My 6 yr old feral (now Socialized) was diag. with toxoplasmosia and anemia. He's on doxicycline. Anyone ever heard of this? Poor appetite, weight loss, pale. LMK
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Feline Infectious Anemia/toxoplasmosis
- Thread starter missyenberg
- Start Date
It's actually fairly common and its the disease that stops women from cleaning out litter boxes while pregnant. The drug of choice is clindamycin rather than doxycyline, so you may want to call your vet on that. They might not have that drug on hand, but he can give you a prescription for it for a pharmacy. It's easily treated.
Here's a good link on the topic.
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html
You do need to be careful right now so that you don't pick up the disease from him. Use extra caution cleaning out litter boxes right now. Use gloves if possible, and sterilize your hands once done.
Here's a good link on the topic.
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html
You do need to be careful right now so that you don't pick up the disease from him. Use extra caution cleaning out litter boxes right now. Use gloves if possible, and sterilize your hands once done.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thanks for responding. The vet is treating the anemia with Doxicycline. If the toxo was alone than you are right with the other antibiotic. You are very smart. I was thinking of serving him a fresh piece of cooked liver. Thoughts on protein rich foods?
I know that you probably will decline this offer, but I recently got a new bottle of Clindamycin compounded for one of my grandma's cats. Long story short, she doesn't have toxoplasmosis and I don't need it. It expires in April some time, but is enough for at least 1 month. It was about $50 since I had it compounded to get rid of the nasty taste. Anyway, if you want it, I'd be more than happy to send it to you.
Amy, the toxo doesn't cause anemia. Most cats don't even show signs of infection from toxo unless their immune system is already suppressed, which is likely the case here - the infectious anemia.
missyenberg, did the vet know say what caused the anemia? Was it hemobart? (Usually from a tick bite). Doxy is definitely the drug of choice in that case.
Our Tuxedo had feline hemolytic anemia (anemia of unknown origin, not infectious. Just his immune system malfunctioning and thinking his red blood cells are like a virus, and attacking and destroying them). We fought hard for four years, and it was up and down. But he'll be celebrating his 10th birthday this April, and he has not needed steroid injections for... over a year, at least.
We last had his hematocrit checked in December, and it was 41%! That's the highest it has EVER been!
If the vet didn't tell you, a normal hematocrit is between 30% - 40%. Below 25% is anemic. High teens is survivable indefinitely (if it stays there), but cat will be lethargic. Below that, and time starts running out.... though you do have time needed to treat the problem. Single digit hematocrit, and you are looking at days, and a blood transfusion may be required. The good news is that infectious anemia is usually very treatable, and they respond quickly.
Infectious anemia is usually resolved with the antibiotic treatment, depending on the bug causing the problem.
Do you know what his hematocrit was? Is he lethargic? Is he eating well? Is he hydrated? Did the vet give him fluids?
One of the problems we had with our Tuxie when he was severely anemic was getting him to eat. He needed appetite stimulants, and even then he needed a lot of help from us. Make sure your kitty is eating well, as not eating can create a whole host of other problems.
Vibes for his complete recovery!
missyenberg, did the vet know say what caused the anemia? Was it hemobart? (Usually from a tick bite). Doxy is definitely the drug of choice in that case.
Our Tuxedo had feline hemolytic anemia (anemia of unknown origin, not infectious. Just his immune system malfunctioning and thinking his red blood cells are like a virus, and attacking and destroying them). We fought hard for four years, and it was up and down. But he'll be celebrating his 10th birthday this April, and he has not needed steroid injections for... over a year, at least.
We last had his hematocrit checked in December, and it was 41%! That's the highest it has EVER been!If the vet didn't tell you, a normal hematocrit is between 30% - 40%. Below 25% is anemic. High teens is survivable indefinitely (if it stays there), but cat will be lethargic. Below that, and time starts running out.... though you do have time needed to treat the problem. Single digit hematocrit, and you are looking at days, and a blood transfusion may be required. The good news is that infectious anemia is usually very treatable, and they respond quickly.
Infectious anemia is usually resolved with the antibiotic treatment, depending on the bug causing the problem.
Do you know what his hematocrit was? Is he lethargic? Is he eating well? Is he hydrated? Did the vet give him fluids?
One of the problems we had with our Tuxie when he was severely anemic was getting him to eat. He needed appetite stimulants, and even then he needed a lot of help from us. Make sure your kitty is eating well, as not eating can create a whole host of other problems.
Vibes for his complete recovery!
