Rexy has anemia that is of concern

Fever not going down much yet. I just want this obstacle out of the way. Rexy and I have enough issues to deal with in keeping her stable without this enormous issue. I get so scared that she won't be able to fight the fever. She is resting peacefully, breathing well. But she just looks so sick right now due to her fever.

You know...I know there is a lot of controversy over this, but given how much and how frequent this affects Rexy, perhaps talk to your vet about the pros and cons of keeping her on an antibiotic semi- long term at a low dose. Obviously, there are risks of long-term use of antibiotics, but are they risk-ier than Rexy's problems themselves and their complications.  

I wondered something like that, but not quite that. I thought about rather than "waiting" for the infection to re-emerge on an annual basis (like it or not, this is the ritual - October 2010, November 2011, October 2012 and now Feb 2013 (we were surprisingly late this year), whether to perhaps put her on a course of antibiotics at a lower dosage maybe every 6 months. I almost feel as if the gunk (bacteria) slowly builds up over time until it reaches a threshold that her body cannot control. I know vets like to reserve use of antibiotics, but maybe we need to be proactive as this is a lot for her body to go through each time. Her heart murmur was a Grade III at home today when the vet listened, but 4 weeks ago when he saw her it was Grade I/II - I wonder if a heart murmur can be temporarily exacerbated by the stress on her body.

I have no doubt that it is taking a toll on her little body, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to consider something like this.

To be honest, I have been crying today, I feel so powerless to help her. I am giving my heart and soul to care for my cat family that I've had with me for 15 years as my special gang, and I feel as if it is all falling apart. I don't want to lose my sweet girl. I am paying the price for adopting 5 cats that were all the same age. I'd do it all again as I love them so much, but it was a recipe for eventual heartache.

I'm so sorry.     As tough as we are, it just gets to us sometimes. On hard days, I get upset, too. Just let Rexy rest...try not to make noise. Like us, I truly believe sleeps helps them heal. You're doing the best you can.  

Thank you.

BTW a few minutes ago she licked 3-4 teaspoons of blended food from my fingers with good enthusiasm and no coaxing. Maybe her fever is breaking a bit. She is sleeping in her cat tent on my bed, and her brothers are sleeping on the bed with her. Liam has been cuddling with her earlier today which is perfect healing therapy for Rexy.  

Oh no!  Your poor little kitty.  I am so sorry she isn't feeling well.  Glad to hear she at least ate with a little enthusiasm.  My chihuahua was on low dose antibiotics for a long time due to chronic respiratory infections and chronic bladder infections, the only problem was then it created super bugs that we had to culture and sensitivity to figure out what antibiotic to give her.  So that is a possible side effect.  I finally went the natural route with her and she has been healthy as a horse for 3 years with no drugs.  The specialist did mention doing like 'pulse' therapy antibiotics for Munchie and giving them to him periodically to prevent further respiratory/sinus infections.  I don't know if I like that idea or not.

I have been offered pulse therapy for another cat, but I was unsure of it. That is why I thought about that compromise of pro-actively putting her on antibiotics every 6-8 months or so to avoid a huge issue like we have now, but it would avoid the issue of persistent antibiotic use.

Fever down quite a bit. Still a temperature but not nearly as much above normal. So this is the right direction. She also ate some Fancy Feast on her own - not a lot, but maybe a teaspoon or a bit more. She has been resting well on the bed, but at one point she scampered down the stairs to say hello and she had a nice big drink of water from her fountain.  

does she have allergies? I don't know where u are...what season is it?

mycatwasthebest said:

 
does she have allergies? I don't know where u are...what season is it?

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She does not seem to have allergies. It seems to happen in Oct-Feb season. Everything plant-wise is dormant as I live in a very cold northern climate.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
Fever down quite a bit. Still a temperature but not nearly as much above normal. So this is the right direction. She also ate some Fancy Feast on her own - not a lot, but maybe a teaspoon or a bit more. She has been resting well on the bed, but at one point she scampered down the stairs to say hello and she had a nice big drink of water from her fountain.  

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Well, this is good!

