Anemia-can my vet do anything for anemia?

Thank you so much peaches for the info and I will look at the raw forum

My cat has lymphoma and I am concerned about anemia because of her pavement licking and pale gums, eyelids, nose. Wasn't sure wat to do about it so I took her to vet for b12 and iron injections earlier this week. Now I regret doing this because the next day she was still wanting to lick pavement, rusty sewer lid. I don't know how these injections work.

I was asking someone else about what I could do and they told me this

>There are many reasons for anemia. Bloodwork is necessary to determine if she is indeed anemic and, if so, why. I would suggest you get her to the Oncologist as soon as possible where bloodwork can be run and definitive treatment for the anemia and the cancer started. There are many treatments for anemia depending on the cause.
Chalupa could be bleeding internally. She could have cancer in her bone marrow. You have already addressed nutritional causes although by giving iron and B12 without bloodwork, you have made it impossible to tell if these levels are low which will complicate things when it is time for repeat dosages. <

Could I take Chalupa to get a blood test now? If I did would they be able to tell if she has internal bleeding or cancer in her bone marrow?

I am not taking Chalupa to an oncologist, only to my regular vet. If she does have internal bleeding or cancer in her bone marrow there is probably nothing I can do besides chemo, am I understanding this right?

So what I need to know is should I wait for a blood test for injections to wear off? Would there be any point in taking her to get a blood test at least to see if she anemic, and those injections I got Monday night for her, today is Friday, how long will these be effective?

Really appreciate any input
 

I am not sure how long it takes for iron and B12 to reach peak levels in the blood.

But definitely, take your cat Chalupa back to your regular vet for blood tests.  At least by doing a blood test, your vet would know how her status is.  (Blood tests are like "snapshots" of the health of an animal, taken on that day)

I am so sorry your cat has lymphoma.  Cancer in any cat is difficult, but your own vet is the best one to talk to about treatments, and prognosis....chemo, radiation, etc.

Just write a list of questions, also, like you did here, and bring it with you to your vet.  Ask them all your questions, and then you can get a better plan, about how to treat Chalupa.

Stay positive and good vibes to Chalupa.

Thank you very much, really appreciate it,  you really helped, will go for blood tests and bother my vet again through email to see what she thinks, just that I often get the honestly I'm not sure answer

chalupa said:

 
Thank you very much, really appreciate it,  you really helped, will go for blood tests and bother my vet again through email to see what she thinks, just that I often get the honestly I'm not sure answer

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That is a weird answer that a vet would give, the "honestly I'm not sure".  She may be referring to not being sure how your cat would respond to certain meds, but they usually give you some idea to look for.

Often times, I find the vet does not mention every side effect, like regular doctors, to not worry the patient.

But I always ask my vet what he thinks I will notice,  and how long it would take to see any improvement,  if he gives an antibiotic or other meds for one of my animals.

The other thing, is that without various tests, vets really cannot make proper assessments, they would be guessing, and relying on past experiences.

Is your Chalupa taking any medication, right now?  And have you read any other threads on lymphoma?

Also, take care of yourself as well, since I know that it is so stressful to have a sick animal.

You have to take it day by day.  Some days will be good and some days, not so good (that is what my vet told me about my cat, but he had a different illness)

Sorry, the honestly I'm not sure from my vet comes from when I first emailed her about the anemia concern and wanted her to tell me what to do or be concerned too.  maybe she could have suggested to get a blood test. She told me to try what a friend of hers recommended for my cat called cat's claw supplement dropper, but can only find pills around here so have not tried it yet . I think maybe my vet thinks if Chalupa is anemic the bs and iron would probably not help, but doesn't hurt to try. She did say she was worried about anemia too, but that was it, didn't tell me to bring her in. I am the one who wanted to bring her in and the vet techs did the injection, my dr was busy. my cat is on prednisolone 5mg, since 4/17/14, she is doing well. we are not going to do chemo, my cat has large granular lymphoma. I know she is going to die soon, but she is doing ok right now and just trying to keep her comfortable for as long as I can. When she starts too seem like she's having trouble and I cant do any more for her, then it's time to put her to sleep. I have to get a refill soon in a week for her pred so I might wait until then to set an appointment with vet for blood test.

