Anemia, vertigo & vestibular

Saturday night I had to rush Poppy to the emergency vet because he had vertigo & vestibular really bad.  Then they did a blood test and he was super anemic.  They gave him a blood transfusion.  He's on antibiotics & steroids.  He will be getting a blood test Monday so hopefully we can find out what it is.

Has anyone heard of this before?

Poppy is 4 yrs. old and does not have FeLV.

I'm so sorry.

Is Poppy indoor only or indoor-outdoor? Because there are many things that can cause anemia: fleas, disease from flea bites or ticks. These are usually very treatable with antibiotics.

Has he gotten into any foods? Various plants, garlic and onions can cause anemia.

I have a kitty with an autoimmune disease that causes anemia. He needed long term use of steroids to suppress his immune system. Over time, he needed less and less, and after about 8 years, he went into remission. He needed a lot of treatments of various meds and a blood transfusion along the way: there were a lot of ups and downs. But with close monitoring of his hematocrit (a volume measure of red blood cells) for the first few years (weekly for months), he pulled through. :rub:

Do you have any of his blood work numbers there? When dealing with anemia, the hematocrit is the most important one. It measures the red blood cells as a percentage of the volume of a blood sample. A hematocrit of 25 or more is good; anything below 25 is technically anemic. High teens is survivable indefinitely; low teens is a danger zone, and single digit is usually when the decision for a blood transfusion is made. Some vets do it in that 10 - 12 range, but at least for our Tuxedo, they "saved" the blood transfusion as a last resort, and his hematocrit was 12 when the problem was first discovered.

When they're very anemic, they are basically lethargic and seem... forgetful. Tuxedo, for instance, would walk to his food dish and stand there, like he couldn't remember what he was doing there. But if the anemia is the result of a blood disease, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some type of vertigo or other symptoms associated with it.

I've also had a kitty with vestibular disease - but that alone is self-resolving inside of a few days. The "unless" associated with that is unless it is due to a brain tumor or inner ear infection. Imaging would be needed to determine if it was a brain tumor; if an inner ear infection, antibiotics should take care of it. I'm not aware of any of these being associated with anemia though.

Please keep us posted, and many vibes for Poppy!

Thanks!

Poppy is an indoor cat but when the window is open he is pressed up against that screen.

It came on so fast.  I noticed he hadn't been eating or drinking as much for a few days but I thought that was because I had been gone for a few nights and he was sad. 

His number was 10 when they did the transfusion.  It went up to 18 the next day, but then the day after that it was at 12...that was yesterday.

The only indoor plants I have are 2 bamboos.  They don't look munched on.  I don't cook much, no onions.

Oh!  Also he is leaning and stumbling to the right but his left eye looks so much bigger than usual and it's a different color.

He's been on the antibiotics since Sunday morning & the steroids since Monday evening and I haven't seen an improvement yet.  Does he still need a few more days? 

I'm calling the vet tomorrow.  I just worry so much about my baby!

I think he lost sight in his left eye.  He was in the dark and his right eye had that glow but his left eye had nothing...plus the left eye changed color.

Have you been able to get in touch with the vet? :cross:

How are his stools? Normal? Black & tarry? The last would indicate internal bleeding, which could at least explain the anemia... though the more likely scenario is that this is all related.

Is he eating? You do need to get nutrition into him. It's imperative in order to give him a fighting chance to beat this. :heart2:

Continued vibes for your boy!

Yes, I talked to the vet today.  We still are waiting until Monday for testing his blood.

He had xrays taken at the emergency vet.  Them and the vet seemed certain there was no internal bleeding.

He is eating & drinking really well.  He popped a tiny little bit Sunday night.  He has not pooped since.  Would the steroids & antibiotics make him constipated?

Thanks again!  Discussing it with another cat lover really helps.

Diarrhea or constipation is always a potential side-effect of pretty much any antibiotic. I'm so glad to hear he's eating well! That is a really good thing.

If he doesn't poop by tomorrow, you might consider a little miralax in some wet food (1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon), or a teaspoon of plain pumpkin once or twice a day.

I know how hard it is to have a kitty with an issue that isn't able to be diagnosed right away.

Poppy pooped!  LOL  Just a tiny little bit and it was solid & brown.  Yay for being happy over some poop!

Also, I think he has improved just a slight bit (hope I'm not imagining it).  He's walking a little faster and better.  Still stumbles and falls over though.

I got rid of the California Naturals hard food which had a second recall that I thought was still the first recall.  Not happy about that!  They better not have poisoned my baby!!!!  He is now eating Royal Canin Selective...and he's eating it good! 

Oh no, I hope it wasn't the food. :cross:

But YAY for poop! :lol3:

He's still super anemic.  He can't see out of his left eye.  They are testing his blood for toxoplasmosis and FIV.

