Abby is Aenemic

When I picked Abby up yesterday I was told her kidney, thyroid, liver were all completely normal. But she is aenemic.

I'm not up on aenemia in cats, so I did some Google research.

I forgot to ask for a copy of her blood work because I was in a hurry to leave because I had a taxi meter running. But she said the HCT (hematocrit) was 29. She seemed rather concerned about that.

She wants me to bring her back in in 2 weeks to have the sutures removed and another CBC done. I know how to remove sutures myself, so I'm not going to subject Abby to having to go through the stress of travelling again when I'm able to remove the sutures myself.

I told the vet I'd bring Abby back in 3 months for another blood test.

After Googling, I see the vet is likely worried about one or both of the following:

Feline Leukemia Virus
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

At this point I'm not concerned because I saw how much that cyst was bleeding when Abby started to scratch it open, so the aenemia is likely due to blood loss.

I sincerely doubt that she has FIV. I'm sure it would have presented itself in some way after almost 13 years. The home she came from was FIV free, and I know Chynna didn't have it and Abby has not been in contact with any other cats.

So far as Leukemia goes, it could be a possibility. However, she has absolutely no signs or symptoms. So I'm pretty sure it's because of blood loss.

Right now she only eats dry food. She will not eat people food or wet cat food of any kind. She's eating Purina hairball remedy food. I'll do some research for dry foods and see if I can find one that has a higher meat content to help build up her iron stores and I'll talk to the vet about an iron supplement for her.

I'll take her back in a few months for another CBC. If she is still anemic I'll ask about starting her on EPO.

Abby was never tested for FIV or FeLV? Those are easy, quick tests. The easy quick ones aren't 100% accurate if they give a positive, but she's been inside so long, they'd be quite reliable if they're negative.

Anemia can be caused by about a gazillion things, actually, and FIV and FeLV aren't even the first things that pop to my mind, and I am REALLY up on anemia, because Tuxedo's autoimmune disease is one that causes anemia, and they don't know why. It almost took his life several times, and it took four years to get him out of the woods.

29 may be normal in some cats, and, in fact, is very likely due to the loss of blood from the cyst if it bled a lot. Trauma is (obviously) a cause of anemia.

FYI, a normal hematocrit is between 30 - 40. Cats that live outside (esp ferals) tend to have lower normals or be at the low end of normal for their baseline.

Below 25 is technically anemic, though high teens is survivable for a time (cat won't be very energetic) depending upon the type of anemia.

I'm pretty sure that if there was a fair amount of bleeding from the cyst, and if there was some additional bleeding while removing them, this would be the cause. Of course I'm not a vet, but FIV and FeLV are highly unlikely if she tested negative for them in the past.

BTW - with either one, the issue isn't symptoms. Cats can live with both and not exhibit symptoms of either for years - and with FIV, potentially never.

I agree - take her back in a couple of months for another CBC just to be sure. In the meantime, keep an eye on her activity level. I really think it was the bleeding cyst + surgery.

If you want links on anemia in cats, happy to post or PM them.

Awww poor Abby Lots of healthy coming over.

Poor Abby, I hope you can find an answer. I hope she feels better and her numbers come around.

How is Abby doing? Did she get a B-12 shot for the anemia?

Originally Posted by stephanietx

How is Abby doing? Did she get a B-12 shot for the anemia?

Click to expand...

Abby is doing just fine. The incisions are healing nicely. I can take the sutures out next week.

I won't be taking her in until towards the middle of April to get repeat blood work done. I really believe that the anemia is the result of the blood loss from the cyst bleeding because it really was bleeding quite badly for the last 2 days before I could get her to the vet. I don't know how much blood volume a cat has, but given their size, I'm sure it's not measured in multiple pints. So any significant blood loss can result in anemia.

She doesn't have any symptoms though, so I'm not worried at this point.

Aww, sweet Abby. I'm glad she seems to be feeling ok, and I hope the anemia is just a temporary diagnosis!

Glad she's doing better and feeling fine. That's great news!