Help Me!!!!!?

Question

I have a kitten and my vet thinks he may have feline leukimia. i need to know anything there is about this disease. so if you know please help. i need to research it. please. signs symptoms anything i just need help i am desperate

Answer 1

Hi Stephanie...consider also joining an online support Groups for cats who have been diagnosed FeLV positive. Not only does everyone here lend emotional support but provide helpful tips and hints on how to help better manage the life of a FeLV positive cat.

Here's the Yahoo Group:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FeLVPositiveCats/

Here's the Yahoo group description:
This page is started to help the cats and kittens that are diagnosed with Feline Leukemia. It is intended to provide information, forms of treatment for feline leukemia and serve as a database for shelters, foster homes, or cat owners who would be willing to accept a feline leukemia positive cat. The norm now is to euthanize all cats with feline leukemia at shelters, humane societies, etc...This page is intended to serve as an alternative to euthanasia. There are immune system treatments that change 44% of feline leukemia positive cases negative!! It is so hard to find shelters, or homes with feline leukemia positive cats that this page can hopefully serve as an informative, lifesaving network for feline leukemia positive cats and their caretakers. THIS GROUP IS A "QUIET" GROUP. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALSO JOINING A MUCH MORE ACTIVE GROUP WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT FELINELEUKEMIA.ORG

AND

http://Felineleukemia.org

Answer 2

Sorry to hear that... Have your vet run a quick blood test which tests FELV/FIV (Feline Leukemia Virus/ Feline Infectious Peritonitis. If the kitten is younger than 6 months, however, the test results may prove eroneous.
After the kitten is 6 months, you can get the kitty retested, but until then, keep the cat inside, so not let it have any contact with other cats, and get him or her fully vaccinated.
If, at that time, the cat tests positive for FELV/FIV, it is still imperative that, if you do decide to keep the cat, (as opposed to euthanizing) it must be kept indoors - (if you have others in the house that are FELV -neg. this is not a good idea).
There are probably some rescue centers in your area that will be willing to take a FELV/FIV -pos. cat in, and will rehome it, providing it shows no symptoms, in a single-cat home
Feline leukemia is spread through saliva and/or blood (scratches/bites, etc.) It is not transmittable to humans, but in most cases will prove fatal to cats. Some may show symptoms from a very young age, others may carry the virus for years and not show any symptoms.
Ask your vet what he/she recommends for your kitty.
I hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 3

I have taken care of over thirty felv positive cats. Treat them as is they didn't have the disease except as soon as they cough get them to the vet for treatment. I found giving the cats liver (people food) cooked three times a week helps build up their iron. Most felv cats show no signs of the disease. If your vet trust you ask her for a supply of anti biotics and pred to keep on hand. Learn how to take the cats temperature and if he looks run down take it, anything over the norm call the vet. How long your kitten lives depends on the disease, I had three live over ten years, the kittens have a harder time and if they are with other cats or go outside their chances go down. Just keep a eye on him coughing, runny nose or eyes. call the vet. good luck.

Answer 4

my granddaughters 4yr cat couldn't walk I thought she got hit by a car so I took it to the vet' he said it has feline leukemia' he gave me some kind of antibiotic for it. I didn't think she would make it' she did and that was 4 Mt's ago' shes walking and running and eating good. he said she will always be a carrier so never let her around other cats or they will get it too 'its very very contagious to other cats. coughing is one symptom he said'. be sure and take it to vet. and get medican for it. I don't know much more about it I need to research it too; I know my granddaughter loves her very much ' I'm happy for her its OK for now' but their is no cure for it the vet said; good luck

Answer 5

There is no cure for feline leukemia unfortunately. Your vet should be able to give you the best way to treat your kitty, to lengthen his life, or to humanly euthanize him. I know this must seem like the worst possible news, but you need to think of your kitty first and his quality of life. My thoughts are with you and your kitty during this very difficult time.

Answer 6

I'm sorry, but there is no cure for Feline Leukemia. If you do a search on the internet, plug in "feline leukemia" and it will bring you up a TON of sites with information on it.

Answer 7

Hi help me,

Some cats have feline leuk. they can live long normal lives the main things to remember are keep him away from other cats and see your vet. regularly!

Answer 8

Honey, if you were just at the vet why didn't you discuss this with him? As far as I know, he probably will not survive but educate yourself as best as you can. I'm so sorry...good luck.

Answer 9

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus , a virus in which genetic information is contained in RNA instead of DNA. All retroviruses, including feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), produce an enzyme called reverse transcriptase . Reverse transcriptase permits them to insert copies of their own genetic material into that of the cells they have infected. Although often mistaken as being the same virus, feline leukemia and FIV differ in many ways. One way they differ is their shape: FeLV is more circular while FIV is elongated. The two viruses are also quite different genetically, and their protein coats differ in size and composition. Although many of the diseases caused by FeLV and FIV are similar, the specific ways in which they are caused differs.

Types of Feline Leukemia
There are three types of the feline leukemia virus: FeLV-A (which causes a weakened immune system), FeLV-B (which can cause tumors) and FeLV-C (which causes severe anemia). Cats can have any combination or all three types of the virus.

