Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a cat,1 yr old, he has been quite ill and recieving medical care as we speak. He has anemia,and has recieved 2 transfusions, is on Epogen injections 1x week, and steroids,and a vitamin tonic. Vet thinks he might have pure red cell aplasia. This all started out with a trip to the vet for a URI. CBC was done, and Fel Luk test, negative, but my cat is anemic. His hct is only 12, very low,and Im sure Im looking at another transfusion. But what i want to know is if anyone has ever had this condition with their cat? He's my little buddy, and one heck of a fighter thats for sure!! He was also diagnosed with megaesophogus, his throat bulges when he breathes, scarey to watch, but not life threatening. Thanks to antibiotics his nasal discharge has cleared, but still has alot of nasal congestion....is there any decongestant he can have? anybody ever heard of all these coditions my poor Charlie Boy has?? Any opinions, comments,or info will be greatly appreciated, as I am always a nervous wreck with my kitty, I am so worried about having to make "that decision" to have him put down, and just watching him so sick....Thanks in advance all.
Dawn and "CharlieBoy"

I recently treated a cat with pure red cell aplasia. She looks great now and her anemia is completely resolved.

If you aren't already doing this, I would look into having your vet refer you to an internal medicine specialist (ACVIM board certified) or to your local veterinary teaching hospital. We treated the cat with human immunoglobulins and the results were nothing short of miraculous. It is not an inexpensive option, but the treatment was well tolerated and the cat is doing very well. This cat did not however, have some of the concurrent issues that yours appears too so there may be other things going on.

A work up by an internal medicine specialist might help unravel the mystery and give you additional treatment options.

Good luck with your kitty.

~SK

Hi Dawn,

I hope your vet is aware that Epogen can cause the very type of anemia that your baby has. Please make sure that he or she knows about this possibility.

I have had anemic cats, but none were severely anemic or needed transfusions. However, in my job as a vet tech I have taken care of many anemic cats and have helped give transfusions. Many of the cats I have seen with anemia have it secondary to kidney failure, or as a result of a blood parasite or caused by a severe case of fleas. We use Epogen exclusively for cats that have anemia related to kidney disease. It usually works well but can also have no effect or even cause worse anemia. Remember, I am referring to cats with kidney disease only here.

A cat with a PCV of 12 is very critical, so I am hoping that your boy has had another transfusion and that he is feeling stronger. Please post when you can and let us know how things are going for him.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for your replies...Charlie my kitty,is doing much better,his pvc has gone frm 9 to 12 with epogen and pred.I now get good morning loves and purrs.Like I said this all started with a trip to vet for URI,and after 2 vets and no change, we are now on vet 3...great doc,caring and giving of his time.Seems Charlie had fleas, and vet 1 and 2 said no topicals because of illness.Vet 3 treated with Capstar,and he is now on advantage.Seems fleas might have caused his anemia, no CRF. Makes me mad that by me listening to the other vets, my cat may have died. I am VERY pleased with my current vet, he's caring an very giving of his time.He cuts me big breaks on my vet bills,as I have already spent over 2 grand on my lil buddy.I will keep all posted on charlie,and thanks for listening.

Sorry, I meant to say his PVC has gone from 9 to 18....

Hi Again,

Thanks so much for the update! I'm so glad you got the third opinion on Charlie!

I know how nasty flea anemia can be and it's not always easy to know if your cat has fleas. This year it seems that the flea problem has been worse than ever. Thank goodness there are several safe flea remedies available these days and we no longer have to bathe our cats!

A PCV of 18 at this point is pretty darn good for Charlie
I'm sure that as time goes on it will continue to rise.

Please give us an update when you can.

Regards,
PHKitkat