Felv Resources/specialists/financial Assistance In Richmond Va Area?

An online friend worked very hard for months to win the trust of a sweet stray tomcat that visited their yard. When they finally got him indoors and to the vet, he tested positive for FeLv. Since they have other kitties, he is now quarantined in their home and they are trying so hard to give him the wonderful life he deserves. He is frail but gaining weight really well, and seems happy in the house. However, he has had some setbacks. He had a very serious bleeding situation related to a sinus infection, which has cleared. He has anemia, but they are not sure the specific type and whether it is related to the FeLv. Per their vet, it is currently too risky for him to be neutered, and too risky for retroviral treatment, so he is on supplements (vitamins and herbals). He was on antibiotics for the sinus infection but is not currently. On top of everything else, there are financial concerns due to human medical issues.

Their online friends (including myself) are trying to be of some assistance, so I'm seeking advice here. Does anyone know if there are any FeLv resources out there, not only related to finances but also just in general? They are in the Richmond, Virginia area, but if there's any regional or national resources please advise. Does anyone know if Winn Feline Foundation can help? Is there a recommended specialist in the Richmond area? A university with a good veterinary program that can provide the latest in FeLv care? Perhaps a program to help with vet bills? Are there any treatments that have made your FeLv cats healthier that you would recommend?

Advice welcome and appreciated!

First, some links for financial assistance!

Financial Help For Cat Care.
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

Now, where to go. Did some googling and found these:

Just Cats Vet Clinic - Fredericksburg Va (actually in Fredricksburg)
Feline Medical Center, PLLC | Veterinarian
Best Veterinary Science Colleges in Virginia This lists more than one!

Please let us know how this boy is doing.

Hello -
Here is info I found on their webste:
Applicants for Winn grants; faculty veterinarians, post-doctoral fellows, practicing veterinarians, veterinary students.

Feline Leukemia Virus - Cornell

Adventures With The Felv Fosters A current, long thread discussion here on TCS.

Hi, thanks for posting. The Winn Feline Foundation is a cats-only veterinary research group. No information on the website is about providing financial aid, but you can learn about FLV.

Wow, thanks so much everyone! This will be really helpful info for them! I'm fortunate to know little about FeLv despite having three former ferals and three shelter kitties myself, and this guy's parents are also totally new to FeLv. I will pass all of this along to them. Thanks again!!!

Hi beckbjj !

Just a quick Google for this: "felv cat sanctuary Virginia"......will produce quite a number of results and, while it's tedious to 'tease' out potentially useful resources, it may just pay off. (The bottom of that Google page will also suggest other related searches.)

Here's one from that search:

Caring for Creatures.org
Go to ABOUT > OUR HISTORY:
"CFC is one of only a few facilities on the East Coast that offer ongoing care for cats testing positive for FIV or feline Leukemia. We receive calls for help from all over Virginia and surrounding states from individuals and veterinarians seeking assistance for FIV of FeLV positive cats."

There were two specialized online communities focused on FeLV. In the fairly recent past I have attempted to contact each without receiving any response. [Those are: Felvtalk Info Page
and Feline Leukemia Information and Support] [The first of those still has a (longstanding) homepage here....though I have no idea how old that info is: Welcome to the Feline Leukemia ( FeLV ) www.felineleukemia.org Support Website]

Now, there's one group I have not approached - focus is rescue. You could try posting a message and also sending an email to the "List Owner"...both addresses shown: Help for FeLV and FIV Positive Cats - PurringPixieCatResource

I don't use FB.....I do think it would be useful to search it for info/support groups there.

One more: The fellow who owns this site http://www.fivtherapy.com/?i=1
might be of help to point you toward some current resources. FIV is his focus and he also runs an online community for it...but, my point is that he's utterly passionate about the issue, plus he's science 'nerdy'....so, he's someone I'd at least contact. [If you use Google Advanced Search on that site and use "felv" as the exact term, you'll get almost 40 results on there.]

If you manage to find some/any resources, please do post them for the future benefit of people here.

I will say that I find it strange/odd/maybe bizarre that the Vet would suggest an antiviral therapy to be 'dangerous'.....so, I wonder if s/he is the best.....perhaps some calling around to the owners of cat-only clinics might produce something.

If I think of anything else, I'll post back.
.

Wow, thanks again!!! I had done some poking around Google and found the FeLv Support site but not most of these others! For some reason I wasn't hitting on as much helpful info as I had hoped.

On these forums I also found out about an anabolic steroid for the anemia that sounded like it worked for may people, and also TCyte, so I'm going to pass that info along to them too. For now he's on a small amount of chicken liver for the anemia (limited so as to avoid Vitamin A toxicity), plus the supplements.

The really great news is that this guy is eating really, really well and has already gained 1.5 lbs in the short time since he's come indoors. He has gone from not allowing the humans to go near him just earlier this year, to sitting on laps and snuggling and purring. He's a lovely boy, he just needed to let himself be helped!

beckbjj said:

The really great news is that this guy is eating really, really well and has already gained 1.5 lbs in the short time since he's come indoors. He has gone from not allowing the humans to go near him just earlier this year, to sitting on laps and snuggling and purring. He's a lovely boy, he just needed to let himself be helped!

Click to expand...

This is wonderful to hear!!

Just wanted to post an update on this little former feral. I gathered up all the information I received here and through other research, and passed it along to his humans, who appreciated it very much, so thanks to all!

Some really excellent news, they found a specialist and had a lengthy appointment with lots of tests on Monday. The sad thing is the old vet wouldn't even touch this lovely kitty without gloves, and their only advice was to euthanize him. The specialist hit it off with kitty immediately and was impressed with how good he looked because after reading his info she had thought he was going to be in terrible shape. He's got issues of course, but he's loved and in a good situation now. He ran up to the new vet to get pets! (Less than a year ago he was terrified of humans.)

Anyway, after lots of tests, xrays, etc. it was determined that his acute symptoms are likely caused by a bacterial infection that he's got all over him...face, ears, elsewhere...and that's the only thing wrong with him besides of course the chronic illnesses of FeLv/FIV. (The fear had been cancer, kidney disease, etc., so this was a huge relief.) The specialists did facial scrapings and knew right away what to do to help. He's got meds starting tonight and even just the scraping did WONDERS for him. He already looks like a whole new cat. It was just so nice to hear that they found a vet who didn't just write him off without even trying, and who appreciated how hard they've worked to give this cat a good life.

OH MY GOSH!! This is incredible news - thank you EVER so much for the update!!!
@rubysmama, you'll be happy to hear this
Thank you again for the update!

Thank God if you believe in Him. This is amazing. Great news for a lucky cat!

I was just posting a question about a feral in my own yard when I realized I was way past due for an update on my online friend's former feral with FELV/FIV. The specialist they found is AMAZING. Kitty has gained a bunch of weight, was deemed healthy enough for a rabies vaccine (required by law where they live) and got through that with NO side effects, and his blood counts are NORMAL! He's still improving every day. He is incredibly sweet natured and loving. Next step is for the vet to deem him healthy enough to get snipped. ;-)

this is awesome news!!