dturm wrote:
Feline Leukemia
Unfortunately, there is no cure. Sometimes we can get a cat through an acute episode, but eventually almost all die early.
Very often it is the immunosuppressive effects of FeLV that cause them to die from other diseases.
Really tough situation and no easy answers.
Doug, DVM
That's been my experience. For me, I have done everything to make the cat comfortable for as long as humanely possible and then took action when necessary.
As a side note: I had a cat who carried FeLV and had a litter of kittens. Within the first week, the kittens started dying and as I didn't know she carried FeLV, I rushed them to the vet's. He diagnosed them and said I'd lose them all within another week or two. After 2 weeks, I had 2 kittens still alive. After a month, one of the kittens developed large swellings on his ankle joints (the other still showed no signs). I took the one in and the vet gave me some antibiotics for him and forewarned me that I'd lose him shortly. His swollen joints went back to normal. At 6 months, they were both still alive. The little girl had no signs at all - we figured she was a carrier like her mother. The little boy's body didn't grow, so he had a "big head", but other than that he was healthy. I got her spayed. He was the apple of everyone's eye. He went to work with me (the bookkeeper kept toys and treats in her desk for him). Everyone who saw him for the first time would say "oh that's pitiful", but after 5 minutes, they'd be trying to steal him from me. Even the vet was amazed when I brought him in to get neutered at 9 months. When he was 11 months, his system finally crashed. One week later, although she had no symptoms or problems, she died in her sleep. Mama lived many more years.
