A state of the Johnny note...
So...it's complicated.
Official diagnosis: Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) with SEVERE anemia.
I have a few more questions for the vet that I'll get answered tomorrow hopefully. I was given a recommendation of Blood Transfusion or Euthenasia. *sighs* She is being distinctly unopen to alternative treatments or therapies so far.
BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is doing better than he was. Still rather anemic (his usually pink & black nose is grey & black) I would guess, but in addition to my force feeding KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement...something nutitional with a high caloric count that is easily administered), he ate his regular food a bit today. he's been up and moving...drinking water from his bowl...eating treats, being responsive...he even played a little. He's also grooming himself right at this minute (first time in DAYS!!!). I've also started an Iron/B vitamin suppliment to see if that will help boost his red blood cell production/count.
What I need to know from the vet is this: is the Anemia regenerative or non-regenerative. Most of the websites I saw said FeLV usually causes non-regenerative due to how it works in the bone marrow. BUT!!! Some sites didn't say or said otherwise. Also, if it was non-regenerative a blood transfusion would only help him for like 1 week and then he'd need another.
So must find that out. I also want to check on Erythropoetin or Anabolic Steriod treatments....Both encourage the body to create red blood cells.
Either way, not giving up hope yet. Just taking it day by day. As I get more information I can figure out what to do. For the moment, Euthenasia is off the table until Monday. I want to at least see if he'll recover. Plus, FeLV has 2 stages. If he's in the first stage, his body could develop antibodies for it and he could become darn near perfectly healthy. If it's the second stage, he can still be happy and not wasting away sick. Most folks when their cats contract FeLV automatically euthenize, so there is no real data for recovery/treatments/long term effects.
So while I am not ruling out Euthenasia entirely at this point. I really want to see if my baby boy will get better on his own. he's a tough boy, I know he'll do his best!
Also, the FeLV test came back for Sasha as negative, though they recommend her being retested in about 2-3 months to make sure.
A younger Johnny in a drawer:
Johnny now:
Official diagnosis: Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) with SEVERE anemia.
I have a few more questions for the vet that I'll get answered tomorrow hopefully. I was given a recommendation of Blood Transfusion or Euthenasia. *sighs* She is being distinctly unopen to alternative treatments or therapies so far.
BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is doing better than he was. Still rather anemic (his usually pink & black nose is grey & black) I would guess, but in addition to my force feeding KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement...something nutitional with a high caloric count that is easily administered), he ate his regular food a bit today. he's been up and moving...drinking water from his bowl...eating treats, being responsive...he even played a little. He's also grooming himself right at this minute (first time in DAYS!!!). I've also started an Iron/B vitamin suppliment to see if that will help boost his red blood cell production/count.
What I need to know from the vet is this: is the Anemia regenerative or non-regenerative. Most of the websites I saw said FeLV usually causes non-regenerative due to how it works in the bone marrow. BUT!!! Some sites didn't say or said otherwise. Also, if it was non-regenerative a blood transfusion would only help him for like 1 week and then he'd need another.
So must find that out. I also want to check on Erythropoetin or Anabolic Steriod treatments....Both encourage the body to create red blood cells.
Either way, not giving up hope yet. Just taking it day by day. As I get more information I can figure out what to do. For the moment, Euthenasia is off the table until Monday. I want to at least see if he'll recover. Plus, FeLV has 2 stages. If he's in the first stage, his body could develop antibodies for it and he could become darn near perfectly healthy. If it's the second stage, he can still be happy and not wasting away sick. Most folks when their cats contract FeLV automatically euthenize, so there is no real data for recovery/treatments/long term effects.
So while I am not ruling out Euthenasia entirely at this point. I really want to see if my baby boy will get better on his own. he's a tough boy, I know he'll do his best!
Also, the FeLV test came back for Sasha as negative, though they recommend her being retested in about 2-3 months to make sure.
A younger Johnny in a drawer:
Johnny now: