He was only 2 years and 3 weeks old(exactly) but FeLV is mean and uncaring about age.
He was acting weird, just not being himself(hiding, not really eating, lethargic) so we took him to the vet on Tues and he had a fever so they thought he had an infection, they also drew blood since he was FeLV+ to see what was going on there.
The vet called with the results and they couldn't have been worse, the FeLV had infected his bone marrow. His white cells were at 2000 and his red cells were at 15%. They said we could try multiple things bu hat it would only be a matter of weeks and possibly a few months tops before we'd have to put him to sleep. We decided to not put him through that, I didn't want my last memories of him to be him in pain and miserable so we decided to let him go. He went peacefully at 3:15 yesterday in my arms. He's the 4th FeLV+ cat I've lost since Nov.
This is just a horrible shock, he had literally never been sick a day in his life. He was 11.8 lbs so he wasn't small either, he just looked so healthy and acted like it until a few days ago.
I just can't do this anymore and I have 2-4 more FeLV+ ferals outside so I have no choice, they all appear healthy but apparently that doesn't mean anything since Nuts looked and acted healthy. I just hope they stay healthy for at least the next 6 months(hopefully longer), I just can't take another loss right now. I know I'll be fine, it's just been a lot to deal with over the past 7 months. Those who work with FeLV+ cats know what I'm talking about.
The rescue we got our dog Dexter from, our neighbor is great friends with the owner and she has offered to give us a healthy cat free of charge since she knows how hard we work for the ferals, that we take awesome care of all our animals(we're responsible pet owners) and the trauma we have been through with all of this. They are just overflowing with cats, as is every other rescue and shelter in the area.(BTW- I talked to the vet about a new cat and she sees no problem with it since the virus can't survive outside the body for long and just to get the new cat vaccinated against FeLV as a precaution in case he or she gets out.) We're looking mainly at adults, I wouldn't mind a kitten but I know adults are harder to place. We saw a massive Maine Coon but I think they want to get him slimmed down(I think he outweighs my 30 lb dog, but his ideal weight would be over 20 lbs easily, he's not just fat he's a BIG cat) before he's available, I'll have to talk with the owner of the rescue. It's just weird not having a cat in the house(in the five years Paul and I have been together he has always had a cat) and Dexter seems depressed.
Taryn
He was acting weird, just not being himself(hiding, not really eating, lethargic) so we took him to the vet on Tues and he had a fever so they thought he had an infection, they also drew blood since he was FeLV+ to see what was going on there.
The vet called with the results and they couldn't have been worse, the FeLV had infected his bone marrow. His white cells were at 2000 and his red cells were at 15%. They said we could try multiple things bu hat it would only be a matter of weeks and possibly a few months tops before we'd have to put him to sleep. We decided to not put him through that, I didn't want my last memories of him to be him in pain and miserable so we decided to let him go. He went peacefully at 3:15 yesterday in my arms. He's the 4th FeLV+ cat I've lost since Nov.
This is just a horrible shock, he had literally never been sick a day in his life. He was 11.8 lbs so he wasn't small either, he just looked so healthy and acted like it until a few days ago.
I just can't do this anymore and I have 2-4 more FeLV+ ferals outside so I have no choice, they all appear healthy but apparently that doesn't mean anything since Nuts looked and acted healthy. I just hope they stay healthy for at least the next 6 months(hopefully longer), I just can't take another loss right now. I know I'll be fine, it's just been a lot to deal with over the past 7 months. Those who work with FeLV+ cats know what I'm talking about.
The rescue we got our dog Dexter from, our neighbor is great friends with the owner and she has offered to give us a healthy cat free of charge since she knows how hard we work for the ferals, that we take awesome care of all our animals(we're responsible pet owners) and the trauma we have been through with all of this. They are just overflowing with cats, as is every other rescue and shelter in the area.(BTW- I talked to the vet about a new cat and she sees no problem with it since the virus can't survive outside the body for long and just to get the new cat vaccinated against FeLV as a precaution in case he or she gets out.) We're looking mainly at adults, I wouldn't mind a kitten but I know adults are harder to place. We saw a massive Maine Coon but I think they want to get him slimmed down(I think he outweighs my 30 lb dog, but his ideal weight would be over 20 lbs easily, he's not just fat he's a BIG cat) before he's available, I'll have to talk with the owner of the rescue. It's just weird not having a cat in the house(in the five years Paul and I have been together he has always had a cat) and Dexter seems depressed.
Taryn