5/6 month old kitten lost his spark

I'm so sorry. Perhaps talk to your vet about your options. S/he may have suggested having Marcel PTS because of his breathing issues and there may be other complications of which you're unaware. I'm sure your head is spinning right now and you don't want to make a rash decision. I surely can understand that. I do know that, as Catty1 said, cats w/leukemia can live for quite some time under the right conditions and maybe when you're not in shock you can do some research and see what your vet has to say. Whatever your decision, you've come to the right place for help and encouragement. Little Marcel is lucky to have found you and your mom. He at least will get the best care no matter the outcome. (((HUGS))) to you and your mom and gentle pets to Marcel.

I am so sorry to read about Marcel having feline leukemia! We just lost Baby Annie on August 5th to feline leukemia. Annie was about 5 weeks old and only weighed 8 ounces. She was so sweet and so much fun!! It was such a hard decision to put her to sleep, but we thought about Annie and how she would have suffered! Our vet was very supportive of our decision. BUT, you have to do what is best for Marcel. Whatever YOU decide, it will be the right decision. The decision will be made out of love for Marcel....you are very angry right now, and you have the right to feel that way. It is as if you(like us)are being cheated by finding out that Marcel is so sick. Take a deep breathe. It is so unfortunate that the ones we love, cannot stay with us forever....there is a great poem, Lend Me a Kitten....it might be of some comfort to you right now....Take care, Sandra

Excellent news, kinda. It turns out that I don't have to euthanize Marcel!! I called the adoption clinic (Angels with Paws) and left a message about his newfound disease. I was worried about the kittens he lived with before I adopted him. I got a call from them today saying that they would be more than glad to take him back and care for him!! Angels with Paws is the best place... they never euthanize unless it's truly necessary, the cats are all incredibly well looked after...

So, they have a special room upstairs for leukemia cats. There are three other cats up there right now, so Marcel will have some friends. And a lady comes in every day just to play with all of them and love them. I'm so happy and yet I'm still completely upset over losing him.

They're going to re-test him just to make sure before putting him in that room. I hope it turns out negative and he miraculously heals because I love that kiddo!!!!

I'll be allowed to visit any time I want (during business hours) and I might even sign up to volunteer on thursdays.

That is wonderful news, kinda. (to borrow your expression.) It sounds like it is the best situation considering the circumstances. I'm so happy for Marcel to be able to have friends and people that will be able to care for him.

I know what you mean; it's kind of a "good news, bad news" scenario. Life seems to hand us our share of them, huh? Well, either way, you'll get to see your sweet kitty Marcel and know that he's being well taken care of. :love:

{{{{hugs}}}}

This is good news as in Marcel will have a chance to live. :) Did the people say anything about a steroid shot or other things?

You have done well by Marcel...another owner might not have even explored this option.

They didn't mention anything about treatments they were going to give him. Not quite yet, at least. They're re-testing him just to make sure.. Pray that it'll come back negative and I can get a healthy kitty back!!!!!

I went to visit him today, and the lady that was closing (I wasn't paying attention to names, I wanted Marcel) told me that she pulled some of his serum which is derived from the blood. She said that normal serum is pretty clear but Marcel's is yellow. Maybe has an illness that mimics leukemia on the charts (but not in symptoms...*glares warningly at the mimic illness*)? What if it's something with the glands?

http://DevYani.deviantart.com/art/Marcel-100224562 Oh and here's a picture of him if any of you want to see it...

He sure is a beauty!

Aw, what a sweet looking boy. I sure do hope that you get the happy ending that you want.

Prayers that the tests will show something treatable..and even if he has leukemia, he can still likely get some treatment and enjoy life.

He sure is a pretty cat! He seems to have fluffy fur, not short fur.

PT Prayers for you and Marcel. :)

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Originally Posted by Jyotsna_indu

They didn't mention anything about treatments they were going to give him. Not quite yet, at least. They're re-testing him just to make sure.. Pray that it'll come back negative and I can get a healthy kitty back!!!!!

I went to visit him today, and the lady that was closing (I wasn't paying attention to names, I wanted Marcel) told me that she pulled some of his serum which is derived from the blood. She said that normal serum is pretty clear but Marcel's is yellow. Maybe has an illness that mimics leukemia on the charts (but not in symptoms...*glares warningly at the mimic illness*)? What if it's something with the glands?

http://DevYani.deviantart.com/art/Marcel-100224562 Oh and here's a picture of him if any of you want to see it...

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Sorry to hear about your kitty. I do hope they had a false positive the first time.

The serum should be a clearish almost peach or flesh colored stuff. (kinda hard to describe a color you know?) A perfectly crystal clear serum is usually from animals that have not eaten in several days, and redish serums sometimes come when we have a hard time drawing blood. Very cloudy globby serums is fat in the blood (usually from animals that are overweight or have just eaten before the test). Outright yellow serums can be a sign of jaundice (very pale yellowish clear is sorta normal).

I found a webpage that shows a picture of a separator tube with the serum in it. However it's on a page about drawing chicken blood so I don't know if that explains the color or not since I don't know anything about chickens. If that was blood we see at work it would be called hemolysed (sp?). Anyways it will give you an idea of what the samples look like just before testing.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/images/0023_17.jpg

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Originally Posted by Catlady711

Sorry to hear about your kitty. I do hope they had a false positive the first time.

The serum should be a clearish almost peach or flesh colored stuff. (kinda hard to describe a color you know?) A perfectly crystal clear serum is usually from animals that have not eaten in several days, and redish serums sometimes come when we have a hard time drawing blood. Very cloudy globby serums is fat in the blood (usually from animals that are overweight or have just eaten before the test). Outright yellow serums can be a sign of jaundice (very pale yellowish clear is sorta normal).

I found a webpage that shows a picture of a separator tube with the serum in it. However it's on a page about drawing chicken blood so I don't know if that explains the color or not since I don't know anything about chickens. If that was blood we see at work it would be called hemolysed (sp?). Anyways it will give you an idea of what the samples look like just before testing.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/images/0023_17.jpg

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Oooh!! I'll have to tell them about this!! I hope they aren't annoyed with my attempts to remain involved... haha