Pray for Speedboat

My 14 year old male cat is having problems. Vet is stumped. He has high protein in urine, low white blood count, high bun and creatine, and also low blood platelet count. Hi appetite is poor. He is beginning to show some lethargy. Anyone out there with any ideas. We are taking him back to dr. in the morning to recheck blood. Currently vet has him on 14 days clavamox because he had blood in urine.
Prayers please. I lost my dad in May. In October, my 49 yr. old daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer and had mastectomy Dec. 18th. I am not ready to deal with anything else.

Has he been checked for CRF?
That is how Cocos numbers were.
She also had blood in the urine and alot of infections before we found out it was CRF.
Can you post his numbers?

Speedboat is in our thoughts and prayers. Healing energy coming your way.

That is one of the things the vet said is that he couldn't rule out possible beginning of CRF. My husband took him to the vet. I called and asked for a copy of the bloodwork and they mailed it to me. I haven't received it yet.
But I will get a copy when we go to the vet tomorrow. I will post the numbers then. The vet is stumped by the low blood platelets and low WBC. He did say the blood in the urine could be caused from low WBC, but he doesn't know what would be causing excess protein in urine. Maybe we will be getting some answers tomorrow. What is involved in treating a cat with CRF. We lost our soulmate Max several years ago to acute kidney failure. That was a real bummer.

I lost 2 cats to ARF also and one to CRF.
There are so many different treatments for CRF.
Coco has had it for a year and she gets fluids,binders,bp meds,Baytril because the bladder infections come back otherwise.
Here is a link to to CRF info.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=119727
http://www.felinecrf.org/
Lets wait and see if it is CRF.
I can help you if it is.
Coco had high protien also but it is normal now.
It does sound liek CRF to me but there is always a chance it is something else.

Don't have new numbers yet from today. Numbers from early this week.
WBC 2.0, Lymp 0.6, Gran. 1.2 MPV 8.2, PLT 64. That is the low white blood and platelet info. BUN 94, CREATINE 3.3., AMY 1820. The vet said this morning there is no change in the numbers for the low blood platelets and low white blood count. They are running the rest and will call me with the new numbers on the bun and creatine. What he said is, he feels fairly certain it is not a kidney infection. Two possibilities, one is CRF, but he doesn't have explanation for low blood count and platelets. The other possibility is lymphoma, which would agree with low platelet and blood count and could also cause the kidney changes. Any one with ideas. I will post the new numbers for the bun and creatine when I get them. He told me continue and finish the course of clavamox more for preventive measure than anything else. He changed diet from W/D catfood to Hills, kidney diet wet canned food.
Only way to be sure of lymphoma is ultrasound. We would not treat 14 year old cat with chemo, so we are not going to pursue that.

I hope it is not lymphoma.
The BUN is very high and the crea is high also.
Coco almost needed a blood transfusion once because her counts were so low.
This could be CRF.
I was looking at Stripes numbers and hers were like your cats.
She needed 2 blood transfusions when we first found out it was CRF.
Does he like the food?
If not there are other kidney foods you can try.

i am sorry for the heartache you have been through and for the heartache you are going through with your precious Speedboat.will be thinking of you and sending strenghth your way.

Were Stripes blood platelets and white blood count down. Thanks everyone for the prayers and thoughts. Keep them coming. And yes, Speedboat loved the food. The vet said he could have as much as 1 1/2 cans a day. I gave him 1/2 can so as not to overdo it. This evening I will give him the other half and if he eats that, I will increase what he gets tomorrow.

Her Lymp was 0.5 but her wbc was ok.
AMY was very high.
She had 2 blood transfusions and they saved her at the time.
They gave her Pet Tinic and some a shot to raise her blood counts.
What is his temp?
Hers was only 94.8

I am sending good thoughts to Speedboat. What a cool name. It is so stressful when our critters aren't feeling well. It is good he loves the food!

Please keep us posted, we are all family here.

His temperature is normal and his red blood count is normal. Last night he was trying to eat his cat litter.

They will eat litter.
Coco and Stripe both did that.
I only use Yesterdays News.
I hope he feels better and the tests are better.
The ultrasound is a easy test Coco has had them.
How much does he weigh now and what did he weigh before?

He weighs about 11.9 pounds. He has lost almost a pound. His new numbers for the BUN is 95 and the creatine is 4.2. The low white blood count and platelet count is what has the vet stumped.

Just a question. Has anyone had experience with a cat eating a poisoned mouse. I have asked the vet about this possibility, but he says he really doesn't think so. I have read that mouse poison causes blood clotting problems. Would it cause kidney problems in cats.

