Forum Discussion

qtla9111's avatar
Apr 11, 2015

Diagnosis - Feline Leukemia

Took our feral cat to the vet. We were out of town for a week and on return found the cat to be lethargic and thin. Swollen glands, some liver damage. The vet has Missy on an IV drip plus vitamins and antibiotics. Not sure what to do next.

Missy was eating soft food that she could swallow yesterday and this morning but the vet doesn't recommend feeding. Is there a reason for that? She is getting very thin.

This came upon us without any warning. Not sure how to proceed. We go by the hospital in the morning. Help!

16 Replies

  • If it were mine with an incurable disease, I would have them home with me, make them as comfortable as possible, including feeding them if they want it and then when they no longer have any quality of life or are in pain, help them with one final visit to the vet.
  • Should we bring him home and make him comfortable? Should we try treatment? They are saying he needs five treatments but I can't read the writing. It looks like Immune ST or the other is Virbagen. Is that right? I'd rather comfort a sick cat at home them have him be there by himself.

    Thanks for your help and advice.
  • 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.
  • Sorry to hear about your kitty Missy. Things can happen especially with a feral cat as you have no idea where or what their life was like or what diseases they were subjected to prior to you adopting it..
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    You might want to ask the vet what the false positive rate is for the FLV test, and maybe do a second test. I had a roommate whose cat was diagnosed with FLV and it turned out to be a false positive.
  • 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