Temperature in normal range now. Still drinking on her own. Not eating enough on her own tbh so supplementing with enough syringe feeding to avoid any secondary complications due to not eating. But she is jumping on the bed (not using senior staircase to the bed). Hopefully now I can get her back on the pretty good track she was on given all her issues.

Yes, hopefully she is on the upswing for awhile! 

She is now using the scratching pole (doing her "cute thing" that she always does, she scratches me and looks at me for approval/praise while she scratches - I pat her head while she scratches and tell her how clever she is and she LOVES it)!! And she has the energy to jog up the stairs. Tail is being held higher now too. Considering her multitude of issues and the fact less than 48 hours ago she was in emergency with a high fever, this girl is once again showing that she has profound resiliency both mentally and physically. I really admire her and wish I could be more like her. What a great woman she is.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
I was playing with my 9 lb 6 month old kitten to tire him out, so he stops wanting to pounce on the senior kitties. It was working well, but the cutest thing is the senior gang were getting all "upbeat" and happy. And Rexy started to prance around and even play a bit with some toys. So pleased for her. I wonder if it was the VitB12 shot last week or the metronizadole as they were the latest things added to her treatments. She started steroids a couple of weeks ago so not sure that they are responsible. At any rate, she is doing so well, it is hard to believe that very much is wrong. Her appetite also remains really good.

Rexy is made of tough stuff. She was an inbred kitty born in a terrible crack house that got shut down (and cats all handed over to a no-kill rescue shelter, where I was her caregiver and where I first fell in love with her). If she can just stay where she is now, she has a good quality of life.

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Hello @Scarlett 001  , I do not want to take up too much of your time, but I was reading your thread, and came upon the term "triaditis".  Would you be able to tell me how the vets actually make a diagnosis of this?

Also, I read that you take your cat's temperature?  Is this with a digital ear thermometer?

Don't feel like you have to reply to this post, because I know you are very busy with the cats, and I hope Rexy is feeling better and responding to her treatments.  I think the photo of her pulling the lamp chains is beautiful.  She sounds like quite a character.

Okay,  just sending you well wishes, from another cat owner.  

cat nap said:

 
Hello @Scarlett 001  , I do not want to take up too much of your time, but I was reading your thread, and came upon the term "triaditis".  Would you be able to tell me how the vets actually make a diagnosis of this?

Also, I read that you take your cat's temperature?  Is this with a digital ear thermometer?

Don't feel like you have to reply to this post, because I know you are very busy with the cats, and I hope Rexy is feeling better and responding to her treatments.  I think the photo of her pulling the lamp chains is beautiful.  She sounds like quite a character.

Okay,  just sending you well wishes, from another cat owner.

 

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The diagnosis of triaditis did have a question mark in brackets after it by the vet specialist - but mainly it fell out of the ultrasound results (mild liver and pancreas inflammation, along with more problematic bile duct inflammation - no intestinal component so not truly triaditis as that would involve that component too).

I take the temperature in her bottom - she is a very easy cat to treat medically, so she lets me do this - not sure my other cats would let me do this!!

Nightmare. Fever back again. Late night emergency visit again. Did more diagnostics this time and nothing is revealing what the source of this fever is. Very high WBC is all that shows up on bloodwork with other things ok. We modified the antibiotics and added a second one this time (one that worked last time this happened in 2012). Doing some subq fluid therapy but have to be careful with this because of her heart. Putting steroid dosage back up bit (we had tried lowering it around the time that she got her first fever). At a loss as to what this is - all we can do is treat the clinical signs. I am exhausted. We could do the repeat ultrasound to see if something is deteriorated since the last one - but the ultrasound person at the clinic I want to use is out of town now - I'd have to go to another clinic.

We are both so tired. The fever dropped a bit since I took her home so that is something. But she is still feeling awful. 

Thinking about things since last night. I now wonder if these recurring annual flareups can be acute pancreatitic attacks (??). I did not realize until now but a small percentage of cats can display fever with acute pancreatitis. I am doing the best things for this inadvertently - at-home care (she is terrified in vet clinic which would exacerbate attack), antibiotics (incl. metro), fluid therapy as much as I can given heart issues, we increased the steroid dosage slightly, syringe feeding to keep things moving (no vomiting thank goodness). We just have to hope that this can pass if it is this.