Felv T-Cyte treatment for Benjamin

My wife and I have fostered a Felv+ shelter cat while it is undergoing T-Cyte treatment. Benjamin is quartered in a "quarantine-room" separate from our other 3 house cats. He has the run of the room and more attention than he's used to and seems content with the arrangement. He's been with us now for a month.
We just today returned from receiving his 3rd T-Cyte injection. One a week for 3 weeks. In addition he is on Interferon (21 days on, 7 days off) and an herbal supplement pill of some kind administered once daily (butter coating seems to make the pill easier to administer).
He gets a weekly blood panel.
He was and remains very anemic (RBC

What does the vet say about the T-Cyte treatment? My little girl was diagnosed with FeLV. PCV was originally down to 15 recently, went back up to 24 on its own but has since dipped back down to 22. I'm worried, but she's eating and being a bit more playful than previous days, so not sure what to make of it all. We are going every week for more blood tests to check on the RBC, but last time since it dipped again bet was less optimistic that my kitty could fight the virus. Any info on T-Cyte would be helpful.

Natmed

I suggest that you go to the T-Cyte web page for information on the drug itself. As far as treatment goes, I would further suggest finding a vet in your area that has experience with the drug. The actual procedure or protocol would depend on a lot of things that I am in no way able to offer any advice on. My personal experience has been that if the cat is a carrier of the virus only then there is a reasonable chance that the virus can be controlled. If the cat is showing symptoms of the disease i.e. It HAS cancer, there is relatively little chance of any success with T-Cyte. It isn't cheap. The treatments take many months at least.
Benjamin shows no signs of cancer at present. LYM-4.28 is very normal. That being said, the virus is at work. He is very anemic. RBC-1.83. HCT(PVC)-12.7. HGB-4.2. He weighs 10.3 pounds. He doesn't seem to eat well, but we don't know if he ever did since we've only had him a month. He seems to be a grazer eating a little at a time, many times a day/night. We have fed him just about everything we can think of to get his red blood cell count up. Organ meat esp. liver is good. Lamb as well. Any potential issues related to Vitamin A toxicity take a backseat to the anemia.
Benjamin's protocol is a T-Cyte injection once a week for 3 weeks and the a 4th, two weeks later. At hat time he will be tested and reevaluated for Felv. He is also on interferon and herbal supplements as well as other pills and potions as needed. We have placed a lot of trust in our vet whom we have known for some time and has considerable experience wrt T-Cyte.

Finally, it's a bitch as they say. Money aside there is a lot to consider. I've lost two cats to Felv over the past several years. I hate it. I hate having to deal with it. I refuse to kill (yes I said kill) a cat that isn't suffering just for convience. Time enough for that mercy when it comes. I believe that there are treatment options available.

It was this vet who recommended it. She has a fair amount of "real world" experience with it and is as pro T-Cyte as a vet is likely to be over anything. She has had everything from failures to remission to retesting Felv-. It might be easy to dismiss T-Cyte as a "snake oil" cure for Felv. I'm a glass-half-empty person myself and not inclined to take anything on face value. If you are interested, take some time and look around the net. There's enough info there to make an informed decision. Personally, I would try to find a vet who is familiar with the drug and has had some experience with both the drug and the treatment protocol. I would further caution that a much, much better chance of success is obtained when the treatment begins before the onset of active cancer.

Benjamin just returned from his 4th T-Cyte injection. Weight stable at 10.3 lbs.
LYM up a little to 6.00 from 4.28, but still in the normal range. RBC is up a little to 2.27 from 1.83. HCT(PVC) is up to 16.1 from 12.7. HGB is also up to 5.5 from 4.2. We are pleased with his red blood cell parameters which were so very low for some time.
He's eating ok. Putting away about 2 oz of raw liver a day in addition to whatever else we can convince him to eat. He is a BIG catnip fan and I have sprinkled a pinch on his dry kibble and that has helped a lot in getting him to eat more of that.
5th injection in 4 weeks. Interferon and herbal supplements continue. He is slowly improving.

