Some Not So Good News About Elvis

Well, I took 3 kids to the vets today.

Wilma got her yearly and she's in perfect health. :)

Six was checked out and she is indeed a girl. She looks great, but had a weird result on her felv-fiv snap test. It was not totally negative, but not totally positive. :( The vet said he's seen this before and it's always been a false positive. He wants us to do a lab test again in three weeks to make sure. I'm a little depressed about this but I'm trying to be positive. Has anyone else had this?

Elvis on the other hand has some issues. *sigh* I took him in because he's been chewing on his back foot. He's caused a seondary infection that we'll treat with ab's, antihistamines and Gentocin topical spray. No biggie. Unfortunately while he was examining him the vet found early cataracts in both eyes. :( I'm so sad.....he's aging quickly and I don't think I'm ready.

Oh no, I don't know if you saw on the other thread that I asked how Elvis was doing - and now I guess I got my answer. He sure has had a rough time of it, and it doesn't sound like things are getting much better for him - poor guy. Give him big hugs and smoochies for me.

I know someday I will be in the same shoes as you and I don't envy you at all. :( But in the meantime, enjoy every minute you can with him and hopefully the cataracts will slow their progression and all his other issues will clear up soon.

{{{Hugs}}} to you and Elvis.

And are you really going to call her 6? I actually think that's a great name. :D Sorry to hear about her test. Seems odd that they have to wait 3 weeks to do a retest. I sure hope the retest turns out negative though. Good luck!

And great news on Wilma! Seems like good news never gets any press, so let me be the first to say Way to go Wilma! :D

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Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
And are you really going to call her 6? I actually think that's a great name. :D Sorry to hear about her test. Seems odd that they have to wait 3 weeks to do a retest. I sure hope the retest turns out negative though. Good luck!

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Yes, I think we've settled on Six. Bf is gunning for Jovie, but I like Six. :) The vet said sometimes if momma kitty was hunting you can get a weird mouse protein that fouls up the test. I'm going to do some research on it in a little bit.

The foot thing really isn't bothering Elvis and neither are his eyes. He's basically a very content kitty completely unaware of his 'issues'! :)

I'm glad Wilma got a clear bill of health.

Regarding Six'd false positive test, I haven't got direct experience but when Bramble started being sickly, we had to have her retested and my vet told me all about the tests.

From what I remember he said that it is not uncommon to get a false positive but as a vet he would look at the health of a cat.
He would recommend retesting of cats which had certain symptoms and had a positive result. If the cat was healthy and had no risky background (i.e. Living with an infected cat) he would say this is a false positive. In conclusion, don't worry from what you said Six will be clear (Fingers Crossed)

Poor Elvis, don't chew your paw it will hurt you. Can they do anything for his early cataracts ?

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Originally posted by PayItForward
Regarding Six'd false positive test, I haven't got direct experience but when Bramble started being sickly, we had to have her retested and my vet told me all about the tests.

From what I remember he said that it is not uncommon to get a false positive but as a vet he would look at the health of a cat.
He would recommend retesting of cats which had certain symptoms and had a positive result. If the cat was healthy and had no risky background (i.e. Living with an infected cat) he would say this is a false positive. In conclusion, don't worry from what you said Six will be clear (Fingers Crossed)

Poor Elvis, don't chew your paw it will hurt you. Can they do anything for his early cataracts ?

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Thanks so much for the info. Other than the test, Six was in perfect health...not even a flea or earmite! :)

She's had some loose stools, but I don't think the poor thing had eaten regular food yet. When I put the first dish of food down for her, she just tried to cover it up!

Elvis now has to wear a buster collar...hehe. Poor guy. They said the cataracts are tiny right now, so we're going to watch them.

I love her to death, but Wilma is going to be one of those annoying little dogs that lives forever! *laugh* She'll be 20 years old, deaf and blind, cranky and chugging right along.....

Sorry for your mixed vet visit. By the way, retesting after 4 weeks is always a good idea as the results can change depending on WHEN they were exposed to the disease. Rarely is this done in practice though. I am especially sorry about Elvis (one of my favorites). How old is he any way?

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Originally posted by jenluckenbach
Sorry for your mixed vet visit. By the way, retesting after 4 weeks is always a good idea as the results can change depending on WHEN they were exposed to the disease. Rarely is this done in practice though. I am especially sorry about Elvis (one of my favorites). How old is he any way?

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Thanks for the info.....I guess you can never be too informed, huh?

As for Elvis, when I found him in the Taco Bell dumpster he was so ragged and dirty that we all assumed he was an old guy. To make determining his age even more difficult he had a jaw malformation and only about 5 teeth. :rolleyes:

As he became a healthy house cat the years seemed to melt off him, like he'd found the fountain of youth! In the last couple of years he's started to age a little and I'm guessing he was no more than 2-3 years when I got him and I've had him for 7 years now.

Wow, that was a long answer to a question, huh? :)

CK,

Kittens almost ALWAYS test a false positive. Have your vet do a blood test and have it sent out. When I had my Marina Mar (she was a kitten born to a feral mama on a boat in a Marina), she tested positive on one of those "snap" tests. The stupid vet wanted to put her down right that minute. I took her home, kept her in my spare room and called another vet who did the blood test. Turned out negative. Always better to be safe than sorry.

Hugs to you and "Six". She's precious!!!

How old is Six? My vet won't test until they are 16 weeks. Many will test earlier, but recommed a retest if the results are equivocal. A good check is if it's possible to test the momcat or a sibling.

Good luck!

BTW, FIV is much less dangerous than FLV.

The vet thinks she's 8 or 9 weeks old.

:)

Thanks moosmom! I'll have that done.

:)

CK,

Good idea! Like I said, Marina Mar was about the same age as "Six" so I'd definitely have the blood test done. Please keep me posted!!

I am sorry to hear about Elvis but the cataract might bother you more than him. Penelope, the cat of friends of ours got blind in her age but she wandered around in the apartment without any problems and went even in the garden.

And she still was the boss of young Hermes:p

Poor Elvis. I'm sure he'll deal with it OK as he'll have time to adjust to the changes.

A lady down the street walks two labradors every day, and one is totally blind from cataracts. They walk the same route every day and she's perfectly content when she's out and at home. Beautiful dog - last week I scratched her ears and she rolled on her back, put her head between my feet and insisted on belly scritchies :)

Good luck with Six's tests too :)

Hello,
Did you know that you can get cateract surgery for you cat? It may be something you might want to look in to.

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Originally posted by Calahara
Hello,
Did you know that you can get cateract surgery for you cat? It may be something you might want to look in to.

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Yep, I actually worked as a vet tech for several years. Elvis's other health problems make surgery extremely risky so it wouldn't be a walk in the park for him. :)

Wow - Elvis sure had a rough life before crossing paths with you. I'm sorry to hear about his possible cateracts. Hopefully, if they come on slowly, they won't affect his quality of life for a while at least.

Give the big guy a tummy rub from me. If you do that will he say "thank-you.....thank-you very much";)

So sorry to hear about Six's test and you having to deal with the stress of having to wait three weeks before you can get her tested again. I hope and pray that she gets negative results.

I'm really sad to hear about Elvis. He is one of my PT favorites. Please give him some scritchies and kisses for me.