Monday July 20, 1998 Part 2 20 Messages ======================================== From: "Moermond, Barbara" To: "'felvtalk@mailinglist.net'" Subject: Welcome Randall!!!!!! Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 09:58:08 -0500 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net I don't remember if I have welcomed you yet, but considered yourself to be very welcome here. This is a great group of people and an incredible source of knowledge and support. Barb+Ninja ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:07:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Kat To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: brittle claws/nails Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Kathleen, I would also try adding some trace minerals - they seem to be helping *my* nails, so they may help Dexter's claws!! I found a brand that comes in powdered capsule form, since I don't like the taste of the liquid forms (I've tried 3 or 4 different liquids - ugh!), but maybe the kitties will like the tastes... If you do try them, let us know. Kat (New Jersey) ---------------------------------------- From: "Claude Horstmann" To: Subject: ferals Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:10:42 -0400 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Mandy, catching up on accumulated messages here too.. :-(~ part of the problem may be the plurality factor.. you have 2 kittens locked in together, and they may be inciting each other to riot.. they're *two against the world*, and have overlearned the strength in numbers routine.. another pair of hands there for you to try and calm them singly.. ? ..marilyn.. ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:15:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Kat To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Arlene and Howling Kitty - Way to go!!! Keep up the fluids until the vet checks everything. And make sure he checks Howling Kitty's mouth/teeth. There could be an abscess (they only take a day or 2 to really cause problems, and with a FeLV + kitty, the immune system can't fight off the germs as well as "healthy" cats). I'm sending both of you healing vibes to help you over this hump. Kat (New Jersey) ---------------------------------------- From: Paula Lazo To: "'felvtalk@MailingList.net'" Subject: RE: Hershey Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:17:28 -0400 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Ando also tails, hair, legs and whatever comes in handy to cross and wish you a wonderfully big NEGATIVE result on the Fip test (even in capitals). Love Paula + Beno + Garri ---------------------------------------- From: "Claude Horstmann" To: Subject: Re: Welcome Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:22:24 -0400 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi Randall, I'm a medium-timer on the list, but want to give you an old-timer's welcome.. I cringe at the mention of FIP, my beloved Selena was taken by that complication, after working so hard to combat the FeLV that she was born with. The FIP was non-negotiable. We're all on the same path, here.. and there is knowledge and compassion in large measure , both for you and Hershey. Good luck today, with the tests.. take care, ..marilyn.. ---------------------------------------- From: "Claude Horstmann" To: Subject: Randall and Tails ? Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:28:43 -0400 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net The heat.. you can smell my brain burning.. Randall and Tails, TAILS !!!!! humor me whilst I try and sort out 123 messages.. My sincere welcome stands, Randall.. and my apologies to Tails... Hersey still needs the good wishes, ..marilyn.. ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:37:04 -0400 From: "Kathleen A. Smolenski" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: brittle claws/nails Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Barb, Beth & Kat - Thanks for the ideas. I'll see what I can do with administering something to him, but Mr. Finicky's extra sensitive nose alerts him to anything foreign coming his way. As for his diet, I have tried time and time again to give him healthier foods, but he really is a junk food addict finding comfort only in dry Fancy Feast. He's a stubborn fellow, but I'll try to make a good attempt again at giving him something healthy and wholesome. Thanks again. - kathleen for the love of dexter P.S. The vet only noted that he had brittle claws. I grew concerned because he managed to split his declaw back to its sheath. Some blood was present. I just didn't want his body to have to focus its energies on staving off an infection when it has a bigger battle within. She (the vet) didn't pay too much attention to the split claw though. Just thought I'd ask to ease my own concerns. ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 12:11:31 -0400 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: three ring circuits Subject: RE: Hershey Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Thanks Paula and Randall for all the crossed paws and fingers! I just got back from taking Hershey in for his re-test. Poor little guy wasn't too happy as he had to have his fluffy "ruff" shaved in order for the blood to be drawn. :-( He checked out just fine according to my vet. No changes in his retinas, no lumps, no fluid in his abdomen, temp. was fine and he'd even gained 2 oz. since his last check up. So.... he's now back in this room and we wait........ hopefully by Wednesday or even tomorrow we may have the results back. Gulp! I just want him to be able to rejoin the rest of the gang here and not have to be cooped up here in my family room, and of COURSE, I want his test to be NEGATIVE this time... I'll keep you all posted. :-) and thanks again for thinking of us. > Debby, & the HBG (the HairballGang) ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:11:20 -0500 (CDT) From: "Nancy A. Schmall" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Arlene, I am so happy for you and Howling Kitty! I agree with Diane about diabetes--also, I believe some kidney problems could give him a questionable bad breath. I'm sure it means something and maybe something treatable so please have him checked out. Bless your heart for your undying persistence--it looks like Howling Kitty may have some time left with you. You KNOW we all hope so. Love, Nancy ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:13:46 -0500 (CDT) From: "Nancy A. Schmall" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Arlene& Brenda, Brenda may have something here--since it's bad breath and drooling, which really sounds like Howling Kitty. Brenda, how astute you are for taking your cat in before the abcess became an even more serious problem. Nancy ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:20:02 -0500 (CDT) From: "Nancy A. Schmall" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: RE: Hershey Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Debby, All the good thoughts in the world that Hershey tests negative!! Nancy ---------------------------------------- From: EchoSynch@aol.com Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:26:06 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Randall & Tails, New Here: Our Story: Please Help? Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hello, my name is Randall and I've been learning over the past week what wonderful people all of you are. Although I have not had much to say, my heart has been with each of you as you go through your lives with your precious furry friends. I've been trying to figure out what to say, and below is what I came up with. This is our story. Tails is an adorable black-and-white cat, a Christmas present for my little boy, along with another adorable black-and-white cat named Sylvester. Both cats were in perfect health until about a month ago, when Tails came down with uveitis (redness, swelling, and hemorrhage) in both eyes and an upper respiratory infection which appeared to be a cold. After a few days, when the respiratory problems worsened, we took Tails to the vet. Over a two-week period, the vet prescribed Chloramphen ointment, Naphcon A eye drops, and Voltaren Opthalmic eye drops for the eyes, and antibiotics Doxycycline Hyclate and Clavamox to bring down the fever, and a series of six nebulizer treatments for the upper respiratory problems. Tails responded, but minimally, to the nebulizer, but his eyes never did get much better, and his fever continued intermittently. Meanwhile, he had stopped eating for the most part (and started dropping weight rapidly) and had become lackadaisical. Because Tails was responding minimally to treatment, the vet did the bloodwork and titre test. The titre was 1:3600. His bloodwork indicated the following: CBC - WBC 6.9, RBC 6.5, HGB 12.2, HCT 36.5, MCV 56, MCH 13, MCHC 29, PLT 145. DIFFERENTIAL - POLYS 54, BANDS 6, LYMPH 34, MONOS 3, A.LYMPH 3, PLAT. EST. NORMAL, RBC MORPH APPEAR NORMAL. CHEMISTRY 20 - GLUCOSE 131 (HIGH), BUN 17, CREATININE 1.1, T.BILI 3.1 (HIGH), ALK. PHOS 87 (HIGH), GGT 9, CHOLESTEROL 168, CPK 196 (HIGH), AST (SGOT) 111 (HIGH), T. PROTEIN 8.4 (HIGH), ALBUMIN 2.2 (LOW), CALCIUM 8.7, I. PHOS 3.6, LIPASE 288, AMYLASE 794. ELECTROLYTES - CO2 20, SODIUM 151, POTASSIUM 4.2, CHLORIDE 121 (HIGH). Upon seeing these numbers, the vet pronounced a death sentence last Monday, indicating that Tails had FIP…and that he was beginning the stages of the disease with a liver malfunction. She then proceeded to tell me all the signs to look for as my cat progresses through the FIP…and advised that I would soon need to euthanize Tails. I took my cat home and cried for days. Tails is 14 months old, male, indoors, neutered. We believe that he may have contracted the virus from a pair of four-month-old kittens (Smokey Bear & Midnight) brought into my household in May. And although we have four cats in the house, Tails is of course the one to which I am the closest….sigh. The vet has said that now that all the cats have been exposed to the virus, there's really not much we can do at this point. I began doing research to find out as much as I could about this disease and whether there was anything at all I could do to help my baby. As far as energy goes, I'm a firm believer in Good Thoughts and how they affect our existence, and somehow along the way I got the instinct that if I could show Tails