I can't take this...

They already tested for the tick blood borne diseases, like Bartonellosis? I looked up anemia and blind in one eye and found this: http://www.animaleyecare.net/diseases/uveitis.htm , which explains why they're testing for T. gondii. Though if he was already tested for FeLV, I'd think he'd already have been tested for FIV, as those two tests usually are done together. :dk:

I'm sorry the antibiotics and steroids aren't helping (yet). Sending more vibes!!!

No, the emergency vet only tested for FeLV.  This is the first blood work the vet has gotten.  If they come back negative, my vet wants to consult some other vets or something.  She cannot figure out the severe anemia plus the eye stuff.  But why wouldn't she know about uveitis?  She's a great vet that's been around for awhile now.

That link doesn't say anything about anemia...wait...but what causes the eye thing is toxoplasmosis and FIV?  This is confusing or I'm just mentally drained.

I'm really hoping to see improvement with the new antibiotic.

Thank you for your support!

My cat had chronic vestibular disease.  Basically it's this little organ in the head that isn't used much anymore, kind of like an appendix in humans, that can become infected.  The antibiotic knocks down the infection, and the steroid makes swelling go down.  When the organ swells, it pushes on the inner ear, which causes the vertigo, and the brain, which causes a lot of the other symptoms.

First of all, know that a lot of the symptoms go away in time.  My cat had a severe head tilt - about 90 degrees - that became a slight tilt, so he just looked like he was pondering something.  It was pretty cute, actually.  When he was sick he got so dizzy that his eyes would spin, like in cartoons when someone got clunked on the head, and he had horrible problems seeing.  Once the swelling went down, he was all good again.

It takes a little time, but usually cats recover with no problems.  Note that the most common death for a cat with vestibular disease is drowning.  They try to drink, get dizzy, and fall into their dish.  For that reason my vet recommended that my cat was boarded at the hospital until he got over his dizziness.  If your cat is home, watch him when he drinks and eats, and don't leave water out if you're not right there with him.

My cat had it 3 times.  The first was the worst - but that was also because we did tons of tests and it was a while before he went on the antibiotic.  Really, if I had to pick a chronic condition for a cat, vestibular disease is pretty easy to deal with.  It's just the panic of getting through it that can get to you.  

Research symptoms so if he gets it again you can catch it quicker.  The thing that clued me in with my cat was that he would walk along walls and wouldn't cut through the middle of rooms because he was dizzy.  And make sure you have a vet that specializes in cats.  It sounds like you've got a doctor with a clue (the first one my cat saw when he got sick couldn't figure out what was going on and suggested an MRI - a bit excessive - and it was the second doctor that made the correct diagnosis) so that's a good start.

He could be anemic because he hasn't been eating because he's dizzy.  It will take a couple of weeks for the infection to run its course and for him to feel back to normal.  Check again then, and if the anemia hasn't resolved itself, you can start treating it.  But first thing's first - take care of the infection, and make sure your cat is protected against dizzy-induced accidents.

Good luck!

The vet thinks he has dry FIP.  She is going to consult with an intern for a second opinion, and if I want, she said I can get a second opinion from an intern. 

Is a vet intern different than a human intern?

My poor sweet Poppy

There is another member who just lost a kitty with the same symptoms. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/257808/cat-suffering-from-anemia

That said... there is a member with several cats with the dry form of FIP (KittKatt), and they're doing well on interferon. I don't know if they were ever this sick though. :heart2:

Reading that other thread, Poppy's RBC was at 10, then it went up to 18 after blood transfusion, then it went back to 12. 

He's still eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom really well, which could be from the steroids.  He does not look happy.  And now it seems like his allergy pills are not helping his sneezing.

It is so hard to even look at him...he's not the happy, energetic Poppy.  I want my cat back but now I feel like I'm just waiting for him to go!

:heart2:

I don't know how proactive you want to be, but you can talk to the vet about interferon. If you want to give it a try, this is what our vet recommended for Lazlo when he was anemic from cancer (and said it can be used to help "build the blood" of any anemic person or animal): Yunan Baiyao. If you use this, don't give the tea pill in the middle, your kitty doesn't have internal bleeding as a cause. Just give one capsule every 2 days for 3 pills, then one pill every three days for two weeks.
I don't know if it will help, but you could also try Transfer Factor. If you start a thread on it, I'm sure you'll get directions on how to use it. It's also available on Amazon, and I know people use the human formula on cats rather than the feline formula (I think they're same formula, it just costs more to use the feline version? :dk: ), they just adjust the amount.....

...and otherwise just spoil Poppy rotten, and do your best to enjoy each day, each hour, each minute that Poppy enjoys eating or playing or pets... :heart2:

:heart2: