Hello to you all kind souls,
We had to put to sleep our baby boy two days ago, he was 4,5 years old and he was FeLV positive. We took him from the shelter during the long working trip to another continent. He was a 1 month old kitten. By the time we went there there were like 20 kittens and I’ve choosen the weakest and the smallest one of all. From the beginning he had some diarrhea problems, but we managed to fix it quickly and he was growing normally making us the happiest cat owners on this planet. Until one day when he was 1 year old his breathing started to get very heavy and abdominal, it was like there was a liquid in his lungs. I took him to the vet and the first thing they did was a FeLV/FIV test which showed him to be positive to FeLV. I was devastated. After some tests vet told me that apparently it is a lymphoma tumor in his lungs that is caused by the virus and that there is no other chance for him to survive and we need to euthanize him. I decided to leave him there for the night so his liquid can be taken for some test, but in reality I wasn’t ready to let him go and upon coming home I’ve started to search for the information in the internet and tried to find the best Veterinary in the city. Next day I took him to another veterinary but his situation was very severe, he was barely breathing just lying there with opened eyes staring at one point... it was so heartbreaking.. after radiology scans (they showed a huge tumor in his lungs which was squeezing his throat and that is why there was no chance for him to eat anything) and blood tests. Vet told us that we have only one chance here, we can start a chimo and after that take him home and comfort him with love and support. If it won’t help then there is no other chance for him to survive this. But she also said that even if it helps, he is FeLV positive and since it was already exposed he won’t live more than a couple of months. I had no hesitations but to say “yes, we starting the chimo”. They did a shot of medication, gave me some chimo in pills and we went hope. His state was so bad at the time so I thought that he just won’t make it until home... but he did. I put towel on the floor and then put him on the towel and just spend the whole night by his side making sure that he is still breathing... and in the morning he actually stood on his weak legs and went to the toilet. I was in shock. I was feeding him and giving him water with a syringe during the following week and he was getting better every day. After the second chimo cycle he was completely fine, his lungs were clear, blood tests were super good for his condition but we were still giving him chimo every 3 weeks during 9 months. When it was over we moved to home country and went to the best vet that I could find, she was dealing with FeLV positive cats. She was shocked that he survived with this lymphoma situation and sad that no matter what just live your best and enjoy every moment. That is what we did. After the treatment his personality completely changed! He was always by our side, all the time, he became the most sociable kid ever! It’s like this situation opened his heart fully to us, he trusted us with his life... With the chimo we won 3 more happy years with him by our side.
Few months ago my life was a mess. I’m this kind of person who keeps everything inside and when smth is wrong I just need some time alone and everything gets better. Probably this is when it all have started but he had seen me being depressed and apparently didn’t want to stress me even more with his health. Everything in his behavior seemed to be fine at the time. But one day I woke up and he was sleeping by my side as usually, I took it for granted and started to do my usual routine things when after a couple of hours I’ve noticed that he was still in the room and haven’t even eaten of drunk. I went to check him out and I’ve noticed him breathing fast and being weak overall. So weak that he couldn’t stand at all. I took him to the hospital at the same moment and they did some test and a blood work and his hematocrit was only 5, which is critical. He was suffering from severe anemia and I didn’t notice that until the very end... I will never forgive myself for that, will never forgive. Somehow we people forget about what is really important because of some problems that in reality don’t even matter at all... I was told by the vet that it is a crusual condition because of his FeLV virus and his bone marrow just doesn’t work any more. I took him home that night just because I needed second opinion and I gave myself some time to try to find any possible way to make him better because once it worked for us. Next day I took him to another hospital and they told me the same thing. But still, I just couldn’t let him go, because I knew he is a fighter... and I’ve decided to try a blood transfusion and some medication in case the bone marrow is not off completely. They did the transfusion and his hematocrit increased and was 12 (which is still severe). I took him home and he was eating and drinking a bit and was with us all the time. But he got worse the next day...for just one day hematocrit fell back to 5 and that was it, we had to say goodbye... and so far it’s the hardest thing I’ve been through so far in my life... I will never forgive myself for being weak and depressed and not noticing my baby being sick apparently for a long time... he was supporting me all this time and tried to cheer me up even thow he was so sick...
I’m crying all the time, just can’t stop, I close my eyes and I see him... sometimes it gets better for couple of minutes, but it just for some time, after that a wave of grief covers me and I feel I just can’t take it any more.
Health of the ones you love is the most important thing in this life, don’t ever let anything else put you down, everything else is just doesn’t matter.
It makes me burst in tears also because I know how many FeLV/FIV positive cats are there in the shelters, how many of them are dying without knowing the true love and care... I understand people who don’t want to adopt these cats, it is so so so so hard to love them and then let them go so quickly.. but they also deserve to be loved, to feel home and comfort...
I’m trying to put myself together and may be adopt another FeLV kid in honor of my Best Friend who passed away. Will I suffer the same when again this moment comes? Yes I will... but something tells me it is a right thing to do...
