Sunday August 16, 1998 Part 1 20 Messages ======================================== From: WORKPARK@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 03:54:07 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Hershey's latest FIP ELISA test result :-) Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Debby, All I can say is Congratulations! and may the good luck continue. Pam ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 00:24:20 -0400 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: three ring circuits Subject: RE: Hershey's latest FIP ELISA test result :-) Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Oh... thanks very much Susan! yup.... I'm thrilled :-)) > Debby, & the HBG (the HairballGang) ---------------------------------------- From: "Steve Lackow" To: "FeLV Talk" Subject: Re: mannatech Date sent: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 23:42:54 -0700 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Linda, after you chided me the other day for not completely reading the research you sent, I went back to it. I see the reduction in virus in the test results -- it's dramatic, by half in about 3 months -- but it didn't click because it isn't clear what the protocol for treating this cat was. Just aloe derivatives? Anything else? PS I really believe in aloe, as you know -- but it has got to be the juice of the entire cut leaf, or a derivative product. As you know. Otherwise, only minimal active ingredient for anitviral use. -- Steve ---------------------------------------- From: "Steve Lackow" To: Subject: Re: Frontline Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 00:04:26 -0700 Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Wow Sonja. Tell you what, one of my vets doesn't like Frontline and insists on Advantage, which is what I'm using now. I think many people and some vets are a bit suspicious of these products because they stay in the cat's system for so long. I just think that with an FeLV cat, trading off the potential dangers for the protection is an easy choice, even though these cats don't go out. The fleas come in, at least they do here in Southern California. I was relatively late to adopt these products, but I'm really glad I did. -- Steve ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 08:41:51 +0100 From: "Sonja Lnders" To: Felvtalk Subject: Another stray story Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net When house-hunting here in June '94 we found an abandoned kitten (the rest of the litter must have been "taken care of"!!), tiny, black and white, and so hungry it bit my finger when offered a cat biscuit! We were flying back to Vienna the next day, the estate agent showed us the way to the vet: He gave it a worm paste, told me to bathe it for the fleas and how to feed it, gave me a health certificate in case we had to take it with us to Austria and did not charge anything, saying he was happy it was being saved! This is now my vet, I thought it a good idea to settle near him, already bringing 5 cats to Portugal with me! I smuggled her onto the plane in my blouse, putting my arm into a sling, not wanting to risk being turned down by the travel company at the last minute!..... Well, little Minnie became the most charming cat and is with a friend who is qualifying as vet in Vienna soon, I often get lovely fotos with enthusiastic thanks for this charming creature! Thought you might like this little story on the light side. Sonja ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 08:48:59 +0100 From: "Sonja Lnders" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Frontline Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Thanks, Steve, But I haven't seen Advantage over here, but I'll sure try for it! Schurli does go out into my garden, (he fertilizes a certain grass patch), and there are 10 other flea importers! The man who shampoos my carpets loves me! Sonja ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 09:06:53 +0100 From: "Sonja Lnders" To: Felvtalk Subject: Advantage Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Steve, and all, I have just looked int NOFLEAS.COM and found that Advantage should be available thru vets even in Portugal! Thanks!! Sonja ---------------------------------------- From: Newtanator@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 08:29:14 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Strays Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net HI, I don't think a short story about our strays is that off topic. Most of us have strays from somewhere. Either shelters or pounds or found abandoned and many of them are sick because of it. I have two Siamese, but they were both gotten from a shelter. I find the stories a nice sideline once and a while. barb ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:08:15 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: AND On a Postive Note... Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Angela That was such a beautiful card you got from the vet tech. Everything she said is so true. Gina ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:17:22 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: A sad anniversary Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Jim, We offer our condolences to you. You have turned your expierences with Vyvyan into this wonderful list filled with so much information to help our furbabies. I want to say thankyou for all your time and effort thru all of this. Gina and JoAnn ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:19:52 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Kitty Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Cheri I am so sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. Gina ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:26:16 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: RE: Hershey's latest FIP ELISA test result :-) Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Debby GREAT NEWS from Hershey. I am sooooooo happy for you!!!! Gina ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:34:50 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Re: Strays Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hi I do not feel that strays are off topic either. Every one of our kittys where strays or abused. Rubin was found abandoned and had to be bottle fed, Zachary and Sophia where being abused by the neighbors who had them and we rescued them one night in the middle of the night, and the babies where born to a feral on our godmothers porch. Their mother is now indoors and doing great. I personaly feel that strays and shelter kittys make the best pets, because they truly love and appreciate you for taking them out of their miserable lives they had before. Gina ---------------------------------------- From: GinaTex@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:40:37 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Fleas & strays Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Beth I dont know either, but we too are flealess, for the last 2 years since we moved to another town. Our other house we had the problem, which I believe it was the carpet. It harbored the eggs, our dogs went outside and I am sure they brought it in. The cats never go out. Now at our new house we ripped up all the carpets and have just hardwood floors with throw rugs. And I am happy to say not even the dogs have a single flea. And the feral we found, to my surprise had only earmites. Gina ---------------------------------------- From: "Isinofre Wyrm-bane" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Fleas & strays Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 12:15:37 PDT Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Beth, you're wonderful!!! I got such a vivid image of your sweetie from that description that I had a wonderful laugh. It was well needed after slogging my way through the previous 30 or so posts. Thank you! Deb and Smokina ---------------------------------------- From: "James G. Wilson" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 13:04:30 +0000 Subject: Thanks to all Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hello everyone, Thank you all for your kind words in rememberance of Vyvyan and the FeLV projects. I think Vyvyan would be happy knowing that so much good has come from his tragic demise. Someday, we'll triumph over this nasty virus, and then I will put my memories of Vyvyan to peace- I have nine years of happy memories with him, but it is those final three weeks of hell that fuels the fire of these projects. Again, thank you all for your strength in support in my time of need. 'Til Cheesecake!!! (or an appropriate chocolate substitute for some of us ) In loving memory of Vyvyan: March 20, 1988 - August 15, 1997 James G. Wilson- phaedrus@npwt.net http://www.angelfire.com/il/felv/ http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/8025/ http://thor.prohosting.com/felvinfo/ http://www.fortunecity.com//skyscraper/sterling/20/niu.html ---------------------------------------- From: "James G. Wilson" To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 14:07:34 +0000 Subject: An unfortunate situation Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Hello everyone, An unfortunate situation has occurred on the list over the past few days, so I've had to take drastic measures. Steve Lackow rejoined our list this past Thursday, and since that time, he made a point of disrupting the list. He claimed that his intention was to make us all aware of "possible cures" for FeLV- a bogus claim at best. However, that is not what made his posts disruptive. It was his desire to insult and berate members of the list and the objectives we are trying to attain. In an effort to bring a peaceful resolution to this problem, I sent him private mail asking him to stop the insults and keep the arguments objective. I received yet another nasty reply to my request this morning. Also included in that reply was his assurance that he would NOT stop posting in his current manner. Therefore, I have no choice but to remove him and ban him indefinitely from the list. It is truly sad that this matter has to be resolved in this fashion, but I see no other way if he won't cooperate. Just so folks understand- it is NOT his ideas that are being banned, it is his attitude in falsely presenting them that is being censured. Barb Stock has put together a summary of the research that we have been engaged in regarding these methods that Steve has mentioned. Below is a copy of that summary. I hope this helps to put an end to an otherwise intolerable situation. Please feel free to discuss these topics- however, please use common sense and the rules of netiquette while doing so. Thanks, and, again, I apologize that this situation had to end this way. Take care, and best wishes to all. ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: Newtanator@aol.com Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 11:03:47 EDT All, There has been talk on the list in the last few days about Protease Inhibitors and cocktails, combination drugs etc, that have been extremely effective against viral infections such as HIV and that these treatments are now being used on cats with FIV and FeLV. I thought a explanation of what these drugs are, how they work and the side effects as well as their potential to cure should be discussed. Protease inhibitors are antiviral drugs. Their method of action is the interruption of the virus in the replicating process and denying it one of it's building blocks to copy itself. Two the proteins the virus must have to copy itself are Protease and Reverse Transcriptase. Reverse transcriptase inhibiting drugs are: AZT (Retovir), ddI (Videx), ddC (Hivid), d4T (Zerit), and 3TC (Epivir). The Protease inhibitors are Ritonavir (Norvir) and Nelfinavir (Viracept) which can be used by adults and children and saquinavir (Invirase) and indinavir (Crixivan) for adults only. With both the Reverse Transscriptase inhibitors and the Protease inhibitors, a combination of two or more of them is highly recommended. These drugs must be taken two to three times a day. The total number of pills taken daily is quite alarming, esp if you are a cat. Example: Viracept: 3 capsules, 3 times a day. Invirase: 3 capsules, 3 times a day. Norvir: 6 capsules, 2 times a day. That comes to a total of 30 capsules a day. Most must be taken on a full stomach to avoid the gross nausea that accompanies most of them. If your cat throws them up, you must do it again. Missed doses are not allowed. They have found that with missed doses, even one, the virus begins to adapt and mutate and the drugs become ineffectual. Viruses are formidable adversaries and their ability to survive should not be taken lightly. Is there a cure here? No. Researchers believe that in some, the virus becomes "undectable", meaning the level drops too low to be found by current tests. However, it is still there and stopping or missing doses of medications causes a mutated and even stronger virus to surface. In one article I found, directly relating to FIV, the use of Reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as AZT, PMEA, or ddC can cause clinical improvement. However, severe side effects can occur. The safety of protease inhibitors in cats is unknown. Most local veterinarians are NOT skilled in the use of these drugs and using a specialist or a university setting are highly recommended. Weekly blood work is necessary to track effectiveness and toxic effects on organs such as the liver and kidneys. This same report also pointed out that Immunotherapy can be used to treat FIV and FeLV. Drugs such as Interferon Alpha, Staphylococcus Protein A and ImmunoRegulin can cause clinical improvement in infected cats. If you are fortunate enough to be near a major university that has a Vet school that is doing this type of treatment, or an oncologist that specializes in this, you may want to check it out. They will explain the protocol necessary, expense involved and the risks vs the benefits. So, is the treatment out there? Yes, if you have access to it and can afford it. Personally, it is not something I would venture into at this time. Work continues every day on streamlining these drugs, making them safer and more effective, but right now, and this is my opinion only, the risk of side effects, the questionable end results, the enormous volume of pills that have to be given to an animal that has no clue as to why you are doing it, the fact that it is a lifetime commitment because once started, stopping brings back the virus in a more deadly form, repeated and endless blood work and lastly the expense, does not make it an option for me or my cats. But the purpose of this list to tell you of ALL possibilities and the individual choice is yours, what will be right for you and your cat. barb In loving memory of Vyvyan: March 20, 1988 - August 15, 1997 James G. Wilson- phaedrus@npwt.net http://www.angelfire.com/il/felv/ http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/8025/ http://thor.prohosting.com/felvinfo/ http://www.fortunecity.com//skyscraper/sterling/20/niu.html ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:33:00 -0400 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: three ring circuits Subject: Re: Hershey's latest FIP ELISA test result :-) Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Pam- Thanks VERY much! I'm sure hoping for the same here you can be sure . :-) Debby, & the HBG (the HairballGang) ---------------------------------------- Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 11:37:21 -0400 To: felvtalk@MailingList.net From: three ring circuits Subject: Re: RE: Hershey's latest FIP ELISA test result :-) Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net thanks very much Gina! :-)Oh BTW.... I asked you once what part of R.I. you live in cuz I grew up in Cranston, then moved to Providence and still have family up there. Just curious. :-) Debby, & the HBG (the HairballGang) ---------------------------------------- From: CatzNStuff@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 15:43:01 EDT To: felvtalk@MailingList.net Subject: Re: Anniversary Send reply to: felvtalk@MailingList.net Dear Jim, I know how the sad days feel. They are markers in our lives that can never be erased, turning points in time where our lives are forever changed. Please know that his memory is not just yours, it is ours, too. Gratitude isn't a big enough word to express my thanks for this list.....my life has been changed forever because of you and Vyvyan. Hugs and love, Linda P We will either find a way, or we will make one. Hannibal ---------------------------------------- END