Feline Lukemia(sp?)

Hello I am new to this site and I have a question...

I rescued a kitten a week ago who was found in a parking lot. He is only 12 weeks old. He had diarrhea pretty bad so I took him to the vet today to have that checked out and also to have his shots and all. Turns out he has ear mites, whip worms (which is what was causing the diarrhea) but the scarest news came when the vet told me that he tested positive for feline lukemia . He told me that it is not a death sentence that it just means that his mom or dad had it and that he will retest in 4 to 6 months to see if it is still positive. My question is what is going to happen if the second test says positive? Is my cat going to die? I asked the vet and he said we should wait for the next test and then discuss what will happen but I am so worried. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.animalclinic.com/FELVEASY.htm see if this helps

Is this your only cat? If you have other cats, you should probably not keep this cat in your home as the virus can be transmitted to the other cats. Nowadays, many FeLuk positive cats have relatively long lives--though there is a chance of health problems, sometimes expensive ones, down the line. If your vet hasn't discussed/ won't discuss all of these issues with you, I reccomend you find another vet who will take the time to discuss these concerns with you.

Thank you for your replies..I do not have any other cats in my home. The vet did tell me to keep him away from other cats. The vet seemed nice but he also seemed real busy and in a hurry. I am going to find a new vet. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by kittycat05

Thank you for your replies..I do not have any other cats in my home. The vet did tell me to keep him away from other cats. The vet seemed nice but he also seemed real busy and in a hurry. I am going to find a new vet. Thanks again.

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You are very SMART to find another vet. Always go to a second vet in a situation such as this. FeLV is not necessarily a death sentence. What happens varies greatly from kitty to kitty, and much of it is simply genetic and completely out of your hands. Much of it will depend on his immunity system, how strong it is, and how old he is. 12 weeks is still a kitten and many times it's hard, as the young cat is just developing his immunity system so FeLV will comrpomise this growth, allowing other "stuff" to filter through when it ordinarily would not in a heathy cat, such as infections, illness, and cancer - which is the leukemia. Leukemia in a cat's system will allow the white blood cell count to elevate as the disease attacks the red blood cells, which are the main carriers of oxygen to the body. It prodcues symptoms that can range from high fevers which apppear and then disappear, to URI's that won't ever go away, to periods of lethargy. I suggest you read all you can, it helped us greatly. Do test 2 more times, at least, as many times the FeLV antibodies are present in a younger cat as he "ghosts" the disease from a parent, even though it is not active within himself. And a cat can carry FeLV for many years, it can be quite dormant, and live a healthy life. If you haven't decided to already, I highly recommned that you make him an indoor kitty, and you are lucky you don't have any other cats which could stress the situation and it's complicated.

Please feel free to send me a PM and I will help you through whenever you need it. I am praying and sending good vibes that he's only "ghosting" from his mama, and that the next test will be negative.
Elizabeth


(RIP Freddie 2/11/03 - 11/9/03 )

Kittycat05, I'm so very sorry your kitty has this diagnosis and hope he is able to fight this. It could very well be as sashacat posted that he is ghosting, and it could also be that he is able to develop enough of a resistance to actually fight it.

Please don't give up on him! Our cat Boy died 2 months ago on May 18th of this disease but he was also 9 years old. He adopted us as a stray when he was approx 2, so we really don't know if he was born with this or got it from another cat, but he was very very healthy right up until April 3rd of this year when he started presenting with neurological symptoms.

The best thing we did to learn about this disease, and what to expect, was to research on the internet. There is also an experimental drug trial being conducted by a renowned vet (I can only remember her first name is Alice) but it was in Ohio I believe and they were using a drug called Interferon, and finding excellent results in extending life expectancies. Unfortunately I found this too late to help my Boy, but ask your vet about it.

I'll see if I can find that link to that again and post it for you.

Best wishes for you & kitty! Thank you for rescuing her.

Lora

Kittycat05,
I'm back with more links for you. As I mentioned above, Interferon is a drug that is used now which is an immune-system booster. I hope you find very helpful information in the below

http://www.vetinfo.com/cfeleuk.html

http://www.felineleukemia.org/

http://www.islandpharmacy.com/interferon.htm
Note: their statistic of 4 months life-expectancy should have been clarified that that is for the 30% of cats who cannot fight the infection. I am only including this so that you can see the cost...$35 for 3-months according to this site

For "accurate" statistics, please see this site:
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FeLV.html

This is also a great site, with an assortment of qualified links (like Cornell University) to "back up" their information
http://www.bright.net/~zimm1/FightingFeLV/

If I can help you at all any further, even if it's just moral support, please do not hesitate to ask.

Lora

That's hardly a death senteence esp at his age. He is just a wee baby. He may have to be an indoor and only kitty tho - and I actually think most cats should live inside (too many dangers!!) - Here is a cute diary kept by an FeLV positive kitty in England (His meomy types for him I think, lol)

http://www.siliconhell.com/madcat/diaryindex.htm

Thank you all for the info and the sites...Sorry it has taken me a bit to reply but I had an emergency with my 2 boxers. They got into a deadly dose of rat poison!! So I have been freaking out since it happened. They are ok ( I hope) they went to vet and had blood work done so now we are waiting for the results. Until then they have some vitamin k pills. Anywho, the kitty cat is doing good. Her stools are getting back to normal and she is very active! I still have not found a vet I like. I looked around but no luck yet. I walked out of one today with my dogs cause it just didnt seem right. Then I went to another and they were ok but it just seems no one is good enough for my babies!!!

Thanks again...

Originally Posted by kittycat05

Thank you all for the info and the sites...Sorry it has taken me a bit to reply but I had an emergency with my 2 boxers. They got into a deadly dose of rat poison!! So I have been freaking out since it happened. They are ok ( I hope) they went to vet and had blood work done so now we are waiting for the results. Until then they have some vitamin k pills. Anywho, the kitty cat is doing good. Her stools are getting back to normal and she is very active! I still have not found a vet I like. I looked around but no luck yet. I walked out of one today with my dogs cause it just didnt seem right. Then I went to another and they were ok but it just seems no one is good enough for my babies!!!

Thanks again...

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I understand this completely. When Freddie got sick I drove over an hour to Sasha's old vet in the old neighborhood, as the clinic director was a known specialist in FeLV. It wasn't even an option to go closer to hom, I wanted the best. If you feel comfortable letting us know what city you are enear, I'm sure somebody might have a referral or two, you never know!

Originally Posted by sashacat421

If you feel comfortable letting us know what city you are enear, I'm sure somebody might have a referral or two, you never know!

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I live in Eustis Florida. Im near the Mount Dora/Leesburg area.