Pre-flight training in kennels?

[TenHouseCats]

oh, my, what a journey (in all meanings of the word!)

how can we help? i've got flight-attendant contacts, and will definitely contact them. but is there more?

i'm thinking that some publicity might work--either true media/press coverage, or just wider internet exposure. do you know about http://www.chipin.com for fundraising?

of course won't do anything without your permission, but you three need to be together, fur sure.

[Sasha's Mom]

Christine, Critters and Mary Christine,

I never in a million years would have thought of flight attendants. I don't know any personally, but will certainly appreciate any idea or contacts that you may have.

No, never heard of chipin.com and certainly would have started an account there if I had known about it sooner. The expenses involved in this move went way over budget and still struggling to pay off last minute charges for the cargo. I did start a "Home Again Fund" through PayPal to help with all the expenses involved https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... MJLB4WFXZ2 and received some help, but did not know how to go about "fund-raising" properly. A few close friends chipped in which helped a great deal.

No, nothing else, Mary, except pretty much in the same position as everyone else these days - just not enough cash to do what I need to do. Robbie is at the cattery right now and Dave, the owner, said he's doing fine. The only thing he would need done for the trip is to get micro-chipped, which Bulgaria requires for all animals exiting the country, in addition to vaccinations and clean bill of health from his vet and a final certification from the Municipal Veterinary Clinic in Varna (lot of running around, but minimal fees). He has his passport and all vaccinations and the chip is a one-minute job, which Dave (kennel owner) is very familiar with as he transports animals between here and the UK and frankly all over Europe.

I am open to anything and everything at this point. Leaving Bulgaria in about 28 hours, so not too much I can do until I am back in New York. Please keep me posted. I will keep checking back as time allows before I leave and of course, once back in NY.

Thank you for the ideas - you all have brightened my day considerably. Where there's hope, there's life.

Hugs,
Leah, Robbie & Sasha

[Christine]

How about sending him by himself??? Sweet little Georgia flew from Georgia to Canada by herself. We just had to make sure she had the right kennel (which you have) the proper documents and vaccinations, etc. Have you checked that avenue?

[Sasha's Mom]

Hi Christine,

No, never thought of sending him alone and don't think I would want to risk that. I booked a flight with the shortest traveling time and best connections. Could have gotten another one for almost half the price, but can't let Sasha go 21 hours without care. My flight is 12 hours, plus traveling time between airports, will make it about 15 hours before I see him again. Varna to Vienna is 1 hour with a 1 hour layover and then 9 hours, Vienna to JFK. The less expensive flight had 3 changes (no way!!! worried about 1 change and Sasha) and 6 hour layovers.

As soon as I get back to NY, I will start investigating the options. Dave said Robbie is "subdued" and staying off by himself right now. After being coddled for so long long, the poor kitty must feel abandoned, but he will come round and re-earn his name of Demonseed, I am sure. And, of course, Sasha had diarrhea for the first time in 9 months - he must feel the tension. Debating if I should diaper him for the flight, but would rather not have anything else in the cage if he decides to take it off. I know when he's scared he poops!

Okay, have to get back to last minute details. Excuse my babbling, I'm a bit edgy and tend to write a lot under stress.

Hugs,
Leah, Robbie and Sasha

[Christine]

I can see your concern there...we've got to find someone who will share that ride with him! Those babies and you need to be together.

[Sasha's Mom]

We arrived at JFK on time and Sasha went through the entire trip with flying colours. After all the documentation, passport, certification, etc..., not a single employee from either airline, customs or airport personnel looked or asked for anything, even when offered. JFK handed him over to me without even asking for identification, which I found a bit unsettling and very glad I knew exactly which door the baggage handlers would bring him through. From Bulgaria to Vienna and through JFK, security was so lax, it was almost scary. Very glad no one weighed my carry-on as I had all of Sasha's paraphernalia in there and it was at least 7 to 8 pounds over the limit.

Sasha was slightly disoriented for about an hour, but once in my room, he settled in very quickly. Having a bit of trouble expressing him as the set-up here is not conducive to taking care of him on the kitchen counter with water, etc... close at hand. Owner of the house would not tolerate him being on the kitchen counter, so we have to make do.

I have news from Bulgaria that Robbie has integrated quite well with the other kitties and has found a cuddle-mate. Sometimes things work out for the best and I have a very strong feeling, I am actually going to return to Bulgaria after the winter. Robbie would have been confined to one small room here and would have gone berserk. After being back in NY less than 72 hours, it all came back in a blinding flash why I left in the first place - I loathe NY!

