We're losing Scout. :(

We took Scout, our youngest kitty, in to get spayed on Wednesday. Afterwards she was extremely lethargic and developed a fever which she can't seem to kick and antibiotics haven't been working. Our vet did a blood tests for FIV and feline leukemia. He just called and said she's positive for leukemia so we'll probably have to have her put down in the morning.

And to top it off, Emily is the only one of our 3 other cats that's been vaccinated against FLV. So we have to get Romeo & Tennessee tested (and probably Emily tested again, just in case) and I pray to God they didn't get it.

Poor little Scout. She's such a sweet little cat. We strongly suspect she was pretty badly abused before we got her because she was always way too shy & timid, especially for a kitten. So at least she got to see what a good life was, even if it was just for 3 months.



-Chelle

 

Oh Chelle, that's so sad. I hope the others are alright. I'm sending huge cyber hugs your way.

 

Oh no. My thoughts and prayers are with you right now. *HUGS*

 

I'm really sorry about Scout. I hope everything turns out alright for the other kitties. My thoughts are with you!

 

I'm so sorry about Scout. :cry:

I also hope your other kitties are okay. Please keep us posted.

 

Chelle, I am so sorry to hear this. :cry: What sad news. She's such a cutie. Your pics are always so wonderful. I hope your other kitties will all test negative. At least she was well cared for and loved very much, even if it was only for a short time. Hang in there, Chelle. :cry:

 

We just got back from the vet and we haven't given up yet. The vet sill has some hope and he's switched her to the strongest antibiotic he has. If she can just kick the fever, then she can come home and as long as she doesn't get really stressed or sick, she very well could live for years so we're going to give her that chance. And really, other than being pale and having a fever, she's acting pretty normal and looks pretty good.

We did take the 3 other cats in to be tested (should find out tonight) and got Romeo & Ten vaccinated (Emily was vaccinated last March and even if Romeo & Ten have it, the vaccine won't hurt them so it's better to be safe).

We also found out Ten has tape worms. :roll: Don't know where the heck she got them. Emily didn't have them and they couldn't get a fecal on Romeo (he's not good with exams - took 4 people just to draw the blood) but he & Ten are best buds - if one has, it the other probably does too so we got them each some meds for that.

I do have a question for anyone who has dealt with FLV. I've read that the vaccine is only about 90% - 95% effective but my vet says that if Scout gets over this infection, there shouldn't be any problem keeping her around the other cats as long as they're vaccinated. Does anyone have any expeience keeping a FLV+ cat around vaccinated FLV- cats? Did the other cats get it despite being vaccinated? We'll keep Scout separated if she really needs to be, but if it's okay, we'd rather let them all stay together.

-Chelle

 

my thoughts are with you and Scout... I hope she pulls through so she can have a lifetime of happiness in her new home!

 

I really hope that things work out. I don't know about the vaccine - I'm pretty lucky I've never had to deal with that situation.

But, I'll keep all the kitties in my thoughts and I hope that Scout pulls throught.

BTW, that's a beautiful picture of him.

 

I'm so sorry to hear the bad news... I'll keep my fingers crossed for poor little Scout and the rest of your kitties.

 

I'm so sorry to hear this and I hope your other cats are not affected. Lots of hugs and prayers for you and Scout...hoping she is feeling better and can live out the rest of her life happily with you. Please keep us posted.

 

Thanks. We went to see her again (dad didn't get to come with us this morning) and she's acting a little better. Her ears are a little more pink and she was wanting to explore.

-Chelle

 

My thoughts are with Scout, you and your family. I hope she feel better real soon.

 

Just got a call from the vet. Tennessee is positive, Romeo & Emily are negative. So we're just going to play it by ear and keep a really close eye on them. If Ten starts showing even the least little sign of not acting right, we'll take her in to get looked at and be put on antibiotics (she's acting perfectly fine for now, though).

I don't think we're going to try to separate them. Romeo & Ten are absolute best buddies and it would break their hearts to be separated. And I've heard from a couple people who had a positive cat with a vaccinated negative cat and didn't have any problems.

-Chelle

 

My cats have gotten them too. All they have to do is just swallow one little flea. Even if they are treated for fleas, they can still jump on them and your cat licks his/her fur and swallows the little bugger and viola...tape worms. They can also get it by eating raw meat and raw freshwater fish.

 

There is such a thing as a "false positive" where the cat tests positive for it but doesn't have it. (the same goes for FIV- if a cat is vaccinated against FIV they'll test positive forever after)

http://www.belfield.com/article2.html

If your kitten actually has feline leukemia, some testimonials:


Subject: Feline Leukemia FIV positive: a death sentence overturned
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003
From: Susan Jeter
I had two kittens born from a Feline Leukemia FIV positive cat. I had no idea what this disease was until one got sick. Within three days of diagnosis, he had to be put to sleep. A week later the other kitten got sick. He could not stand, eat or hold his head up. I had the Transfer Factor Plus (human formula) sent over night and started giving it to him twice a day. I tried to mix the powder from the capsule with his food but the smell turned him off. I mix the content of one capsule with water and use a half cc syringe (which I got from the vet) to inject the product into his throat. He gets the content of one capsule in the morning and one at night. He is actually so strong now that it is a struggle to hold him down. The taste is obviously not very good. It has been 10 days now and I am watching him enjoy life outside. He has his appitite back, can stand and run. This is a miracle. I could not have lived through losing another one of my "children."