Sending prayers and healing vibes Speedboat's way.
And here is a hug for you! You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

I can but not always.
We had a rabbit eat mouse poison once when I was a kid and she bled out.
It was terrible.
I think your cat has some other problem.

Sending lots of hopes and positive vibes for Speedboat and your daughter! I'm sorry you and your family are going through so much. It never rains but it pours. I hope there's good news and good health ahead in 2010. Hang in there.

Originally Posted by blueyedgirl5946

That is one of the things the vet said is that he couldn't rule out possible beginning of CRF. My husband took him to the vet. I called and asked for a copy of the bloodwork and they mailed it to me. I haven't received it yet.
But I will get a copy when we go to the vet tomorrow. I will post the numbers then. The vet is stumped by the low blood platelets and low WBC. He did say the blood in the urine could be caused from low WBC, but he doesn't know what would be causing excess protein in urine. Maybe we will be getting some answers tomorrow. What is involved in treating a cat with CRF. We lost our soulmate Max several years ago to acute kidney failure. That was a real bummer.

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Well high Creat and high BUN would signify kidney issues (this should be a no-brainer to a Vet, no offense).

You mentioned blood in urine in your 2nd post but not your first. Blood is a protein so if there's blood in the urine, the urine will show high for protein (again, a vet should know this). Plus if there's blood in the urine, hopefully your Vet will be considering a urinary tract infection, doing a urinalysis and treating with antibiotics. In cats with CRF, their urine is much more dilute (as their kidneys have lost the ability to concentrate their urine). Long story short, they're more at risk for UTIs (urinary tract infections). Did the Vet put kitty on antibiotic for a UTI?

Low platelets in a cat is not unusual............often platelets "clump" so when the machine analyzes the blood, it gives the impression of very low platelets only because the platelets are "stuck together." Most of my cats' bloodwork has shown low platelets due to 'clumping.' I keep copies of all of my cats' bloodwork, for years now....and I can't tell you how many times the results will show low platelets (very low) and often the tech who runs the machine that analyzes the blood will make a note beside the low platelet result "clumping". It's very common, so that's something your vet should surely consider.

Low WBC count generally signifies a viral infection.

Have you considered a second opinion from another Vet? With all due respect if your vet is so "stumped" by these results, well, I'm a little stumped with your Vet. Again, no offense.

Also........cats with CRF generally have a fair bit of protein in the urine as well (again, a Vet should know this).

EDIT: Oops, I re-read your original post and see you mentioned that Vet started cat on Clavamox for blood in urine (obviously he believes same is a UTI).

ALSO - did your Vet run what they call a "differential"? Generally when they do a CBC on a cat (complete bloodcell count, which includes WBC, RBC, platelets, Hemacrit, hemoglobin), they'll also further analyze some of the components of the WBCs.....neutrophils, basophils, lymphocytes, etc. Depending on the results of these, they can help tell more of the story about what might be going on.

Here's a good website that explains in more depth, about lab tests in animals, namely White Blood Cells and the various components of WBCs.....and note the following:

The WBC count will be lower than normal, if an animal has been weakened from a prolonged, debilitating disease and in some viral infections.

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The above is from this page......scroll down to the section on White Blood Cells:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+1473&aid=987

You can read there about the other components of WBCs; neutrophils, basophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils................so what your Vet needs to do is look at the results for these, because each one of these make up WBCs and elevations or increases in each of these 5 can help to shed light on the overall status of the elevated or decreased WBCs.

Some clinics just do a very basic CBC which doesn't do a 'differential of the WBCs', that specifically analyzes the above 5 components.......I know one clinic I went to, if they needed to just have the basics (WBC, RBC, platelets, hemoglobin), they'd do what's called a "QBC"....which means "quick blood count"........but a proper CBC (or a full one) includes analyzes the WBCs. Ask your Vet if the bloodwork he did included a "differential" of the WBCs........if he doesn't know what "differential" means........ask him if the labwork he did analyzes the various components of the WBCs; neutrophils, lymphocytes, basophils, etc. If not, request this be done. If he does bloodwork in his clinic "in house" and can't do this, ask him to collect another sample from your kitty and send it off to the nearest Vet Lab for a full analysis. You as an owner have a right to make this request and it's not the least bit out of line.

Did he give your kitty any subcutaneous fluids? With elevated BUN and Creat, kitty is likely dehydrated and should have some fluids for sure (or is kitty still there at the Vet and on an IV?)

Just so you know.............I've had 5 cats for many, many years.......some younger, some older. There have been a few times where one of my cats' will have bloodwork and it will be noted that their WBC count is low. I remember being upset about it, worried.....but then the next time they had bloodwork, it was normal.