My cat has FeLV and anemia...I am so sad

The vet gave her some fluids since she was dehydrated and antibiotics for a small upper respiratory she is having, but he didn't say much else. All he said is most treatments will be futile and we can just maintain her.

She has anemia right now so her breathing is faster than normal, I have her in my office at work and she is sleeping but I am so worried for her now.

I have read feeding them a good diet and keeping them stress free helps but no one says what a good diet is. I feed her fancy feast blended in the blender with Triage nutritional supplement to keep her weight up and make sure she have enough vitamins but I need more specifics.

Has any one had experience with an FeLV anemic cat?

My heart is broken but I want to give her the best life in whatever time she may have left.

Alicia, ten years ago I lost the love of my life to FeLV......due to Veterinary incompetence and (and, most importantly) to my own ignorance about the support and information available from specialized online support groups.......I only wish I had known about and participated in them back then.

Get yourself involved with at least one of them (I would use all)...and, one of your questions for them should be around finding a FeLV-competent feline Vet as soon as possible (like yesterday!).

These are "private", membership-only groups, which means all the communication is only available through membership - all that's required is for you to apply.

(Just as a btw, these specialized groups use email as an operating platform, so you need to know that they will not 'look like' the format used on this forum...you should get yourself a new, separate email addy to use for each group you choose to join because that will ensure you're not confused about which info is coming from which group and you'll be able to manage all the info easier and more efficiently. Now, some people are 'put off' with that format...I'd encourage you, from my own personal experience, to persist and I believe you'll soon become accustomed to how they 'work' - that was my experience - I can also say that you'll find no better sources of information on treatment and management anywhere else....there's years and years of real-life experience to draw from there, and it's all available 24/7/365)

Here they are:

• http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org   (join up using the section "Subscribing to Felvtalk" )   That online group also has a website with lots of up-to-date information - it's here: http://felineleukemia.org/
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FeLVPositiveCats/info   That group has been around for 14 years and is a less busy group - if you notice in the intro there, they suggest also joining the first group I mentioned
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PurringPixieCatResource/info    Again, a group that's been going for a while (13 years), but their focus is wider, being "info on rescue, transport,rehoming and medical questions" and including cats with another immune-related disease, FIV.   Perhaps put this one 'in your back pocket' for future reference or join (so you can at least read the messages) and assess its merits for yourself

Because you're now dealing with anemia, time is of the essence - the anemia MUST be addressed and adequately managed ASAP.....something your current Vet HAS NOT DONE.

I'm almost tempted to suggest that you find a cat-only Vet immediately and get started on proactively treating the anemia...then, go to the groups.  If you want to find a cat-only Vet, you can search here:  http://www.catvets.com/cat-owners/find-vets-and-practices   Do NOT use the red bar "cat-friendly" section.  Membership in the AAFP will not guarantee competency, but it's a good place to start.

See if you could have her seen later today or tomorrow - stress the urgency in your call.

(General practice Vets are really best left for the dogs.....when things get complicated with cats, they really tend to drop the ball....that comes from my own and many other members' experiences.)

Once you have arrangedto get her in, here's some plain-language, reliable reading about anemia treatments:  http://www.felinecrf.org/anaemia.htm#anaemia_treatments     (if you scroll up to the top of that page, you'll get a more big-picture of anemia itself....now, that site is focused on cats with kidney disease but, the general principles there apply to all cats).

But, don't delay....find a competent Vet !

Thank you so much for this information, I am such a wreck right now I don't even know what to do, you are a GodSEND!

I contacted another vet and he is going to call me back from The Cat Clinic here. I just feel worried about her anemia and breathing and with what you sent me a second opinion shouldn't be out of the question. Pray for us!

No one has called me back yet, OMG I am going crazy-I am leaving work soon - please pray for me everyone! I need my sanity.

Alisa Brown said:

 
... with what you sent me a second opinion should be out of the question

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Out of the question.......sorry, I don't understand.

I'm not even suggesting a second opinion......I'm recommending that you find a cat Vet who will aggressively treat the anemia as quickly as possible in order to stabilize her.

I mean, even the incompetent vet who dealt with my cat knew enough to treat and manage the anemia......to me, that is way before basic.

Do hang in there....I'm sure there's hope - a competent Vet will not turn away because of the disease itself and its inevitable outcome. A competent Vet should work with you to treat issues as they arise and to keep her as healthy as possible for as long as possible.......and no one will have a crystal ball, or rely on one to determine treatment choices !

Yes, my cat would probably, eventually have been taken as a result of the FeLV............BUT, NOT before 'his time'.

I meant to say Shouldn't---sorry about that!

Thank you WhiteShadow, God Bless you for being there for me.

Instead of just waiting, why not use your time to join up with one of those groups............there's nothing worse than the wait itself !

I went through the same thing Christmas 2012. Gayden, 5 years old at the time,  was lethargic and seemed very tired and under the weather for 3 or 4 days. My boyfriend thought I was being over the top worrying about him, but I decided to trust my instinct and take him to the vet. They discovered he was anemic and that it was the non-regenerative kind (which means his body couldn't produce red blood cells) and told me that the cause of anemia is ALWAYS bad - whether it's cancer, FeLV or whatever. So we tested for FeLV and he was positive.

