Feline Leukemia Virus

[livingwith]

My 5 year old cat Rusty began to lose weight over the last few months; I thought maybe the neighborhood cats or strays were taking his food. I noticed a few days ago that his eyes were yellow and had mucous around them and he was having trouble breathing. I knew that something was wrong and thought he may have gotten an infection from a wound another cat gave him.
I found out yesterday he has feline leukemia and appears to be in the last stages of the disease. I am heart broken and devastated. ...Read the full article

[roofing101]

How is your cat? After reading your story, it sounds the same as my cat. My cat was diagnosed 2 3/4 years ago with this disease. I thought we were going to have to put him down, but I gave him Interferon and Pedialyte. It brought him back, and he bacame healthy. HOwever, just the past week or so, he has lost some weight, but is actively eating, drinking etc. He is lethargic and wants to be alone and sleep, but everything else is fine. I am heartbroken because he also sleeps with me right next to my head, and is just the sweetest little cat around. I do not want to have to put him to sleep, but I also don't want to have his quality of life be nothing more than sleeping all day and night. I was just curious if your cat turned around so that I could think that there might be some hope. Thanks.

[arma4602]

He lived a few weeks more and only got thinner, more tired, and his eyes completely clouded over and oozed. He also began to vomit. We had him put to sleep. It was very hard but I couldn' stand to see him suffer. He seemed very peaceful. My children made him a card and letters, and my husband and I wrote him a message, too.

[roofing101]

After Leo's struggle, we had to put him to sleep on Sunday night. He began to struggle to breathe, so we knew it was time to take him to the emergency room. They said that they could try to give him oxygen, and see if they could figure out if there was something wrong and whether they could fix him, but we knew that the odds were very tiny. So, we chose to put him out of his misery. That was one of the absolute hardest things I ever had to do in my life. I loved him with all my heart, and will miss him tremendously. He slept with me every night, and it's such a void right now not having him lying next to me sleeping. We also brought him home and buried him the woods he loved to roam so much. We put in his favorite cat food, snacks, pictures, letters and a nice towel for him to lie on. It was so hard burying him, but I know he is no longer suffering, and he is in the place that he loved to be best. I know for a very long time, I will be visiting him everyday. This disease is so sad, and I hope someday that they find a cure for this. It's hard to put to rest a 5 year old cat that you thought you would grow old with. I am sorry to hear about your loss. It's nice being able to share the same kind of grief. Take care!!!