Hi everyone

I found this forum really interesting....my cat...has just had a similar experience to many on here and it is scary and I have very little answers which I am finding a bit overwhelming.

My 11 year old cat had blood dripping from his mouth the other day. I took him to the vet and he was checked with scope inside his mouth, down his throat and in his tummy. No sign of why he was bleeding. While he was asleep, the vet checked his PVC/HCT and it was 6! They said they have never seen a cat still alive with a reading that low. They took other bloods and they got sent away to a specialist. I brought my boy home and he lay listless for a day - I thought he was going to die while they organised a blood transfusion. He was put on antibiotics and steroids. They blood typed him, I took him back in 36 hours later...by which time he was a tiny bit better....still not eating but able to jump on my bed for the blood transfusion. They checked his gums again...and they were light pink compared to white 36 hours earlier. They retested his PVC/HCT and it was 22 so he did not require a blood transfusion. His blood work came back from the vet specialist...and his PVC/HCT had been that low (6); his platelets were very low so too his potassium; glucose; RBC; haemaglobin; cholesterol; calcium; protein. Everything else was normal and he tested negative to feline aids etc. Where we live, feline leukemia is unheard of. So, I still have no answers. The vet said that I can start to take him off (slowly) the steroids, but to be honest, I am terrified. This happened less than a week ago.

He did not have the skin conditions described in some of the other posts. He has lost weight...and is still not eating much. He was eating up until the day of the procedure (which was the day after the bleed). He generally is a guts when it comes to food. Any advice would be much appreciated. 

Hi
I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I think perhaps you haven't gotten replies in part because your post is very technical, and your headline doesn't give us any clues as to what the issue is.

It sounds like your cat is very anemic, but I don't know what all those tests mean. I would suggest you restate (either in this thread or a new one with a new headline) the issue is a more basic way and explain what the vet has explained to you in plain speaking so we understand his or her concerns, possible diagnosis, etc.

All the best
Stephen

So this anemia just came on suddenly?  No reason whatsoever?  And it also seemed to disappear almost as quickly as it came on?  If I am understanding you correctly, he got antibiotics and steroids, but NO blood transfusions, and within 36 hours his Hematocrit went from 6 to 22?  That's amazing! 

I don't quite understand your last paragraph.  What skin condition are you referring to, and what procedure did he have (the day after the bleed)?  Are you seeking advise on how to get him to eat, or whether or not to wean him off the steroids, or just what?  I don't blame you about being scared to change anything about the meds, not knowing what caused the anemia in the first place , and his lack of appetite seems to indicate there is still a problem somewhere.  I would think being on the steroids would increase his appetite.  What does the Vet say about all this?