now and then

Today on another blog I found the comparison between "now and then" somewhat alarming. I failed to achieve what I had hoped for and I find that I can bring some of that retrospective to today's blog here..

a week doesn't go by when I don't receive some request from one of the many cat groups I belong to for a donation towards FIP research...

so I have to ask myself...what have those researchers (and we all know who they are) really accomplished in the last 5 years?....

an accurate test for fip?....no....necropsy is pretty much still it..and well the cat has to be dead for that to work

a vaccine...well...sort of, but not one that has any real practical use since it doesn't work if a cat's already been exposed to a corona virus as say about 90% of all cats have...

a treatment....ANY treatment that actually works?....nope, nothing here really either....

so, aside from some revised papers....nothing really has been achieved....not really encouraging prospects from a whole lot of fund raising....

just something to think about....

fleas...revisited....

well since my dogs brought fleas in from outside, it's been a constant battle....first frontline, then revolution and we have yet to eliminate the problem. I really hate constantly using chemicals on my pets, but alas, I have no choice. I'd prefer to find something that worked however....but I have found less and less the flea products working very well. Last year we tried vectra and I wasn't impressed with it or the price....

recently did find this pamphlet that while it certainly doesn't have the solution (darn dogs), it does provide a little inside as to the products and their toxicity.

we might try program next month....and it's getting cold here at night and I am hoping that helps the outdoor issue. Last year we really didn't have any fleas, we just usually dose everyone once at the beginning of summer, but this year it must be bad all over, as I notice even the hartz (shutter) products are gone off the shelves.

new hope and false promises

Recently a friend sent me a link to some new "miracles" for treating FIP....these products just like the Feline interferon are being promoted by many of the FIP support groups.

I feel the need to caution those hoping against hope that THIS will be the cure....FIP is a corona virus and they mutate easily and regularly...chances are that cures are not feasable for some time to come, and the very best some of these items may bring is a little more quality time.

Through my use of herbals, I was able to achieve in some of my cats a little more quality time. Not in all of them, and in a few of them I observed the act of stimulating the immune system cause the cat to decline quickly. Now who can really say what is going to work and what is not, I just want to caution pining hopes on another thing offered up the pipeline.

I advise doing your research and do diligence, and at the very least read the current literature on pubmed.

PETA.....need I say more?

FLEAS...

I have never had a problem with fleas...at least not in the last decade since frontline and top spot and all the others hit the market.

This year, I have a flea problem, and all the favorite go to products are not working very well...

it's concerning from many aspects. First off, frontline is a pesticide not a drug and comes under a different class of products then vectra or something like revolution...second off the bugs are getting immune to these products at an alarming rate, while other good insects are getting killed by them...

so tell me, what are you using for fleas this year?

some new topics

I don't hear from most of my readers anymore since I don't have a lot to discuss anymore on the topic of FIP.

It's not that there are not FIP topics to discuss, but the problem is, there just isn't much more we can do but rehash what we know...and in many cases, it is whole lot more then most vets.

So I was thinking about writing about more more cat issues...common or uncommon, chances are we've seen most of them...what do you think?

Feline Pine in the litterboxes

I know that Dr. Addy did a study on cat litters that killed/reduced/had no effect on the FIP virus in the litterbox. A big area where the thought is most of the transmission cat to cat occurs.

Over the years I have tried a variety of litters. Including those on the list that I could get here in the USA. Dr. Addy's results here

I have to say that time and time again, I come back to the feline pine. While she did not include feline pine in her study, she did post some results on wood pellet litter.

I found that the everclean was hard to get, I could only get it with the charcoal added, and it was not the exact type listed. I also tried the sophisticat, and the cat country.
while I do not dispute the findings, because I do not have the equipment to run a similar test, I find my cats are all together healthier with the pine litter. The clay litters...I really don't find them very sanitary litters, and the cats get more stuck on their pads.
The pine litter tracks....and it's best to dump as soon as it disintegrates because it can make a big mess, but the cats never are cleaning it off their feet, and perhaps that is where they are healthier.

So I continue with the use of the pine litter, and the cats continue to be as healthy as I think they are going to get.
Lily is still separated, as she still shows neurological signs periodically, wobbly, and while she is thin, she gained some weight a while ago and has kept it on. She's about 3.5 years old now.

Minga has lost a bunch of bottom teeth, and is thin, but has a nice coat and is otherwise healthy. She's been stable healthwise for over a year now and I think we will spay her finally. She is 3 years old.

Fo has severe mouth problems and has lost weight in the last year, but his weight has stablized. His weight loss is related to his eating issues and he is otherwise healthy. He has been neutered for 2 years. He is on the zyrtec and we hope that improves his mouth.

Dude and Hoggle both have severe mouth issues as well and are on the zyrtec trials. And it is a TRIAL to get a pill into Hoggle....

will keep updates.