Benjamin just returned from his 7th T-Cyte injection. His progress at the end of the first 4 injections was not what our vet had hoped. The blood work still showed the FeLv virus present and the red blood cell parameters are still low. After consulting with the T-Cyte lab our vet began a more aggressive protocol. Over the past week Benjamin has been given 3 injections, 2 days apart rather than the week or two as before. Now we wait for two weeks to see the results. Otherwise, Benjamin is much the same (no worse). Still anemic and not eating particularly well. His energy level has improved some. Still no signs of active cancer.

The latest vet visit for Benjamin is promising. He is over the effects of the last 3 T-cyte injections. His weight, down to about 8 pounds, is starting to improve as is his anemia. We are concentrating on his diet for now. It is felt, by the vet, that 7 injections was appropriate for his condition and "viral loading". We wait for a week at which time a CBC will tell us where we are. He is doing fine except his appetite is not what it should be. We are administering food supplements.

[thread="333759"]Ltci And Cat With Felv  [/thread]
Hi Lyle, 

I noticed your thread here and had to reach out. I also have a FeLV+ cat who is anemic and I have just started LTCI on her. Posted a thread today here. Just did her second shot this past Sunday with her third this coming Sunday. Can I ask when you started seeing results? I'm not expecting an overnight cure and my vet told me they could not promise anything but my kitty still seems so lethargic and eating is a struggle. Thanks for your help!

It's been over 4 months and 7 injections. Prob 6-8 blood profiles. I'm sure that our vet would say every cat would be different. The higher the viral "load", age, general condition, etc. 7 injections is more than is usually needed. Benjamin lost about 2 pounds over the course of treatments, down to 8 pounds from 10. Was very anemic with RBCs 1-2. Very poor appetite. He has just started to eat a little better and we have been syringe feeding him a supplement called Emeraid for the past two weeks, 4 times a day. 200 cal/day. He just wouldn't/coulden't eat enough food on his own. I would say that if the viral load is very high it's going to be some months to a cure. During that period there will be many times when it may seem that it's not going well, but hang in there and do what you can. The virus is going to manifest itself in ways as it tries to take over and the drug has some sideffects as well that may look bad, but are just the drug working its way. We are lucky to have a vet with some experience with T-Cyte and knows what is expected and what is not. Benjamin is going in for a vet visit tomorrow with a CBC. If his weight is starting to increase and his red blood cell counts are rising I think that the worse is over and we should begin to see a gradual increase in health and an end of the virus to follow. Prob another few months.

Hi Lyle, 

I just also noticed your thread, and have a cat myself with suspected FELV.   I help volunteer with a Trap/Neuter/Release group, and had to keep this little kitten back from release as he had an eye removed, was dehydrated, and a bit emaciated as well.  Anyway, the TNR group does not Snap test, so I paid my vet to do it when this guy tested faint positive for FELV.  Neg for FIV.

Its been about 10 weeks since, and I have kept him isolated in a jumbo cage until I know what to do....    We only have a couple vets here in Kailua Kona Hawaii, and none know about T-Cyte at all, nor have any used it, giving me the impression they don't have confidence in T-Cyte at all.

In fact, our Humane Society automatically euthanizes any cat brought in for spay/neuter who tests positive for Felv or Fiv.  Its their standard policy, no choice given.

My Vet suggested a follow up test in 3 months to recheck, and its about that time.  Meanwhile, One-eye Jack is holding stable I think, but he only eats mostly temptation treats, a little dry kitten, and freeze dried chicken treats. (his current favorite)

Might you have any suggestions ?   I have other indoor cats, and am concerned about spreading the FELV at all between any of them. 

    Thanks much,  Ray

oh,  I hope Benjamin is doing a little better.

Hi Lyle, can you please update us on Benjamin?