The day I took him in they did the blood tests, and that night we brought him back and they injected him with Prednisone (or something that sounds very similar to that name) basically, a steroid. He blood count was down to 14%. Not quite low enough for a blood transfusion, but very low.

One week after his first injection, his blood count went up to 24%! The vet said that normally they would expect to see a 2 or 3% increase after only one week. He started eating well and enjoyed a little walk outside on his leash. I think he had one or two more injections and his blood count went up to 35%. He was completely back to his normal self after a very short time!!!

The vet gave us LITTLE OR NO HOPE AT ALL!!!! She basically said that I could take Gayden home and try to make his life as comfortable as possible but that ultimately, he wouldn't live very long. She couldn't say how long, but said maybe weeks or months.

Well, 5 months later he was still doing amazing. No signs at all of being anemic, so I decided to take him to another vet and do another blood test. One to test for FeLV again, this time using the IFA test. It detects antigen in the blood. Basically means that the virus is advanced or something - sorry not sure, but it is considered a more reliable test as it can't be done in house at the vet, it has to be sent away to another lab.

Anyway, according to his blood count he was still considered *slightly* anemic, but fine. And that his anemia was now regenerative (which means his body was producing red blood cells) And guess what? The IFA test showed that Gayden was NEGATIVE for FeLV! Now, this still doesn't mean that he doesn't have it. I would apparently need to do another SNAP test at the vet. Otherwise, as right now the results don't match - one negative, one positive, we can't be 100% certain that he doesn't have it.

But anemia is TREATABLE. But if it isn't treated QUICKLY, it is fatal. Sorry to scare you, but you need to get your fur baby to a reliable vet ASAP and get her injected with the necessary drugs to treat anemia, otherwise she might die.

As for FeLV, while it is considered a terminal illness, that doesn't mean by any stretch that your darling will die tomorrow!!! I recently volunteered at a cat shelter that had a special room for the FeLV patients, and one them was over 10 years old and looked GREAT. He had energy, good appetite...totally normal. The main thing to remember is that they need to live a stress free life and have a good diet.

A good diet means that you can't just buy the no name brand dry food from the grocery store! There is a wealth of information on the internet on cat nutrition...one site I love is catinfo.org.

Please don't give up hope! When Gayden was diagnosed I cried daily for weeks, certain he would be dead soon and that there was absolutely no hope at all for him. But I was WRONG. He's been alive and healthy for 15 months!

Best of luck!!!

Gayden, enjoying some sun by the window, 15 months after his diagnosis.

I did join thanks so much!

Thank you I talked to another vet and he was the same as the first- antibiotics are the only treatment.

I have contacted a vet at another cat clinic and am awaiting his response.

Don't worry about scaring me I am already scared now I just feel helpless until I can find a vet willing to do the necessary treatments.

Thank you so much I know they don't live as long as other cats but I want to give her a chance, she had a flare up at Thanksgiving that took her about 2 weeks to come back from so I am going to keep looking and trying. Thank you all for your support and experience.

Gayden is lovely!

I found an oncologist who will see her tomorrow for a consult for now she  says my cat (Stella) should be ok unless she takes a bad turn. 

Depending on how depressed her immune system is tomorrow will determine if we go with Prednisone or some other course of treatment. Thank goodness my husband found a new job recently so we can cover all these costs, but I would find a way even if he hadn't.

I think the stress of going to the vet had my cat in worse shape then normal because she ate dinner and is seemingly her old self  since we got home, except for her resting heart rate.

Thank you all for your support and information, i will keep you posted on my cats well being.

Love and blessings to everyone out there.

Sara457 - what a story !  And, to think of what might have happened.........

Yes, a form of the steroid prednisone (prednisolone) is one treatment....but, Alisa, you have a whole overview there in that link of many possible treatments.

I suggest that you post Stella's story with as much medical info as you have onto the FeLV message board and that make your primary question a request for a Vet recommendation for your location (as I said earlier, those message boards are private and not generally accessible - that said, I wouldn't be using my actual name when posting there).

I just noticed that you have another thread going somewhere else........this is confusing.

Thank you! He's a really great cat

I'm sure you'll find a vet to do the treatment, do you have an emergency vet in your area? We have a vet911, which is where I took him. Emergency places are open later than regular vets. Once your cat has received the injection - or blood transfusion depending on how low his blood count is, he'll have a much bigger chance of getting better.

OMG she just passed away. I was checking on her and she cried really loudly and let it go.

My heart is broken I cannot bear to let her go.

Thank you for your help we had a great year and a half or so together and I love her dearly.

I cannot stop crying...

I am so very sorry for your loss. No words are adequate. If and when you feel up to it, you could post a memorial thread about Stella in the Crossing the Bridge forum.

I am so very sorry to hear of your loss.  I have lost one unexpectedly.  It was very difficult in a different way than when you know their time is short.   

 The TCS team would like you to know that we are so very sorry for your loss. Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend.  

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