how much more life there was to live, then maybe just maybe he'd hang around a while. And the more I thought about it, the more I believed that I needed to find help elsewhere. Although I regard my vet as a compassionate, caring human being, I don't believe that hopelessness should ever be offered to someone. I've learned more than I care to about the disease. As many here have suggested, FIP greatly disturbs me. What I want to focus upon is the healing aspect. At this point, what can I do for my kitty? I have talked with some wonderful, intelligent, delightful people…and I have seen many suggested courses of treatment. But to be honest, at this point, I'm confused and overwhelmed about which path to take. I've seen the literature on Interferon A, and this approach seems promising. Also I've seen cases where immunoregulin injections are given in conjunction with the Interferon alpha. I've also talked with many who suggest holistic treatments. Which way to go? Over the past week, I've talked with many people who use Interferon as an agent in feline immune system disorders. I am very interested in this. One lady, in particular, has given this to her cat suspected with FIP for 2 years with good success. I've also corresponded with Dr. Richard Weiss, who is regarded as one of the expert specialists with this type of treatment. I've copied his email below. Dr. Richard C. Weiss, associate professor of pathobiology, earned the VMD degree in 1973 from the University of Pennsylvania and the PhD degree in 1981 from Cornell University. He was engaged in small animal practice for 3 years prior to completing a veterinary pathology residency and graduate studies at Cornell. After obtaining his PhD, Dr. Weiss was employed as a staff research scientist at Syntex Corporation from 1981-1984 and helped develop a vaccine against feline leukemia virus. Dr. Weiss joined the faculty at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985 as a joint appointee in the Department of Pathobiology and the Scott Ritchey Research Center where he established a research program in feline virus disease. He has over 50 publications in the area of feline virology and immunology and is recognized nationally for his expertise in studying feline infectious peritonitis. His web address is: http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~weissrl/ I live in a small town (Naples, Florida) and there aren't many nontraditional veterinarians here at all. About an hour ago, I found a vet in my area who is open to "anything that I would like to do to help my cat." This was encouraging, and we have an appointment tomorrow with him. He does stock Interferon A and is more than open to trying it. He also referred me to another vet in the area who has a holistic practice, whom I might see afterwards. So now I have to get a clearer picture of what it is that I would like to do when we go see the vet tomorrow. Have any of you had a success story with a cat and Interferon A? Alternative treatments? Bach flower essences? Acupuncture? Megavitamin therapy? Oxygen therapy? Food-grade hydrogen peroxide? DMG? Ambrotose? Baypamum? Ganoderma mushroom tablets? Lysine? Lately, Tails' upper respiratory problems seem to have cleared, except for some snoring and minor wheezing when he sleeps. He does eat, he just doesn't eat much. Only a few bites at a time. I can hand-feed him warm shredded chicken and he'll eat a few bites. Also a few Whisker Lickin snack things. A few bites of Science Diet. And he's drinking lots of water (too much?), but his abdomen is not swollen. Because he's very thin (now about 6.5 pounds), I've begun force-feeding him two jars of chicken baby food a day, mixed with Vitamin E (400 I.U. daily), Echinacea & Goldenseal (200 mg. daily), Milk Thistle (140 mg. daily), and his antibiotic. Do I continue force-feeding him? Do I offer such things as Ambrotose, Gatorade, as suggested here? Although my old vet said that there was not a reason to continue with the antibiotic, because Tails wasn't really responding to it, I have continued to mix it in with the baby food. Also, I've continued the eye ointment that the vet gave. Last week, the vet saw jaundice inside Tails' ears and along his gums, but the jaundice is no longer there. Also, Tails' eyes are better than they were before, although they still have a glaze to them. Personality-wise, he is still responsive, although not playful. He comes out about twice a day to passively look about the house. The rest of the time he spends in his basket, usually sleeping. And I spend as much time as possible, loving him and talking with him eye-to-eye, paw-to-paw, to let him know just how very special he is. That's our story. Thank you for letting us tell it. Love, Randall & Tails….