06/09/2023
There were no specialists at the emergency hospital, but the veterinarian who discharged Jasper (the previous night, over the phone) told us that she was having a 50% success rate in treating anemia with a combination of a bone marrow stimulator and corticosteroids. We had nothing to lose, and told her to go for it. Still, we were told that he was now using another cat's blood, that the virus was incurable, and that this was only a (very expensive) BandAid. With Jasper on the RetroMad1 and with the FeLife on the way, we had a sliver of hope that we could get him well-enough to spend some more quality time with him.
Jasper was sent home from the hospital with Prednisolone 5mg (every 12 hours) and Epoetin alfa, AKA "Epogen" (bone marrow stimulators for making new red blood cells) injections to be given every three days. He was weak and pathetic, but ate like he was starving. By the following day the RetroMad1 and the Preboost had arrived and we started him on those.
06/13/2023
HCT 20.9% We took him back to our animal hospital for follow-up bloodwork. We requested a sample to send off for a PCR test from Microbiological Labs, Inc. (as suggested by Dr. Clemens)
At this point, the veterinarian (Dr. Smith, owner of Animal Health Center of East Palatka) took us into his office to explain that a PCR test was not needed, as there was no doubt about Jasper's diagnosis. We explained that we were placing Jasper on FeLife, a natural treatment which was being shown to take the viral loads down to zero and that we wanted a baseline before we started.
Once he realized that we were adamant about saving Jasper, he made time for us and immediately placed Jasper under his care. He drew the sample to send off for the PCR and told us about how Darbepoetin alfa might be a better alternative to the Epogen. Dr. Smith even found a supplier for Darbepoetin, which turned out to be the only way that I could find to get it. thrivingpets.com got it to us quickly.
The FeLife arrived that same afternoon, and we started Jasper on it; putting the REtroMad1 on hold. At 3:00am the following morning, Jasper was on my nightstand, demanding that I wake up and feed him. He hadn't done this in over a year.
