Q: feline leukemia

Answered by used_to_be_red_kitty-cat on 2/10/2004, 12:47 pm

A: feline leukemia

> I got told today that the kittens who are 1 yr old that we
> nursed with a bottle when we found them at only a day old
> have feline leukemia.I almost died. They are inside cats
> and have been.They had to of got this from their real mom.Is
> there anything I can do to make them stay healthy and
> active?I am wanting to learn about this more ...any
> suggestions?Right now putting them to sleep is not a option{
> as I feel and their vet as well}they are not showing
> signs.....
>
I have had feline leukemia positive cats for 8 years now (I work in rescue, and we keep unadoptable cats, like FeLV+ ones). The suggestions that I can give you are:

1. Keep all stress levels to a minimum. No new pets, limit visitors, try not to bring in any new furniture, limit vaccations, etc. No vet visits unless absolutely necessary (for instance, skip visits for nail clipping or cutting out mats), and NEVER any boarding.

2. I suggest (as most vets do) skipping vaccinations on these guys. The body requires a huge immune response when a vaccine is injected. This proves to be too much for most FeLV+ cats' systems.

3. Feed a high quality food, like Nutro Natural, Wellness, or Flint River Ranch. Many others are full of carcinogenic preservatives, and cats with FeLV are predisposed to cancer already.

4. You might want to supplement their immune systems and reduce stress with a multi-vitamin, available through your vet or pet stores, or DMG, a supplement also available at pet stores and some vets.

5. There is a drug on the market called Interferon. It is used to treat AIDS in humans. The drug is supposed to stifle virus reproduction, and in turn, allow the immune system to concentrate on keeping other illnesses at bay. Some swear by Interferon to treat feline leukemia. However, no real studies have been done, yet, for veterinary use, and it is expensive. I have tried it and don't have anything against it, but it's hard to tell if it is really doing any good, since each case of leukemia varies so greatly.

6. Watch for every little illness, every cough, every sniffle, every missed meal, and the slightest loss of weight, and check the gums and mouth for sores daily. Treating immediately is key.

I'm so sorry to hear of your story. Feline leukemia is one of the diseases I'd most like to see cured, second only to cancer. Fortunately, with antibiotics today, the immune suppression part of the disease can usually be managed quite nicely. Often, the chronic problems FeLV+ cats have, like diarrhea, mouth sores, gingivitis, and eye problems, can be controlled with regular use of antibiotics. Once these problems start to arise, you should talk to your vet about setting up a regimen of treatment for your cats.

In the end, cancer claims more lives than secondary disease these days. This can be very difficult, because cancer sneaks up so suddenly. Mediastinal or thymic lymphoma are the most common, and these are between the lungs and are extremely difficult to detect until breathing problems and loss of appetite occur. For this reason, you really need to be on your toes about noticing changes in their activity levels and appetites. You don't want them to go on suffering because you miss a symptom.

I am with you about not euthanizing. Although more than 99.9%% of FeLV+ cats do end up dying from disease-related illness, they can live a good quality of life for months, even years. Recent evidence shows that the average cat lives about 2 1/2 to 3 years from initial infection. I have four FeLV+ cats now, and I've lost...hmmm...just thinking back over the last couple years very briefly, I can think of three full litters of kittens and 8 adults. The cats infected as kittens lived shortest. Nearly all of them died well before their first birthday. So the fact that your two have reached adulthood is encouraging. You likely have another good year or two of reasonable health, possibly longer! Again, careful attention to every change in your cats' behavior is the most important thing when dealing with feline leukemia.