What did I do, world?

Yesterday at 5:30 a.m., I was awakened by the Mother of All Bladder Infections. "Come into the bathroom," she whispered into my ear. "I have something to show you." I won't even tell you what that bitch did to me in there, but it was gruesome. Somehow I managed to live until 9 a.m., when my doctor's office opened, and the nurses hoisted me off the stoop and into an examining room.

I love my doctor because he's not at all nonchalant about illnesses. He is always highly alarmed by my condition, whatever it is, as if he'd never seen anything like it before. Strangely, I find this reassuring. If I'm in pain, I don't want my medical specialist to poo-poo my discomfort. So when he gasped in horror at the sight of my urine specimen--just eyeballing it made him gasp, kids! It didn't look good!--I kind of wanted to kiss him full on the mouth. It would have made an adorable story for our future children. Unfortunately we're both married, and my husband was fretting in the waiting room. Our love, it cannot be.

Anyway, he knocked me up (NOT THAT WAY) with many many drugs and I spent the rest of the day and all of the night and then most of this morning either in bed or in the can, either peeing or sleeping. Sleep, pee, sleep, pee. I was kind of like my dog. Except I have better aim.

Then this afternoon, just as I started to feel better, the phone rang. It was the woman who gave us Izzy, our brand new, incredibly adorable cat. Izzy's mom had been diagnosed with feline leukemia. For whatever reason, the cat had previously tested negative, but was now positive.

So! It appears that my kitty cat may or may not be long for this world. Anyone know anything about FeLV? Because the Internets, she is bringing me the contradictory information. And I'm trying not to cry, over here. I need all my bodily fluids, for the peeing.

EDITED TO ADD: Okay, so maybe I shouldn't read only one highly alarmist website about FeLV before posting. The one that said she had an 85% chance of dying within months. I'm trying to find it now, and can't. Probably I hallucinated it. I blame the Cipro. Yes. Ahem.

Comments

[Jules]

How old is your kitten again? Because there are several versions of FeLV, and you can't really be sure which your kitten has until they are like 5 or 6 months old.

I hope it's the kind that goes away!!!!

[slouching mom]

oh, i hope it's not true about izzy.and i hope the doctor gave you some pyridium, orange pee be damned.

[Suz]

My sister received a kitten found by the side of the road from my uncle about 8 years ago.

This poor kitten was sick - we took her to the vet, she had Feline Leukemia. They told us - she wouldn't live long, but try to make her comfortable.

For about 3 years after we got her she would have seizures. We would pet and sooth her through them. She had an irritable stomach and threw up more than most cats. But she was always a loving kitten and she liked being petted and loved on.

Now here we are 8 years later... she's still with us. No more seizures, no puking, nothing. Just still sweet, a little small for her breed (a.k.a. who knows what), and whiny.

Everytime we take her to the vet she always gets the same diagnoses. Feline Leukemia, can't believe she's lived this long. So I think it might be a bit of hooey. Just keep her as long as you can, and don't get anymore cats in fear of infecting them.

[fairly odd mother]

Oh, I hope your peeing becomes less painful and I hope Izzy is ok. That's a lot of hope and not a lot of useful information but that's all I've got for today.

[Country Mouse]

Alice, try to relax a bit about Izzy. If you had another cat it would be a different story, but cats can live a long time with FIV — with proper care they can, in fact, die of old age.

[xsquared]

One of my cats is FELV+. On an ongoing basis, it is not an issue - she's very healthy. But when something does seem a bit off, we get her to the vet more quickly than we might otherwise, just to be on the safe side. The vet has told us she's not as likely to live to a ripe old age, but again, not something we worry about at this point (she's about 3).

So my advice is, don't worry too much. FELV+ cats can live very healthy lives.

[Genie]

I have recurrent bladder infections so much so that I take Macrobid regularly to try to prevent them. I understand the crippling nature of them and I think it's a testament to women's strength that we can even walk with them.

And I have a beautiful black cat named Isis, so my heart skipped a beat at seeing your kitten pics the other day. I have faith Izzy will be fine.

Go team!

[Kim]

If Izzy were my cat, I would join the Yahoo group "holisticat" http://groups.yahoo.com/ and ask the group's moderater, Leigh Foster, for her advice. Get better, both of you!

[Jenorama]

Just wanted to echo what others have said about a) sorry about the bladder infection and b) Feline Leukemia can lurk in a cat for a long time. I wouldn't worry just yet.

