Karla
At 05:14 PM 2/27/99 -0800, you wrote:
>I have a two year old female, formerely from California which is endemic
>for feline leukemia. She was dumped, but in good condition. She was
>examined for feline leukemia, spaded, and her shots given. She had her
>third visit to the vets in Novemeber. January, what we think of as her
>birthday, she exhibited a dialation of the pupil of the left eye. I
>observed her breathing had changed, slightly labored. That was enough for
>me to take her to the vets, the same office which saw her in Nove. and
>declared she was in excellent health. Again, the vet saw nothing wrong
>with her, and sent me home feeling very troubled.
>A few days later this kitty was GRAVELY ill . Back to the vet for a full
>panel of blood work, $127.50. It came back positive for feline leukemia.
>Given anti-biotics, and I gave her vitamin C, the liquid kind, which I felt
>very uncomfortable with, but the vet said some of his clients had some
>luck with their cats on the vitamin. Then I discovered there is a pet
>variety, and I have that now, but why the vet did not know this is beyond
>me.
>
>The initial onset of this disease portrayed itself with the pupil
>dialating, and gagging in the early part of the morning. When I got up and
>massaged her chest I heard a squishy sound(told this to the vet who said he
>could not anything wrong with her) HE DID NOT LISTEN TO ME!
>
>NEXT stage of this disease. Her hard breathing became so overt, I was sure
>I was going to lose this cat from a cardiac arrest. Of course at this
>stage I am totally ignorant of the way this disease progresses.
>
>Back to the Vet. The vet, and he is a good one, who declared first nothing
>wrong with her, and then after the blood work, declared she had feline
>leukemia, was sick with the flu. The other vet looked her over, and
>declared she had FIP, and he put her on a broader anti-biotic, which does
>not seem to be doing enough for her. He also put her on a diaretic to
>alleviate some of the fluid in the adominal cavity. So there we are.
>
>FIP seems to manufacture many varieties, different strains. So I can see
>there is no exact treatment answer here.
>
>Perhaps there is someone out there who has had a cat with similar symtoms,
>and may have additional information to give.
>
>Much appreciated if there is......
>
>Daryl Bulkley
>Port Townsend, Washington
>