My cat has FeLV. Will a blood transfusion work or will they get sick again?

So sorry to hear that Bubba has this problem. A blood transfusion would be helpful but it will not "fix" the problem. That is something that can be done to help him though. Prognosis is poor because he is already immunosupressed having FeLV but many cats can be maintained on steroids for a long time. As long as he quality of life is good there is no reason to put him down now. When his quality of life is no longer good (not eating, not drinking, very lethargic, etc) then you will know it is time to put him down. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

The best thing you could do for the other cats is to isolate them until they. An be tested and vaccinated for the FeLV virus. The virus is spread through direct contact with saliva, blood, and urine. Routine veterinary care is the best way to make sure the FeLV cat stays as healthy as possible - periodic blood work and exams can catch problems more quickly.

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.

Felv is highly contagious just by the sharing of water bowls. The virus is spread through the saliva, so the chances are quite high for the 2nd cat unfortunately. You can ask your vet about doing annual bloodwork and potentially anti-viral medications to help. However anti-viral meds can be quite expensive, so most owners just try to keep their kitties on a high quality dog food (i.e. Royal Canin, Wellness, Merrick, etc) for overall health.

Goodness, I am so sorry for your loss. Based on this bloodwork and on what you’re telling me, I think that euthanasia was a very reasonable and humane decision. Not only were the red cells low, but the white blood cells and platelets as well, and there isn’t any evidence of the body trying to “regenerate” these cells on the bloodwork you’ve attached. A transfusion may have given a temporary “Bandaid” to the situation, but I’m afraid that a cure was likely impossible. I know how difficult these decisions are. Please rest assured that you did the best thing for your kitty. I’m afraid continuing to treat would likely have only prolonged your cat’s suffering. You have my sincere sympathy for your loss. Please let us know if you have any other questions we can help you with.

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.