One thing I can do here is get a better diagnosis for Sasha. I want to get an MRI done to possibly discover exactly where the damage is, do a full blood work-up and have his kidneys checked. One is getting too large to suit me and that troubles me. Also looking forward to getting him wheels from "Wheels to Go" which are made from PVC instead of the heavier metal wheels made for dogs.

I think for the time being, since Robbie is settling in, it may be wiser to pay the $110 a month cattery fee and have him in a clean, warm and healthy environment with other mates than the current living arrangement I now have. I am not comfortable here and with Demonseed being so active, I don't think he would be happy here either. I certainly will not desert my baby, but will wait before making a final decision.

Hugs to all,
Leah, Sasha (in NY) and Robbie in Bulgaria.

[Bendy Kitty]

North Carolina is much nicer than NY come on down. There is a first rate vet school and several specialty clinics nearbye too.
I"ll clean off the couch for you to crash on.

very sorry to hear about the trouble with Robbie but so glad he is adjusting where he is, and it sounds like he is in good hands. I hope you two can be together again soon.

tons going on here, not cat realted, but very time consuming so I'm very behind no everything.

mega purrrrrrrrrrs
smoochiesmoochsmooch

bendy

[Sasha's Mom]

Used to spend time in Cape Hatteras and the people are the best. Keep the couch open, I may just take you up on that.

Smooches, huggles and kisses!!
Sasha & mum

[Sasha's Mom]

No sense starting a new thread - keeps the "other" all in one place.

Found out last night the other cat in the house was diagnosed with FeLV last year... (Gee, thanks for telling me before I brought Sasha here, so I could have had him immunized at least??)

Thank heavens I have kept Sasha in my room since I arrived. Wasn't ready for kitty adjustment hisses, etc... Last night, out of the blue, I find out Rosie (my friend's cat) is infected.

Other than bites, saliva or scratches is there anything else I need to be aware of? I stripped all the bedding in my room this morning and bleached everything. My biggest concern is Sasha's dragging - he's a dust mop in disguise as a cat and wondering if the virus can be contracted through any other means?

Humbly awaiting replies.

[critters]

My understanding is that it's not very contagious, but I've sent your link on to 2 people who know all about these things.

[Bendy Kitty]

as long as they are separate, Sasha will be fine. FeLv is transmitted by shared bowls, water dishes, grooming, bites. the virus itself dies very quickly oce off the cat, usually in about 15 minutes.

that is a nasty surprise tho! we certainly wouldn't be happy about it.

[Sasha's Mom]

as long as they are separate, Sasha will be fine. FeLv is transmitted by shared bowls, water dishes, grooming, bites. the virus itself dies very quickly oce off the cat, usually in about 15 minutes.

that is a nasty surprise tho! we certainly wouldn't be happy about it.

Hi again.
I am freaking out here. The last day or two I thought I was seeing flea dirt on Sasha and sure enough, last night, I discovered one live one behind his ear. Wasn't able to get the tweezers out fast enough and it was lost in his thick fur very quickly. There is a one inch gap under the door to my room and the infected cat has been scratching since I got here. My vet said flea bites are another way to transmit FeLV. Can't afford the vaccination (big surprise - can't find work) and have been doing everything possible to keep "our area" clean and then the flea... I don't allow anyone to even walk in the room with shoes they wear in the rest of the house or outside.
I think Robbie has the better end of the deal right now - at least he's in a clean and controlled cattery...

[Bendy Kitty]

I have NEVER heard of FeLv being transmitted by fleas.
i think the vet is being paranoid, as many vets are with FeLv.

also, was her cat just tested once? false positives are very common. when you get a positive, you retest in three months. the test only shows EXPOSURE. not infection. many vets panic at the first positive test and don't mention that.

goodl uck finding work, the economy is still very sucky. sighs.

bendy

[TenHouseCats]

okay, here's the official stuff to hand out to vets, who really SHOULD know this:

first, from the merck veterinary manual, which even THEY can't ignore: http://tinyurl.com/Merck-FeLV

and even better for lots of reasons, including a GREAT bibliography if you read the full article, which i recommend to everyone (as well as handing a printout to every vet one encounters), from the american assn of feline practitioners (http://www.catvets.com, a great resource in and of itself, and a place to find a member vet in your own area): http://tinyurl.com/AAFP-Retrovirus-Guidelines

the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW ABOUT FeLV is that the tests do NOT look for infection (antibodies), but merely for exposure (antigens). most vets, if they ever paid enough attention in the first place, have forgotten that.

