Feline Leukemia Virus

[einstein]

I have a cat that is about 1 year old and she became sick took her to the vet and he gave cold meds 2 weeks later she was still sick took her back and the test said it was flv now i'm wondering how long can I let her live she just sleeps and eats. she always purrs and I can't see putting her down she doesn't seem to be in any pain any ideas?

[einstein]

so today called another vet and asked more questions about flv. They told me that flv doesn't kill them its when they get sick (a cold or something like that) So now I'm trying to get her over this cold
Wish me luck (:

[ferlegs]

flv
I just took one of my babies to the vet... I thought it was just a sore throat.
Although she had her shots at 1yr. old... she had already been exposed to the virus.
Her mother was the carrier.... My cat, now around 2 yrs, tested positive.
She has not eaten hardly anything if 4 or 5 days... My vet wrote a prescription for
some prednisone, 2 a day for 5 days,,, then one a day,,(for the rest of her life)
She said,,, sometimes they can live several years, with this treatment.
The problem is that my Molly just can't eat.... She has good hours and then down
hours.
hope this helps

[fkagarise]

As long as your cat is eating and not in pain, I would continue to just love her. She may live for a long time. Cats with this disease may be sick for awhile and then do better for awhile. Each cat seems to have different things happen. Rose

[einstein]

Well mine eats pretty well she has been on meds for almost a month now so not sure what will happen after that. She just sleeps all the time and she doesn't clean herself anymore, so i use baby wipes to clean her (she is long hair and sometimes it can get yucky). Otherwise she seems ok

[fkagarise]

Hopefully things will be ok with your kitty. Please keep me posted. Rose

[einstein]

rose did you say you had one with flv?
I noticed today the upper part of one of her eyes is really red and swollen, the dr gave me steroid eye cream but she acts like she don't like it so I haven't been using it but I put some in it today hopefully it will make it better

[fkagarise]

Well, let me tell you about my Moochie. He showed up on my back porch in June 2006. The vet said he was about one year old. He was checked out and all his blood tests came back normal. He was given all his vaccinations including the one for feline leukemia.

We live in the woods in an area with only a few neighbors. We tracked Moochie down as having belonged to the people who live about half a mile away on the main road. They sadly do not take very good care of their cats. Most of them are not fixed, so there are always many kittens. The owner had noticed that Moochie was missing but said he was too "wild" for her to be able to get close to.

So, Moochie came to live with us. Because he lived his first year of life outside, there was NO way to make him a totally inside cat. All of my other cats stay inside. We have a screened-in porch that they love. Anyway, Moochie "lived" to be outside. He and I came to an agreement that he would spend the nights in the house - too dangerous in the woods at night.

Two months later, August 2006, Moochie was relaxing in the grass under a tree, when another cat came up behind him, jumped on his back and bit him. I had seen this other cat around, he had showed up about the time Moochie had.

Took Moochie to the vet, got him checked out and didn't think any more about it. The other cat ended up being adopted by a neighbor. However, when that cat was tested for feline leukemia, he was positive.

In March 2007, Moochie started limping on one of his back legs. Took him to the vet who x-rayed it. Said it looked like an old injury that he had hurt again. Did blood tests and they were normal except that Moochie now tested positive for feline leukemia. I was aware that the vaccination did not mean that a cat would not get the disease but it still upsets me very much.

Moochie began limping even worse, over the next few weeks. He also began loosing weight even though he was eating as much as ever. By May he was very weak. He couldn't walk very far without having to lay down and rest. He was now sleeping about 23 hours a day. I can't tell you how many times I thought about having him put to sleep. He looked so awful. The thing that kept me from doing it was that he was still eating, still wanted to go outside (although, now someone stayed with him when he was out) and he did not seem to be in any pain.

By the end of June, he was starting to improve. By the middle of July, he was back to his "old" self. Even though Moochie never did put back on the two pounds he had lost, he seemed to be totally fine, he did still test positive for leukemia.

Moochie had no more health problems. A few days before Thanksgiving this year, Moochie was sitting out on the screened-in porch. He came running in, ran to the kitchen, jumped up on the bench where his food was and started eating. I was in the other room, heard a loud thump and ran into the kitchen. Moochie had fallen off the bench and was laying on the floor - he was dead. It was most likely a blood clot since it happened instantaneously.

It was a terrible shock for us. Moohie was only 3 years old and he had been doing so well. However, I do not think his death had anything to do with his feline leukemia. I had another cat who died from a blood clot and it seems to be a problem that affects fairly young cats.

I am still grieving over Moochie. I have had "many" cats over the past 25 years and have lost all of them except for a 12 year old that I still have. It is never easy to loose one but Moochie was very special. I had a very hard time finding out any info on feline leukemia except what you can read online.

I really wanted to talk to someone who had been through the experience of having a cat with this disease but I could find no one. I know that feline leukemia shows different symptoms in every cat and is a very strange disease. My vet, although she is great, really hasn't treated many cats with it because, as with most vets, she recommends putting a positive cat down right away. I do not hold to that idea.

Sorry this is so long. I wish you and your kitty all the best. Just go with your gut feelings as to what to do. You know your kitty better than anyone.

Please keep me updated. Rose

[einstein]

well thats kinda how I feel i have three tinkerbell the oldest (about 12, I call her the queen nothing can keep her down(: ) then I have pepper who is about three then her baby from her first litter einstein, I've always had cats in my life but very few touch my heart like einstein has, she always wants to sit in my lap no matter where I am even on the toilet HEHEHE .... I feel bad to say that the youngest one would break my heart more than the other two but i believe she would... I never really knew about flv until about a year ago when they thought one of the other kittens had it.. never thought much about it. When I was younger the cats always went outside and they were fine... now I worry b/c the other two haven't been tested and still go outside.. I live kinda out and there aren't many cats but strays and now I see them and worry... But you know I can't keep them locked up in the house I don't feel right they have been going in/out all there lives and would fight me trying to get out.. pepper stays out more than tinkerbell.. so I guess I will just let them do there thing and hope for the best

[fkagarise]

I hear what you are saying about Einstein being special. How is her eye?

As far as the other two, Tinkerbell will probably not have any problems. Feline Leukemia usually affects young cats. Older ones seem to be able to resist getting it.

If possible I would recommend taking Pepper in and having her tested. If she is negative, then have her vaccinated. The vaccines are much better now than when Moochie had his. Pepper is more likely to come in contact with a stray cat who is positive and she could pick it up.

Let me know how it goes. Rose