Lab work questions

I was just going through my cats' medical files (to which I recently gained access), and I noticed some abnormalities listed which I was not informed about.

Basically, I'm going to list to gist of the abnormalities and I would like some feedback on whether or not I should be concerned.

Monocyte % - Above normal
Platelet count – below normal
Alkaline phosphatase – above normal
BUN – below normal
pH Venous – above normal
PCO2 venous – below normal
HCO3 venous – below normal
tCO2 venous – below normal
Positive for crystals
Urine protein – above normal
Urine pH – above normal

I realize you guys aren't vets or anything, just seeing if anyone out there happens to have experience with this before I get upset.

I'm more concerned about the urine protein, crystals, and pH than anything.

FYI, it is a neutered male 9 month old.

All I know I see that I know anything about is the BUN, Crystals and Protein. If he is positive for crystals, like my Boo was, you should find a second opinion vet if you were not given this information to begin with. That is a serious issue in my book, because my cat nearly died once his crystals became so bad he nearly died once he got blocked (Not to terrify you, I'm sorry, but I am just being blunt) He had to have a P/U Surgery (Where they cut his winkie tinkie off and sewed his urethra to the outside of his body basically, so the opening was bigger and crystals would be able to flow by if he had them again)
I'm not sure what a below normal BUN level would mean, but someone on the forum may be able to help with that.
Above normal protein is what my Boo had once he had Chronic Renal Failure (or maybe even before, when it was in its very early stages) and here is a link to Tanya's CRF Site http://www.felinecrf.org/diagnosis.htm#proteinuria talking about proteinuria. It also mentions higher PH in the urine.

My cat was switched to Hill's C/D dry and wet after his P/U, but ultimately ended up with CRF later in life. I hope this is not the case for your male kitty (What breed is he, just curious?) and other posters will be able to help more on these test results.

I am unsettled that you were not given these results to begin with. I am currently having that same issue with an old vet claiming my cat had high BUN levels as far back as 2006 and I was never told this information. In my very humble opinion I suggest you find a new vet.

Keep us updated on your kitty, what is his name?

Here is another link to the same site better explaining proteinuria: http://www.felinecrf.org/treatments.htm#proteinuria

And just a p.s., someone slap me good and hard if I am out of line here, but I would be concerned from the get go that those abnormalities were not made available to you as soon as they were taken. Just remain calm though and don't freak out, it may be a very simple something, but certainly get another opinion if you can.

Interestingly enough she actually told me she saw nothing unusual in his results at all! I just gained online access to the files which is where I found this information. It said his urine protein level was 100.00 and that normal ranges from 0.00 to 30.00. Then it said his pH was 8. Admittedly, I don't know much about any of this other than what I have read online, but this seems like a pretty extravagant abnormality.

Some other information:
His name is Simba. I found both him and his sister (Pumpkin) in my roof last November when they were about two to three weeks old. (Yes, odd, I know) I know their mother is a semi-feral calico, but if you google Lynx Point Siamese Mix, that is what Simba looks like.

As far as food goes, the vet initially recommended Iams to wean them off of milk (of course), but it made Simba throw up. I then put them on Blue Buffalo Spa Selects for kittens, but Simba didn't tolerate it very well. So they ate Natural Balance duck and pea pretty much exclusively up until recently. I've now transitioned them to a wet only diet with a little raw occasionally primarily because I was concerned about Simba's urinary health after doing some reading. Now I'm a little anxious because it seems he's already having urinary problems according to these results.

Originally Posted by Snickerdoodle

And just a p.s., someone slap me good and hard if I am out of line here, but I would be concerned from the get go that those abnormalities were not made available to you as soon as they were taken. Just remain calm though and don't freak out, it may be a very simple something, but certainly get another opinion if you can.

Click to expand...

I agree 100% .... Any and all out of range( abnormal ) results should be gone over and explained....

Please see another vet and unfortunately maybe another round of tests to varifiy this batch

I am sure some with more imput on reading these will help

Monocyte % - Above normal= this is a type of white cell ... could mean infection or nothing
Platelet count – below normal- part of the blood helps in clotting
Alkaline phosphatase – above normal- liver marker
BUN – below normal- kidney marker
pH Venous – above normal- SCARY as blood ph that is too far off can cause death
PCO2 venous – below normal
HCO3 venous – below normal
tCO2 venous – below normal
Positive for crystals- WHAT type ?
Urine protein – above normal
Urine pH – above normal

Originally Posted by sharky

I am sure some with more imput on reading these will help

Monocyte % - Above normal= this is a type of white cell ... could mean infection or nothing
Platelet count – below normal- part of the blood helps in clotting
Alkaline phosphatase – above normal- liver marker
BUN – below normal- kidney marker
pH Venous – above normal- SCARY as blood ph that is too far off can cause death
PCO2 venous – below normal
HCO3 venous – below normal
tCO2 venous – below normal
Positive for crystals- WHAT type ?
Urine protein – above normal
Urine pH – above normal

Click to expand...