Subject: Very sick cat cured of leukemia and other symptoms
Date: August 18, 2005
From: Sharon Martinsen
I have had dramatic turnarounds with the Transfer Factor Advanced Plus and the Bioenergetic device I use. One cat was so weak he could not move from his cage even to pee and would not eat or drink, weighed very little, was bleeding from the ears and nose and wheezed when he breathed and had leukemia. His blood pressure and cell count was so low that the vet said to euthanize him, that his brain was bleeding and he would be dead by morning. They gave him fluids but she said he was too far gone. I gave him a Bio-energetic session and the Transfer FActors Emergency packet that night as well as Transfer Factor Advanced Plus . The next morning he was not dead. In fact, he was up and out of his cage and eating and drinking. The bleeding from his ears turned out to be a terrible case of ear mites - he was not bleeding from his brain. He made remarkable improvement and in two months with weekly sessions and continued use of the Transfer Factors was a healthy cat. The people have continued to keep him on the Transfer Factors since he has leukemia. Although they haven't had him tested recently and he may not even show positive for it anymore

Feline Leukemia
"My cat was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia and the vet considered euthanasia. - Nefret was about 8 weeks old when I found her. I was going to work and looked over into my neighbors driveway and saw what I thought was a baby rabbit...all ears. The animal got up and started to wobble down the driveway and I realized it was a kitten. I went over to investigate and found a VERY sick kitten. I took her into the house and gave my daughter instructions on how to care for her until I got home. I made a vet appt. for that afternoon. The vet examined her. She was severely dehydrated, malnourished, had a major case of hookworms, diarrhea, and a severe respiratory infection. She also tested positive for feline leukemia. The vet suggested, at that point, to consider euthanasia. We didn't opt for that and were sent home with an antibiotic and a kitten kit.
Nefret was on the antibiotic for 10 days and was still snotty and sneezing. We were given a second course of the same antibiotic. About 5 days into the second course, I came home to find her fairly unresponsive and very warm. I immediately called the vet and was given the euthanasia option again and was told this was fairly typical of cats testing positive for feline leukemia. I asked for a stronger antibiotic instead, said a prayer and went on the net to do some research on alternatives to traditional treatment for this disease. I read about the 4 Life Transfer Factor. I ordered and had the transfer factor overnighted.
Nefret received a dose with her morning food and again in the evening. Her response was amazing. Within two days she was acting like a normal, wild and wonderful kitten. She is a little over six months old now. She was spayed about 5 weeks ago and had a full blood work-up done at that time. Her blood work came back absolutely normal. The vet was amazed and couldn't believe that this was the same kitten. She continues to receive her 4 Life supplement just with her morning food and I will continue that for her lifetime. I now have a bundle of pure energy and joy in my life". Libby McCourt, Winchester, VA

http://www.wasatchhealth.com/Pages/TF-Animals.html

http://www.4life.com/products/AnimalHealth/index.html

 

Thanks for the info. We'll definitely look into it.

And here's a little update on Scout.

Her fever had been running around 104 (102 is high-normal, 106 is fatal). A couple days ago it went up to 105. They put her on some meds for the fever and it's back down to 104, but that's more a matter of treating the symptoms than the actual cause. But there's really nothing else our vet can do there, so she's back home where she's comfortable and not quite so stressed and we have the fever meds and antibiotics to give to her. We're also going to keep her separated from the other cats so she doesn't pick up anything else from them, and we'll just see how she does. I will look into that Transfer Factor stuff.

Oh and everything (including all kinds of meds, 1 1/2 weeks at the clinic, daily exams, an in-clinic blood test, and the leukemia test) only came to $45. That's one of the many things I love about this vet. Not only is he an excellent vet, he also tries his hardest to keep costs down so people can actually afford to treat their pets rather than have them put down because they don't have the money.

Meanwhile, Romeo & Emily are getting their 2nd vaccinations in a couple weeks. Then in another couple of months, we'll have them all re-tested (mom has read about some cats showing a false positive for a couple months so we want to double check Ten and make sure Romeo & Emily are still negative).

-Chelle

 

Thanks for the update, t_chelle. Poor kitty.

 

She's still hanging in there. We took her temp last night and it was 103.8 so at least it went down a little (haven't checked it today yet).

I think she has some brain/nerve damage (from the fever, maybe). Her back legs are pretty wobbly (could also be from laying around at the clinic and not walking for 1 1/2 weeks). And it's like she can't control her tail so it's constantly swishing back & forth which throws her off balance. She's also done some weird things like licking her litter box & trying to eat her litter. She's never done anything like that before. We switched to a natural, plant-based liter because we don't want her ingesting that clay.

Oh, and I learned a new trick for pilling a cat from the vet tech. Tilt her head back, open her mouth, and drop the pill in. Then hold her mouth shut and gently blow in her face. It works like a charm.

-Chelle

 

Oh, and I snapped a couple pics yesterday.





-Chelle