Is the 3-shot series a good treatment option for my cat's FeLV?

To quote the University of Cornell specialists: While some antiviral therapies have been shown to benefit some FIV-infected cats with seizures or stomatitis (inflammation of the oral cavity) and to decrease the amount of virus that they shed into the environment, there is no definitive evidence that any antiviral therapy will prolong the lives of cats with FIV. The development of effective treatment options for FIV is the subject of significant research. Source: https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-immunodeficiency-virus LCTI Treatment runs about 1200$ plus for three injections with controversial results, ie there is no proof of longterm effectivity yet and there are no published results of longterm trials with FIV infected cats yet. This is the only scientific reference I found: http://www.jarvm.com/articles/Vol6Iss2/Vol6Iss2Gingerich61-68.pdf You may want to contact your nearest veterinary college for more specific information.

There is no cure or treatment for the virus. They will always have it and it is contagious to other cats only. It is spread through respiratory secretions and grooming. There is no medicine to give regularly. They can actually live a long full life with it as long they are kept indoors. Because they infected with a virus their immune system is weaker so if they catch a normal bug it may be harder for their system to overcome it. This scenario may require hospitalization if severe enough.

Poor LouLou. Unfortunately feline leukemia is a virus infection and cannot be cured but only managed. It has several stages of the Ruiz and pets can go into latent periods where they are asymptomatic. Treatment options are a bit pricey and consist of anti-viral medications like Human interferon alpha and Feline interferon w. These can improve the survival time of your pet LouLou. The prognosis for any cat with FeLv varies. Cars with latent infections may not develop can't clinical disease and can live a healthy life's with normal lifespan. But cats that have persistent viremia (shedding of the virus) have a death rate of 50% in 2 years and 80% in 3 years, if living in a multicat household. The median survival of FeLV positive cats is 2.4 years, but with proper care with antiviral medications many of these cats can live longer.

I'm very sorry Felix has leukemia! It is a very hard decision to make if you want to euthanized him or not. It really depends on how he is doing at the moment, what symptoms he is showing, and how much you want to invest in treatment. Eighty-five percent of cats who are diagnosed with FeLV die within three years of diagnosis. But regular vet care and good preventative health can help keep cats with this feeling well and can prevent secondary infections. Secondary infections from FeLV can be treated, and cats who develop can cancer receive chemotherapy. If you chose to treat him, you should do twice yearly vet visits with lab testing and parasite control to prevent complications and identify problems quickly. Felix should be kept indoors at all times now. Cats who has bone marrow compromise or widespread lymphoma do have a very poor prognosis. I wish I could give you an easy answer as to what to do, but depending on his current symptoms, Felix does have the possibility of living another couple of years with good vet care and treatment of any secondary infections. It's really up to you how much you want to invest in his treatment. I would be happy to consult with your further on this if you'd like. Simply select the "consult online" button under my answer to talk more.

Hello. I am sorry for your concerns about Cookie. Her anemia can be caused by other things including blood parasites like Hemobartonella & intestinal parasites like hookworms & roundworms, not just by the Feline Leukemia virus. I think it is a good idea to do the Snap FeLv test, but even if the test is positive, there are still things that can be done to make her as comfortable as possible. I would also definitely test the other cat, because if she is negative then she can be vaccinated to prevent the virus ( I hope the vaccine is available in your country, it is used routinely here in the US). Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Cats have a likelihood of rejecting blood if not matched and blood typed appropriately. There are precautions that need to happen before any transfusion. Each consecutive transfusion comes with a greater risk of rejection. But, it's likely that if your cat needs a transfusion due to feline leukemia it will need transfusions again and again. Feline leukemia is unfortunately non-curable so it is likely the cat will just continue to get sicker and sicker.

Yes, it is an unfortunate situation but without treatment Calicivirus can be fatal. With treatment there is a good chance of recovery. Since the kitten was feral, treatment is very difficult and if not treated it can a reservoir of the disease and continue to spread it to other cats. I think euthanasia was the best option. Sorry you had to go through that. Thank you for caring about the kitten. Best wishes to you.