We had to put to sleep our baby boy two days ago, he was 4,5 years old and he was FeLV positive. We took him from the shelter during the long working trip to another continent. He was a 1 month old kitten. By the time we went there there were like 20 kittens and I’ve choosen the weakest and the smallest one of all. From the beginning he had some diarrhea problems, but we managed to fix it quickly and he was growing normally making us the happiest cat owners on this planet. Until one day when he was 1 year old his breathing started to get very heavy and abdominal, it was like there was a liquid in his lungs. I took him to the vet and the first thing they did was a FeLV/FIV test which showed him to be positive to FeLV. I was devastated. After some tests vet told me that apparently it is a lymphoma tumor in his lungs that is caused by the virus and that there is no other chance for him to survive and we need to euthanize him. I decided to leave him there for the night so his liquid can be taken for some test, but in reality I wasn’t ready to let him go and upon coming home I’ve started to search for the information in the internet and tried to find the best Veterinary in the city. Next day I took him to another veterinary but his situation was very severe, he was barely breathing just lying there with opened eyes staring at one point... it was so heartbreaking.. after radiology scans (they showed a huge tumor in his lungs which was squeezing his throat and that is why there was no chance for him to eat anything) and blood tests. Vet told us that we have only one chance here, we can start a chimo and after that take him home and comfort him with love and support. If it won’t help then there is no other chance for him to survive this. But she also said that even if it helps, he is FeLV positive and since it was already exposed he won’t live more than a couple of months. I had no hesitations but to say “yes, we starting the chimo”. They did a shot of medication, gave me some chimo in pills and we went hope. His state was so bad at the time so I thought that he just won’t make it until home... but he did. I put towel on the floor and then put him on the towel and just spend the whole night by his side making sure that he is still breathing... and in the morning he actually stood on his weak legs and went to the toilet. I was in shock. I was feeding him and giving him water with a syringe during the following week and he was getting better every day. After the second chimo cycle he was completely fine, his lungs were clear, blood tests were super good for his condition but we were still giving him chimo every 3 weeks during 9 months. When it was over we moved to home country and went to the best vet that I could find, she was dealing with FeLV positive cats. She was shocked that he survived with this lymphoma situation and sad that no matter what just live your best and enjoy every moment. That is what we did. After the treatment his personality completely changed! He was always by our side, all the time, he became the most sociable kid ever! It’s like this situation opened his heart fully to us, he trusted us with his life... With the chimo we won 3 more happy years with him by our side.
Few months ago my life was a mess. I’m this kind of person who keeps everything inside and when smth is wrong I just need some time alone and everything gets better. Probably this is when it all have started but he had seen me being depressed and apparently didn’t want to stress me even more with his health. Everything in his behavior seemed to be fine at the time. But one day I woke up and he was sleeping by my side as usually, I took it for granted and started to do my usual routine things when after a couple of hours I’ve noticed that he was still in the room and haven’t even eaten of drunk. I went to check him out and I’ve noticed him breathing fast and being weak overall. So weak that he couldn’t stand at all. I took him to the hospital at the same moment and they did some test and a blood work and his hematocrit was only 5, which is critical. He was suffering from severe anemia and I didn’t notice that until the very end... I will never forgive myself for that, will never forgive. Somehow we people forget about what is really important because of some problems that in reality don’t even matter at all... I was told by the vet that it is a crusual condition because of his FeLV virus and his bone marrow just doesn’t work any more. I took him home that night just because I needed second opinion and I gave myself some time to try to find any possible way to make him better because once it worked for us. Next day I took him to another hospital and they told me the same thing. But still, I just couldn’t let him go, because I knew he is a fighter... and I’ve decided to try a blood transfusion and some medication in case the bone marrow is not off completely. They did the transfusion and his hematocrit increased and was 12 (which is still severe). I took him home and he was eating and drinking a bit and was with us all the time. But he got worse the next day...for just one day hematocrit fell back to 5 and that was it, we had to say goodbye... and so far it’s the hardest thing I’ve been through so far in my life... I will never forgive myself for being weak and depressed and not noticing my baby being sick apparently for a long time... he was supporting me all this time and tried to cheer me up even thow he was so sick...
I’m crying all the time, just can’t stop, I close my eyes and I see him... sometimes it gets better for couple of minutes, but it just for some time, after that a wave of grief covers me and I feel I just can’t take it any more.
Health of the ones you love is the most important thing in this life, don’t ever let anything else put you down, everything else is just doesn’t matter.
It makes me burst in tears also because I know how many FeLV/FIV positive cats are there in the shelters, how many of them are dying without knowing the true love and care... I understand people who don’t want to adopt these cats, it is so so so so hard to love them and then let them go so quickly.. but they also deserve to be loved, to feel home and comfort...
I’m trying to put myself together and may be adopt another FeLV kid in honor of my Best Friend who passed away. Will I suffer the same when again this moment comes? Yes I will... but something tells me it is a right thing to do...