long they survive. Cats who walk in like they've always lived here will fit right in and usually live a long time while cats who are uptight and hiss, growl at the others won't do as well. The stress does a lot of damage. I also feel strongly that diet has a lot to do with keeping the positives going. I feed mine Iams Lamb and Rice dry food, which I think is pretty good and they love it. I make the chicken broth that Ann posted the recipe for and that also is a great hit! I just recently started adding Vit.C and Ambrotose to their food and I began using Interferon 2 years ago. I've used Immunoregulin for several years now. Oh, and I have a cat who began having symptoms of Felv - respiratory, diahrrea - probably about 4 years ago. I've been treating her symptoms since then and she's still going strong! She is on Ambrotose, Vit.C and Interferon and takes antibiotics only every once in a while when her respiratory gets really out of hand. My husband complains sometimes when she is sneezing a lot that we should euthanize her but I think her quality of life is still good. She's active and eats like a horse! I don't know of any tests that will predict whether a cat will develop symptoms. Maybe Barb or Marilyn know. Well, I wanted to give you some encouragment. I hope it helped! Judy -------------------------------------- From: Newtanator Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 18:55:40 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Panther Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Nancy, I'm sure you did not harm panther by removing them. After all, when tonsils become infected badly, they do remove them to! They are just one of many ways the body has of defending itself. It has plenty more! barb -------------------------------------- From: Newtanator Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 18:59:02 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Hey, I'm new Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Susan, There are many cats who are carriers and never become ill themselve. Unfortunately, they are the "typhoid Mary's" of the cat world. You have a healthy cat, no reason to test, and all the while, it is spreading it to all your other cats. That's why testing is so important, tho even that is falable. barb -------------------------------------- From: Newtanator Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 19:07:58 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: FeLV test Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Judy, To my knowledge, there is no test or any way to know which cats will develop symptoms. Usually, the younger the cat, esp kittens, are the hardest his because their immune systems are immature to start with. Sure wish there was a test tho. barb -------------------------------------- From: "zimmerman" To: Subject: Re: Judy Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 19:16:59 -0400 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Thanks Judy, I'm very optimistic about JACKSON & KIX. They have that stress free "I have a great life & I'm going to live forever " attitude. Beth -------------------------------------- Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 20:12:15 +0100 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: BILL BEAMISH Subject: Re: FeLV test Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Cheri, That is absolutely WONDERFUL news! Way to go, Chaz!!! Judy -------------------------------------- From: "Cheri Gardiner" To: Subject: Re: FeLV test Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 18:12:11 -0600 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hello everyone!!! I just have to SHOUT my good news.......CHAZ HAS NOW TURNED NEGATIVE!!!!! The vet called today and his retest came back negative. She doesn't recommend separating them, but advises no new FeLV+ kittens in the house. She explained there are three predominant strains of the virus..A, B & C. C is the most deadly. Unfortunately at the present time there are no tests to determine which one they have without doing it in a research lab. The kitten would have to go there. I'm not putting either through that. Anyway she says to take Chaz off the interferon, apparantly they can build up a resistance. He'll still get the vaccination every year and every month will get an Immunoregulin shot. I can't tell you how happy I am. Kitty isn't showing any signs of serious problems and Chaz is NEGATIVE....... It's chessecake tonight for dessert It just means there is hope out there for everyone of our little furangels. Cheri G., Kitty & Chaz -------------------------------------- From: AskforArt Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 19:59:18 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: FeLV test Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Cheri--This is great news!! Did you have Chaz tested originally with the IFA or ELISA test? If it was the IFA test can you find out what level Chaz's results were (1-5)? Let there be cheesecake! Linda P -------------------------------------- From: "zimmerman" To: Subject: Re: FeLV test Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:10:31 -0400 Reply-to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Susan, KIX's blood tested + twice 10 months apart, so he wasn't transient, & he's not latent. He is very healthy now, but I've read that about 80% of persistent cats die within 3 1/2 yrs. after being infected with the virus, & that when symptoms start they probably have less than a yr. with traditional treatments. KIX maybe one of the lucky ones & I'm trying to give him a better chance with the supplements. I'm not giving him the newer treatment drugs now because I decided to wait until or if he develops symptoms, but he's going to the vet for his yearly check-up soon & if anyone has suggestions for tests that aren't too expensive to evaluate his risks for developing symptoms I'd appreciate them. Thanks, Beth -------------------------------------- From: Newtanator Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 20:21:51 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: FeLV test Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Cheri, Have a piece of cheesecake for all of us! Was Chaz positive at one time? Either way, way to go! Good news two days in a row!! barb -------------------------------------- From: Newtanator Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 20:24:49 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: symptoms Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Beth, My Merlin had it as a kitten also. I had him with me for 10 months and would not trade one day of those ten months. His magic is still all over the house. Heck they just had a mini series on TV about Merlin. Enjoy them, love them and always remember. barb -------------------------------------- END