Specifics:
Monocyte % - 6.000%
Platelet count – 176.000 10^3/µl
Alkaline phosphatase – 185.000 U/L
BUN – 15.000 mg/dL
pH Venous – 7.470
PCO2 venous – 29.000
HCO3 venous – 19.700
tCO2 venous – 20.600
Positive for crystals – Did not say what type
Urine protein – 100.000
Urine pH – 8.000

Urine pH of 8 is pretty high. 6-6.5 is normal I think.

Sounds like Strivite crystals then... And if those results show possible infection (like Sharky says) then you are looking at a possible Urinary Tract Infection... which is deff something that requires meds. And if crystals don't get treated he can get blocked which is an emergency. They didn't give you any antibiotics/steriods?

Were these older bloodworks or reccent???

He deff needs to see a vet soon, I would not be going back to this vet though...

These results were from the beginning of June. He was acting very strangely. Hiding, not moving, not eating, crying if you touched him. I ran him too the vet and they ran the blood work and urinalysis, told me ALL of his results were NORMAL, but gave him fluids to 'perk him up'.

They have a new thing I signed up for today that allows you to view the animals' medical histories online. I was exploring the site when I found his test results. Fortunately, I'm a chronic web searcher and I've been doing a lot of research lately and recognized those numbers were definitely scary.

So, what do I do now? He isn't having any trouble urinating.

That's why I switched him to an all canned diet. He isn't having trouble urinating and he DOES urinate every time he goes to the box. He is urinating larger amounts now that he is on all canned, and I do put a little extra water in his canned.

Is this what I should be doing now? Is there any OTC foods that will help to keep his pH acidic as an extra preventative measure?

There are some you can get from the vets office.

A new vet might recommend a diet like Hill's C/D which worked great for Boo, but since Simba may have a sensitive stomach I don't know. I'm sure glad you got hold of these records though, and surely suggest switching vets asap.

You can also buy Hill's C/D wet (and dry) at PetSmart but you have to have a vet give an RX, then get a "prescription card" so you can buy it from there and show it to the cashier each time you buy it. The prices are on par or a little cheaper (Here in NC anyway) but that is for a vet to prescribe.

I was also told that a cat with struvite crystals, once on a RX diet can swing the opposite way and get stones, which is what happened to my Boo, but by the time I found out about them it was really too late to do anything about them.

He is not meowing or yowling when he is in the pan or after being in it, is he?

Good luck and please be careful, I failed to notice Boo having issues urinating until he finally peed blood in the kitchen in front of me.

No, he isn't crying at all. I have been watching him much closer now to make sure he's actually urinating and keeping an eye on the amounts.

So, I called the vet's office and talked to a different vet (same office though). She basically tells me that someone obviously put the wrong information into the system because there's absolutely no way the vet would have lied to me about the results being normal. She disregarded the protein levels, said the pH was only 'slightly' higher than normal, and pretty much denied the existence of the crystals. Then finished it all up with an anti-canned food rant

Yeah, because probably they don't want any liability if something happens to your cat, so they will not tell you they made the mistake of not talking to you about it.

If I were you, I would go to another vet pronto and get all tests redone for peace of mind.

Is there another vet in the area? My boy had struvite crystals, so I'm terribly nervous about UTI issues. Honestly, I'd seriously consider getting to another vet and asking for a whole work-up, urine, blood, the works - as soon as you can possibly get an appointment.

A good vet's practice will get you in immediately for a cat with urinary issues, especially if it's a boy.

Good luck - and, for what it's worth, Hills CD has done wonders for my boy - I just pray we continue to be fortunate.

Uh-uh, print those results out and get copies of them. Just in case. And from now on I recommend documenting everything, from that vet and any new vet you see, just for peace of mind and for future use (I pray you never have to use them for anything)

Anti canned food rant, ... there are so many different views there I will not go into that and I don't know squat enough about diets to even have an opinion really.. but, ..urgh.

Definitely go to another vet, ask friends (that's how I found my awesome new vet) or family or co workers and see if they have a vet they really recommend. And definitely get another set of tests done.

"Put the wrong information into the system"?? ALL that wrong information? ... hm.... I am suspicious of that. but I am a suspicious person anyway. Good luck sweetie and keep us updated on Simba.

It just occurred to me that the entire reason Simba had to go to the vet to begin with could have been related to a urinary problem.

Basically, the previous afternoon (5/24) Simba went and hid underneath the tv stand. The next afternoon, he still hadn't come out. He wouldn't move, eat, drink, use the bathroom, or anything. Just cried. After doing a physical and running the blood tests and urinalysis, they vet informed me that everything was normal but gave him fluids. That night was awful. He just laid there curled up and cried all night. The next morning he went to the bathroom, ate, and acted fine.

I feel TERRIBLE now that I think this could have been fixed, but at the time I had no idea.

What do you guys think?

IMHO I feel you need a new vet and prior to the visit GET the entire record for your kitty from this vet