so a positive test means NOTHING more than that the cat was exposed to the virus. for years now, every text and every professional organization has stated that a single test should not be used as a basis for life-and-death decisions, and that a second test, preferably a send-to-the-lab IFA test be performed 90 to 120-days after first test/last-possible-date-of-exposure if known. it takes that long for the average cat's body to process out the virus---and if you go back to the merck article, you'll see that 70% of cats exposed to the virus do NOT remain infected. additionally, there are NO, zip, zilch, eppes, nada, real-world documented cases of a true negative who has been vaccinated ever remaining infected while living closely with a true positive. (notice the little catch here: a single negative test doesn't mean anything either, if the cat was tested too soon for the exposure to show up.... we who know this chose denial, as a negative test is so often true.)

so, if the other cat yours lived with was never retested, the odds are VERY high that it wasn't really positive.

now we come to this year's BIG problem. for many years, IDEXX was the standard for snap tests; but last november they lost their exclusive patent on the technology, and put out a NEW test that included a HW (heartworm) component. since the beginning of the year, there has been a huge increase in the number of positives on both the FIV and FeLV tests. that it was a testing error was the issue when cats were consistently testing negative on the IFA (those that lived that long) for FeLV or on the Western Blot for FIV. we started talking amongst ourselves, and realized that the number of false positives was way higher than normal, and that the number of actual positives was well within the single-digit percentages that are normal.

comparing notes, and realizing that IDEXX was substantially discounting the new tests to gather stats, we began to advise EVERYONE to stop using the new test when possible (the old reliable two-way tests were back-ordered in parts of the country), and to IMMEDIATELY retest all cats who tested positive for FeLV. this is totally against what we normally say, because of the whole exposure vs infection thing mentioned above, but as so many positives were coming back as false ones, that is what we felt was the best thing to do.

one vet we're working with says that using serum or plasma, rather than whole blood, will counter the problem with the false positives, but no one has done the research as far as we can tell.

an IDEXX representative asked for a list of names of folks with data to follow up--and hasn't contacted any of us yet. the problems are slowly getting attention in the vet world, but since killing FeLVs and FIVs has always been the easiest method of treatment--as you've found out!--we've not that hopeful until and unless IDEXX really gets involved. the reason that we in special-needs rescue starting comparing notes early in the year, and have been trying to get the word out since late may is that we're the ones who get the calls and emails--we're the ones seeing all the, 'positives.'

so take the baby BACK to the vet, and ask for an IFA. if you like the vet, play selected parts of this out. find out if they're members of the AAFP; they are much more likely to know about FeLV and FIV than non-cat-aware vets.

where in NY are you? i'm in niagara falls, actually, but i have a lot of friends downstate, as well as in the city and on the island--i might be able to help you find a FeLV-friendly vet.

let's find out if you have a positive cat before you worry too much.

(now aren't you glad folks sent your post to me?)

MC

[Sasha's Mom]

Bendy,

You know, I am getting different responses from every vet, which after reading Mary Christine's response doesn't surprise me. One says fleas "do" transmit, others "maybe", and others, "absolutely" not. I had Sasha tested twice in Bulgaria, once after getting him and about 6 months later. Since I am here less than 3 weeks, I doubt any tests would be worthwhile at this point and they've had no direct contact, so a vaccination is the only thing in order.

I TOTALLY agree the other cat should be tested again as well, but the owner vehemently disagrees, stating, "She's positive, what else is there to know?"

Mary Christine,

Thank you for all the information regarding the new and old testing. Will print out the Merck link, email the .pdf from catvets.com and let the owner of the other cat along with the vet(s) read it. Frankly, the vets in Bulgaria seemed better informed than the vets I've called so far here in NY, regarding FeLV.

I tore apart the room today, bleaching everything that was bleach-able and scrubbing the hardwood floors, especially in cracks and crevices. I have a feeling the fleas in pupal casing were laying in wait and when I moved into the room and started vacuuming a couple weeks ago, it woke them up. Also been rather humid and warm the last few days - all ideal conditions. I was amazed at the amount of dirt on Sasha when I showered him down - no soap - just water to soak his fur and see what was going on. Thankfully, there were not many adult fleas and being pure white, spotting the dirt early was an advantage. There was one that was near his ear and crawled into his ear when I tried crunching it with the tweezers - felt sorry for Sasha, but it did re-emerge and slinked back off into his very thick coat. The Advantage will take care of the adults and pupae, but not the eggs. Will just have to keep a close eye. Poor Sasha can't even scratch himself and it explains why he suddenly started enjoying being brushed instead of fighting me.

Sadly, the owner of the house is in complete denial about the whole episode insisting I brought the fleas in from the lawn. Possible, but not probable considering the rest of the house. Only solution to this problem is to move...

Anyway, thank you again for all the good information and for letting me vent.

By the way, Mary Christine, I am in Amityville, NY at the moment.