(& Sylvester & Midnight & Smokey Bear) P.S. Tonight, (Monday - 07/20), we are participating in a Candle Ceremony for Tails. The candle ceremony will be held at 10pm Eastern Daylight Time (9pm Central Daylight Time, etc.) and people from all over participate to think of our beloved furry ones, the ones still with us as well as those who have gone to the Bridge. Tails' name is on the list for tonight. If you have a few moments, any Good Thoughts would be much appreciated. Bless you. The website is www.petloss.com (you can then click on the Special Needs list to find a list of those pets requesting Thoughts for tonight). - - - - - - - - - - - (copy of email from Dr. Richard Weiss) Subj: Re: FIP & Interferon Date: 98-07-15 17:49:28 EDT From: weissrl@vetmed.auburn.edu (Richard Weiss) To: EchoSynch@aol.com Dear Randall: You will need to obtain a vial of human alpha interferon. It is manufactured by Hoffman LaRoche (Roferon) or by Schering Plough (Intron). Your vet should be able to procure this from the local pharmacy or alternatively from the hospital. It has to be diluted in normal saline or Lactated ringer's solution. Normally, the solution given to the cat is only 15 - 30 units or so (given orally once daily for 7 days on alternate week schedule). The original vial usually contains 3-5 million units, so there are lots of dilutions (eg, take 1 ml of the original @ 3 million units/ml and dilute into a 1 liter fluid bottle/bag. Then, take 1 ml of that solution after vigorous mixing and dilute into 100 ml of diluent, this should provide 100 ml of Interferon at 30 units/ml. 1 ml of this is given orally to the cat for each dosing. The interferon should be stored in the refrigerator between use). Please share this with your vet. The other route to take for treatment is the use of high dose corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents like cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) along with antibiotics as needed. I also recommend high doses of vitamin C (500 mg/day) and B vitamins and, in the case of liver disease, herbs like milk thistle (can obtain at health food stores, as milk thistle, Thisylin, or silymarin (the latter are extracts). Good luck with your treatments. Richard Dr. Richard C. Weiss Dept of Pathobiology College of Veterinary Medicine Auburn University, AL 36849 ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 12:27:26 -0400 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: three ring circuits Subject: Re: Hershey Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi Kathy! thanks SO much for all the crossed paws and good luck vibes for Hershey. As I just posted.... I just got back from the vet's with him.. and now we wait for the results.... I'm really a wreck here.. I just want him to be NEGATIVE so he can go re-join the rest of my gang! He did check out fine physically though.... no lumps or bumps, no temp., no changes in his eyes, no fluid building up in his abdomen thank goodness! I'll keep you posted and thanks again for thinking of him and me. :-) > Debby, & the HBG (the HairballGang) ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:56:18 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Re: FW: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Arlene I have not been on all weekend, I am so glad that Howling Kitty has made it thru the weekend. It sure sounds like the sugar water helped him out. I am not sure but when they replace the fluids in a dehrated cat is that what they use as well. Because I know when Rubin looked really bad one time after the fluids he was like a new boy. We wish you all the best of luck Good vibes are being sent your way from all of us Gina and the gang ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 09:58:59 -0700 From: Robert Frank Organization: A.R.F., Inc. To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Diana: His breath smells of decay or infection. That's the only way I can describe it. But this has only started in the last week which makes me think he has an infection somewhere. I'll mention the diabetes though to the vet. Thanks, Arlene and Howling Kitty ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:01:43 -0700 From: Robert Frank Organization: A.R.F., Inc. To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Brenda: That didnt occur to me either! I'll make sure he gets checked on that! It did seem every time I tried to dose him he would paw me as if it hurt his mouth. Thanks for the tip. Arlene and Howling Kitty ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:05:27 -0700 From: Robert Frank Organization: A.R.F., Inc. To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Linda: What a comfort you are to Howling Kitty and me. He has an appointment Wednesday with a specialist who will check him thouroughly. I really appreciate all the input,help, and good vibes. Arlene and Howling Kitty ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:07:57 -0700 From: Robert Frank Organization: A.R.F., Inc. To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Pam: This vet was the closest port in the storm. I believe I have found a better alternative even though the office is an hour away. I hate to do it to Howling Kitty since he hates the ride but its my only alternative. Thanks for the good thoughts. Arlene and Howling Kitty ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:10:01 -0700 From: Robert Frank Organization: A.R.F., Inc. To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Howling Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Kathleen: I welcome any and all ideas. It seems to make sense. Thanks. Arlene and Howling Kitty ---------------------------------------- END