[cce]

We've got a FIV positive male cat that's fat and happy and has been positive for 11 years now with no signs that the disease is affecting him in anyway. Except there is the drooling on my silk comforter but I suppose even FIV negative cats would be attracted to the most impractical of bedding purchases.

[jessica]

Hello! I've been lurking but I love cats and hate bladder infections so I felt this was the post for me.

My sister had a cat with feline lukemia, diagnosed as a kitten. It went away when she was tested six months later and also never infected her pre-exisiting cat.

The stuff that makes your pee orange also makes me vomit. I would stay away from it.

P.S. I used to live in Brooklyn (Park Slump, Propsect Heights, "East" Williamsburg and then Fort Greene). I now live in LA. I wish you had been my neighbor when I lived there.

[Sandee]

Our kitten's mom was diagnosed with FeLV, but did not pass it on to the kittens. Chances are, Izzy doesn't have it either. Our vet ran the test when Flo was 6 months, and it was negative. No sign of it since, and she is 6 years old. Don't fret. All will be well with you and Izzy, I'm sure.

[braine]

To answer your question: nothing. It's not your fault.

[Margaret]

Many MANY years ago, my family had a cat with feline leukemia. He was at the vet a LOT getting abscesses lanced (he was an indoor outdoor cat and got in a lot of fights. teeny scratch = abscess). BUT he lived to be ten years old.

[eva]

Alice, I TOTALLY feel your pee pain. Hang in there. Or sit on the potty. Whichever.

[Valerie]

FIV and FeLV are two different diseases.

Your kitty can live a good life just carrying the disease (if she's even positive). Stop searching the internet! Sleep some more!

[kelly]

Oh, dear Alice. Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie. I feel you. I once passed out on the toilet while trying to pee through a terrible infection. Such pain. GLad you got in and treated right away.

Hope all is well with that little kitty muffin of love.

[erika]

My dad is a vet - I sent him an email and I'll let you know what he says. Sorry about the bladder infection - they hurt like hell.

Questions I'm sure my dad is going to ask: is Izzy an indoor cat? Has she been tested for FeLV herself?

[AT]

We got a new kitten who was diagnosed with FeLV and 6 years later she is doing great and our other cat never got infected. Get as much info as you can, but go with your gut.

That said, we would not bring a new cat into our household while this cat is living here as we would not want to infect a new cat.

Oh, and bladder infections are, well, my vocabulary of words to express hate is too small to do UTI's justice. Good thing you caught it early. The alternative is bad. Very, very bad.

[Mauigirl52]

Oh Alice, I'm so sorry you're going through all that! I HATE bladder infections. I used to get them frequently (and the last one was a doozy). I finally started having cranberry juice in the morning instead of OJ and that seemed to prevent them from happening anymore. Cipro should do the job very quickly, much better than back in the day when they gave you Bactrim or Gantricin. Ugh, those sulfa drugs...

As for Izzy, keep your fingers crossed - if the mom cat didn't even test positive until well after the kittens were born, it is likely the kittens probably didn't get it. The mom cat may have only been infected very recently at the time she gave birth and that probably means the virus hadn't multiplied much in her system. I'm just saying this off the top of my head from what I generally know - I'll do some research and see what else I can find out. But don't panic. Izzy may be totally fine.

[niki]

I have a cat with Feline Leukemia, had it since birth, and she is doing GREAT 6 years later! Speak with your vet, and get your cat tested. Don't panic yet! Good luck!

[Nevermind]

Couple of questions you need to find out about mommy cat before getting worried. Was she positive for FIV or FeLV? How was it diagnosed? Before I diagnose a cat with either disease, I confirm it with another test, usually and IFA (considered gold standard). You need to take Izzy and get her tested. If it was FIV, I would recommend testing Izzy around four to six months of age (90% of kittens born to positive moms will clear infection and not get disease). If it was FeLV, test her now and if positive have a confirmation test done. Then you need to talk to your vet and discuse your options.Good luck!

[patches]

Sorry about the bladder infection. Also sorry I was laughing so hard at your expense that I fell out of my office chair....I hope you recover soon, just rembering my last one makes me shudder. Best wishes for Izzy. Let us know how things stand.

[shy me]

Oooh. Cipro is teh nasty on you! Rest rest rest!

[Beck]

Bladder infections, my old friends.My brother's cats were diagnosed with feline leukemia - one was profoundly ill right away, while the other one although infected is still healthy and the vet says that the cat's life expectancy can be measured in years at this point. So it's not all grim, at all.