Feline Leukemia Symptoms
Symptoms can vary at different stages of illness. in the first few weeks after they contract the infection they may have:

* depression or dissatisfaction
* swollen lymph nodes
* low or mild fevers

Again, depending upon the stage of the illness, some symptoms may include:

* low levels of red blood cells
* poor appetite
* blood in the stool
* fevers
* weight loss
* less energy
* diarrhea
* constipation
* abnormally high water drinking
* jaundice
* recurring infections such as bacterial, fungal and other viral infections

According to the Animal Health Channel website, symptoms of FeLV-infected cats that have cancer include the following:

* constipation
* cloudy eyes
* intestinal inflammation and diarrhea
* liver or kidney disease
* neurological abnormalities
* respiratory distress
* vomiting

Testing
The two blood tests that can detect FeLV are:

* enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
* immunofluorescence assay (IFA)

ELISA helps detects antigens in the blood at an early stage of the infection and IFA detects them in the white blood cells. Once the feline leukemia virus enters bone marrow both tests can detect the virus. ELISA tests can result in more false positive results.

Tests that use a cat's saliva and tears are not very reliable. They are mainly used when it is difficult to get blood samples.

For more information on feline leukemia, visit the Animal Health Channel website.

Cats infected with feline leukemia serve as sources of infection. The virus is released from the body in saliva and nasal secretions. It is also transmitted, though not as often, in urine, feces, and milk from infected cats. Cat-to-cat transfer of the virus may occur from a bite wound, during mutual grooming, and sometimes even through the shared use of litter boxes and feeding dishes. Transmission can also take place from an infected mother cat to her kittens, either before they are born or while they are nursing. The feline leukemia virus doesn't survive long outside a cat's body, probably less than a few hours under normal household conditions.

There are many possible outcomes as to how successfully the cat's immune system will react to the virus. About forty percent of cats extinguish the virus. Sixteen percent of these fight it off due to minimal exposure to it. The other twenty-four percent resist the virus at phase four, which will be described later. All of this usually occurs between sixteen to eighteen weeks after the feline leukemia infection begins. About twenty percent are able to put the virus into a latent stage, in which the virus will remain until the cat becomes stressed causing the feline leukemia virus to re-emerge. About five to ten percent of cats go through a sequestered stage in which viremia is limited, intermittened, or absent altogether. Approximately thirty percent of cats go through the disease from start to finish, normally resulting in death.

A lot of cat owners have seen remarkable success using the 4Life transfer factor products to boost their cat's immune system which helps your cat fight this disease naturally.

Once the virus has entered the cat, there are six phases to a feline leukemia infection:

* Phase one is when the virus enters the cat, usually through the pharynx where it infects the epithelial cells and infects the tonsillar B-lymphocytes and macrophages. These white blood cells then filter down to the lymph nodes and begin to replicate.
* Phase two, the virus enters the blood stream and begins to distribute throughout the body.
* Phase three starts when the lymphoid system (produces antibodies to attack infected and cancerous cells) becomes infected with further distribution throughout the body.
* Phase four is the main point in the infection, where the virus can take over the body's immune system cause viremia. During this phase the hemolymphatic system and intestines become infected. If the cat's immune system does not fight off the virus, then it goes onto phase five
* Phase five is where the bone marrow becomes infected. At this point, the virus will stay with the cat for the rest of its life. In this phase, the virus replicates and is released four to seven days later in infected neutrophils (white blood cells), and sometimes lymphocytes, monocytes (white blood cell formed in the bone marrow), and eosinophils (another white blood cell).
* Phase six is where the cat's body is overwhelmed by infection and mucosal and glandular epithelial cells (tissue that forms a thin protective layer on exposed bodily surfaces and forms the lining of internal cavities, ducts, and organs) become infected. The virus replicates in epithelial tissues including salivary glands, oropharynx, stomach, esophagus, intestines, trachae, nasopharynx, renal tubules, bladder, pancreas, alveolar ducts, and sebaceous ducts from the muzzle.

The replication process of the feline leukemia virus is fairly straight forward. First the virus attaches to receptors on surface of the target cell. Then the virus penetrates the cell membrane, sheds its envelope and capsid, and releases its single stranded RNA and reverse transcriptase. Reverse transcriptase, with the help of the cat's cellular enzymes, makes the ssRNA into double stranded DNA. The dsDNA circulates and integrates into the nucleus and attempts to incorporate into the cat's chromosomes. If the viral DNA is successful in incorporating into the cat's DNA it transcribes to mRNA. The new viral RNA, proteins, and reverse transcriptase are synthesized, assembled, and then bud from the plasma membrane as a new feline leukemia virus to infect another cell. When the dsDNA is integrated into the nucleus it can have four possible effects:

* productive infection
* latent infection
* insertional mutagenesis (in which the viral DNA is incorporated into a critical part of the DNA and mutates the cell)
* and finally failure of integration (where viral DNA accumulates in the cell and is toxic to it).


i really hope that helped

Answer 10

get a second opinion on this. i hope everything is all right with your kitten=] and try typing it it google it comes up with a whole bunch of stuff