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-   -   I too have an Anemic cat-I need help! (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=55933)

aerobocat2 August 28th, 2008 09:28 PM

I too have an Anemic cat-I need help!
 
I have an almost year old Havana brown kitty who is in serious
> > trouble. We have been on rounds of different antibiotics - the most
> > recent was doxycycline. He has been off all antiobiotics since this
> > past weekend but is on Lixotinic for his low red blood count and
> > overall fatigue and lack of nutrition. I had to force feed him last
> > week with the Science Diet A/D wet food which of course added to his
> > stress. He is very underweight and we are still trying everything to
> > entice him to eat. Last evening he did eat some Long John Silvers
> > fish and chicken - a fairly good amount. He has developed a patch of
> > baldness on the middle shoulder blades of his back - which I asked
> > the vet about - the vet thought we might have placed some flea or
> > tick medicine on him - but we had not. His tests for FeLv, FIP, all
> > those come up negative. I bought this cat from a cattery in Florida
> > in February. At that time he had some watery discharge from his eyes -
> > which got progressively worse. As I mentioned, he has been on
> > different antibiotics, Lysine, and everything you can think of to
> > fight infection and possible Herpes. This morning he has some loose
> > stools which are very light colored. He also still has a catheter in
> > his leg which the vet was hesitant to remove because it was so
> > difficult to insert. I'm taking him back in this morning for another
> > check and also to see if the vet wants to go ahead and remove the
> > catheter. This was last Friday August 25th.



This information is from Wednesday,August 29th:
Thanks so much again to everyone. I wanted to post the bloodwork
results for everyone to view - just in case someone out there has had
the same puzzling problem. Here goes: WBC 3.68(normal range 5.5-
19.5), LYM .53(normal range 1.5-7), GR% 80.5(normal range 2.5-14),
RBC 2.05 (normal 5-10), HGB 3.7 (normal 8-15), HCT 12.61 (normal 24-
45), MCV 61 (39-55), MCH 17.9 (normal 12.5-17.5), MCHC 29.1 (normal
30-36), RdWc 19 (normal?), PLT 48 (normal 300-800), MPV 15.8 (normal
12-17), PDwC 44.6 (normal?), ALB 3.1 (normal 2.2-4.4), ALP 36 (normal
10-90), ALT 158 (normal 20-100), AMY 1800 (normal 300-1100), TBIL .9
(normal .1-.6), BUN 26 (normal 10-30), CA 9.4 (normal 8.0-11.8), PHOS
3.9 (normal 3.4-8.5), CRE 1.0 (normal .3-2.1), GLU 124 (normal 70-
150), NA 145 (normal 142-164), K+ 3.1 (normal 3.7-5.8), TP 10.6
(normal 5.4-8.2) and GLOB 7.5 (normal 1.5-5.7). There are a couple of
items that I can't make out- something right below GRA which was 2.97
(normal is 2.5-14), there's something that ends in "Y" which was 14.3
where the normal range is 20 - 55 - and then something else that was
at 5.2 and the normal range is 1 - 3 - maybe this is not anything of
major importance. The vet wants to start him back on Dexycycline,
continue with the Lixotinic and he is adding some liquid pediapred.
He (the vet) still feels that it is more than likely a parasite
causing this.

He ate a little dry food this morning but he has not eaten very much this
evening.

Any help you can send my way is appreciated. I've been reading
everything I can get my hands on.

RUSTYcat August 28th, 2008 11:35 PM

Just so people know...I invited [B]aerobocat2[/B] to join [B]pets.ca[/B] and post their story, knowing that there is a great deal of experience, support and info on this forum. I've just now asked "them" to fill in some of the background info in the post, so people have a better idea of what has been happening to bring [B]aerobocat2[/B] to this point.

growler~GateKeeper August 29th, 2008 12:06 AM

What's his name & how old is the cat? What are the other symptoms aside from not eating?

I assume there has been [I]repeated[/I] fecal tests, not just one? some parasites may give a false neg the first time.

The WBC and Lymphocytes are low which generally indicated the body is fighting an infection of some kind......what other tests have been done?


Will he eat canned food or people food? or is he a dryfood only cat?

