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#1
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Urgent help needed for Attila, cat with a rare disease!
Hello everybody,
I'm new to this board. My name is Marta, I'm writing from Italy so please excuse my English! I'm a member of a board similar to this one in Italy (it's all written in Italian, but here it is: www.micimiao.net/forum) and I'm looking for help for a cat called Attila, whose owner has been a member of the same board for years. Attila is 3 y.o. and he was diagnosed a rare disease called "orbital aspergillosis". It's a fungus that hides behing the eyes and quickly spreads to invade eyes, nose and brain. Attila lost his left eye and will soon lose his other eye as well, but this is not going to be enough to save his life, unless we find a newer, more effective therapy than the one his vets prescribed... which seemed to be the best available for the moment. The therapy consists of oral posaconazole (the drug is called Noxafil and costs about 800 Euros in Europe... we raised funds thanks to donations from all over Europe to buy it!) but it's not working very well. The reason I'm writing, is that we read on this website (http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/42/4/302) that the only other case of orbital aspergillosis in a cat was in the USA, a persian cat was successfully cured in your Country and we are trying to get in touch with the owners of this cat and/or with the vets who cured him/her. We have no idea where they live and exactly when their cat got this disease, but considering the drug "posaconazole" is a quite recent one, we hope they can still be reached. Maybe they read this board, maybe someone knows them or can help us find them. We would like to get in touch to compare our experience with theirs, to understand if their cat went thorough the same pain that Attila is enduring and knowing that he was saved, maybe we can find a little hope for our dear, lovely Attila. We really are desperate to find them and to get in touch with anyone who can give us any help or support in this situation, so if you can help us please feel free to get in touch at: attilathecat@libero.it Thanks for reading! Marta ps: this is a link to a video where you can see Attila: http://picasaweb.google.it/valinatti...04208966313282 |
#2
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Hi marta, I live in nyc and I've never heard of this condition before. I'm passing it to every rescue group I know. If you could find out what part of the U.S. the cat lives in it would really help.
Last edited by amatazes; February 14th, 2008 at 01:20 PM. |
#3
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I would like to applaud you in your efforts, most people would be quick to euthanize the cat without ever second guessing their judgement. I wish I could help you, but this is all very new to me as I'm sure it will be to many people. Good luck in your quest for information and your hope to find a cure.
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#4
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thank you!
Thank you for your help, I think one of our biggest hopes is that our request for help is spread around as much as possible, to all rescue groups and veterinarians and cat-lovers so that maybe we will run into someone who actually knows about this disease or can do something. I know it's a shot in the dark, but what else can we do?
Euthanasia is really out of our thoghts right now, we are not going to do it unless it clear and absolutely impossible that Attila can be cured and he is suffering too much. Actually these days his eye is swollen and hurting, but he is lively, he's eating and grooming himself and sometimes he goes for a little walk in his garden when the waether is warm... he wants to live, he wants to fight this disease and we're not going to leave him alone! Thanks everybody for any kind of help you can provide, if you just forward this message to the people you know who love cats or to your vets maybe something will happen... Thanks again, I wih you a beautiful day! |
#5
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Marta,that video brought me to tears
I am sorry I cannot help,butyou'll find someone who can
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal" 3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie |
#6
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__________________
Windy~Smoke~Buddy~Palomine~Fagan~Asker~Mickey Blue Eyes Venus “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Gandhi "We're the renegades, we're the people; With our own philosophies; We change the course of history; Everyday people like you and me"- R A T M |
#7
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I googled Gillian J. McLellan, BVMS one of the dr's who wrote/took part in the article http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/42/4/302 and she seems to be in Iowa and there is an eamil address for her http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/facult...es/gillmcl.asp I wonder if you could email her and maybe google the rest and see if you can get an email address for them(you may have done this already I don't know) David R. Mason BVetMed Las Vegas, NV(didn't find an email-yet) Haven't found much on the other vets yet. Have you tried contacting the AVMA http://www.avma.org/ not saying they will know anything about the cat in the states but maybe they will take intrest in the case and maybe someone would be willing to talk to your friends vet about it. that you are able to get in-touch with one of them. Last edited by dustybird; February 15th, 2008 at 04:39 PM. |
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