Frank and FIV

[dreamer_easy]

Frank's blood tests are in. His blood cell count hasn't been knocked around too badly by the chemo, which is great news. In fact, the only side effect he's displaying is HUNGER.

He's FIV+, though, which we didn't know; the virus is probably responsible for his lymphoma. Given we've kept him vaccinated and indoors all this time, it's likely he was infected before we got him seven years ago. Although I'm a little troubled that, apparently due to a clerical error, neither cat have had their FIV shot in the last two years (just the other jabs) and I simply hadn't realised. Make sure your cats get all the vaccines they need, every year; it'll save you grief and buckets of money in the long run. (NB FeLV is very rare in Australia, so neither of the boys are vaccinated against it, but it's common in the US.) In any case Tim will need a test too, and it'll probably be positive. (They're doing an additional test on Frank's sample, looking for viral RNA rather than antibodies, since the latter might be the result of vaccination rather than infection.)

This is all your fault, Ancient Egyptians, for keeping monkeys and cats as pets!

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Give 'em both a skritch from me, plus an extra skritch for Frank!