:goodvibes:

Dr Lee August 29th, 2008 12:33 PM

[QUOTE=aerobocat2;648347]I have an almost year old Havana brown kitty who is in serious trouble... Here goes: WBC 3.68(normal range 5.5-
19.5), LYM .53(normal range 1.5-7), GR% 80.5(normal range 2.5-14),
RBC 2.05 (normal 5-10), HGB 3.7 (normal 8-15), HCT 12.61 (normal 24-
45), MCV 61 (39-55), MCH 17.9 (normal 12.5-17.5), MCHC 29.1 (normal
30-36), RdWc 19 (normal?), PLT 48 (normal 300-800), MPV 15.8 (normal
12-17), PDwC 44.6 (normal?), ALB 3.1 (normal 2.2-4.4), TP 10.6
(normal 5.4-8.2) and GLOB 7.5 (normal 1.5-5.7).He (the vet) still feels that it is more than likely a parasite causing this. [/QUOTE]

Rustycat - thank you for alerting me to this thread.

Some thoughts on the blood work... There is a pancytopenia occuring meaning that all of the blood cell populations are low - the white blood cells (which includes granulocytes (eosinophils, neutrophils, basophils), lymphocytes and monocytes; the red blood cells (PCV/HCT, RBC) and the platelets. One note: the platelet count if at 48 and dropping is a medical EMERGENCY for the pet is at risk of spontaneously bleeding out. Feline platelets are often difficult for blood machines to read and it would be recommended that your veterinarian or the referrence laboratory perform a microscope evaluation of a current blood smear.

Pancytopenia can occur from a variety of reasons. There is a viral disease which also goes by the same name as this condition called pancytopenia and is also known as feline parvo. Typically the diagnosis is made off of the physical examination, history and presence of pancytopenia. A year of age is a little older than usual but this is still a very likely concern depending upon the history. What is the vaccine history? I assume that this condition has been ruled out by your veterinarian already but I thought it is important to mention.

Pancytopenia can also occur with bone marrow disease. If the bone marrow is suppressed chemically (toxins), infections or tumors (such as leukemia of the bone). A bone marrow sample may answer a lot of questions here. It would be vital to know if the blood cells are not being made or if they are being made but are rapidly destroyed. Pancytopenia can also occur with auto immune disorders and blood parasites.

With parasites we need to separate this into two categories - intestinal parasites or blood borne parasites. This is very unlikely to be intestinal parasites. If intestinal parasites, such as hookworms, are causing anemia by sucking blood then not only should the blood cells be low but also the blood proteins such as albumin. Albumin is normal and the total protein is elevated due to the globulins. Also I assume this pet has already been dewormed and likely more than once. Resistant strains that are still causing life threatening disease is rare with intestinal parasites.

Again let me reinerate - this blood panel is not consistent with blood loss due to the severity of how low the blood cell numbers are and how high the total protein level is. Despite the low white blood cell numbers, the blood work is still supportive of systemic inflammation however. The granulocyte percentage is very high and the globulins (antibodies) are very high.

I think your veterinarian is thinking of blood borne parasites which I also agree is high on the list. Hemoparasites, Haemobartonella, Cytauxzoon and Babesia spp and less often Ehrlichia and Leishmania species would be high on the list.

We can also put liver disease very low on the list as the albumin and BUN are generated by a functional liver and there is not sign of liver inflammation.

I feel that the answers to these questions are going to lie in further diagnostics. I would recommend radiographs (if they have not already been taken), repeat blood work and and blood smear cytology to evaluate that platelet number, and consider referral to a specialist for bone marrow aspiration and possible further testing looking for specific diseases blood parasites.

I hope this helps explain this blood test and I wish the very best for you and your pet.:pawprint:

aerobocat2 August 29th, 2008 01:01 PM

Thank you so much for your post. I am to take him back to my local vet tomorrow morning. He still has the catheter on his leg which needs to come out. I so hope that this can be cured and not end up as FIP. He is up-to-date on all his shots and has (as I've mentioned) been on different rounds of antibiotics. The other interesting thing to note is he and the other two cats have recently been de-wormed for round worms. My oldest cat vomited up a round worm so naturally, I went ahead and got the first round of medicine in all three cats. I was so hoping that this was one of his problems and he would be getting better.

Is the pediapred appropriate medicine? Or, could it be adding to his failing immune system? Also, would you suggest a blood transfusion now or if his count drops below 10? The vet I use in Nashville does do the transfusions and he also will do tube feeding if that is necessary.

Thanks so much for all your help. I'm doing whatever I can to help save him.

Dr Lee August 29th, 2008 11:55 PM

If the corona titer is negative then FIP is much less likely. Possible, but less likely. :cat:

aerobocat2 September 3rd, 2008 07:07 AM

Baci is trying to eat on his own now but I'm still force-feeding him the Science Diet A/D to compensate for him not eating enough. Is this a good sign that he does not have FIP?


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