Yes have read some lymphoma threads, they are all sad, even the chemo ones that worked for a while, these people spend so much and its all such an ordeal for them and the pet and then the pet dies within a year sometimes. Really don't know what to think, there's a few happy stories, but not enough to give me any hope. I've already spent more then 6000.00-without chemo on this disease for her and only just recently got a real diagnosis! 

Thanks, I am learning the hard way that there are good and bad days, some days she seems like she is giving in, won't hardly do anything, next day she standing on top of me while I'm asleep telling me to get her food now!

what illness does your cat have?

Hi @chalupa    I actually have or had two cats, but only one right now and a dog, too.

My cat Sparky, which is my avatar, passed away this past january. Actually, I had to put him to sleep.  Sparky was only 2y3mts, but he had complications from being felv+ and fiv+.  He also had extreme anemia at the end, and started to lick the cat litter.  This really alarmed me, too.  I asked the vet, and he did not offer any iron supplements or anything.  My vet gave Sparky, hydrating fluids, a pain killer injection, and an antibiotic.  Then I went back after a few days to get an appetite stimulant.  His immune system was too weak, the vet said, for a blood transfusion.

I am lucky to still have my 14yr old tuxedo cat, Spotty and also a black retriever named Floppy. Both animals help with losing Sparky.  Plus joining this Site,  helped even more, because I met a lot of caring cat people, who all love their animals, and many have lost cats before, or had illnesses, so they know how it feels.

 Thanks, I am learning the hard way that there are good and bad days, some days she seems like she is giving in, won't hardly do anything, next day she standing on top of me while I'm asleep telling me to get her food now!

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Your cat is on a steroid, which makes her want to eat more, and also is supposed to boost energy, too.  It suppresses the immune system, so her cells do not over react. (Its anti inflammatory, as well)

  Plus, you gave her B12..so more energy supplement for cells.

The iron should help her with the anemia, too.

Its good that she stands on top of you.....lol......I can just picture that.  That is so cute.  I guess you have no choice then, but to get up and feed her.   My cat Spotty will just meow, but does not really wake me up.  Only if I get up first.  All cats are amazing.

I am sure that Chalupa is not really giving in, but her body is.  So she tries to fight off the illness, but some days she probably needs more rest.

Do you both have a favorite show on t.v or something?  (you don't really have to answer that...since  I know how tiring having a sick cat is)

So remember to look after yourself, too.

My old girl has lymphoma as well. In our case, the only option is supportive measures. We took her to the vet last week because she was drinking just a bit more water than usual. We had blood work done because we needed some idea of what was happening on the inside. From the outside, she looks and feels great (for now) but we knew there was a lot we couldn't see. The blood work gave us a better idea of what was going on - namely what was happening with her liver, kidneys, and in her blood cells. Along with very high liver and kidney values, she is anemic even though she's eating like a horse - which I take to mean that the cancer has most likely entered the bone marrow. We didn't know this before. She is showing no signs of being sick. As a result of the blood tests, we are now helping to support her kidneys with sub-q fluids and support her anemia with an amino acid/B complex tincture. Blood tests will tell you just how anemic she is, and if any other organs are affected, and the vet will be better able to help you support your cat and keep her as comfortable as possible.

Enjoy your remaining time with her.

I'm sorry about Sparky, very cute and soft and shiny looking. Wow, fiv and felv, that poor cat! and poor you! Those are both deadly and awful.  Did you know Sparky had these when you got him or was he a stray you took in?

Floppy is a good dog name it's funny. It is good you have those two and also it is so great you still have your long time friend Spotty.

With the anemia, you really know exactly what I'm talking about with the vet and concern and everything, no wonder you answered my question. So glad there is no litter to be eaten here, been using paper pellets to keep an eye on her poop.

Ha, funny you should ask about tv shows for her too. Chalupa is a big video watcher, my computer is a laptop which is perfect for cats to watch videos on. Her favorite video is downloaded from amazon called "Feline Frolics." She has watched this video so many times this is the best I've found so far. Chalupa also watches some youtube videos, those favorites are, "telekat,"and "live crickets in tank."She will watch others of birds but I think those 2 are her youtube faves. Noticed Chalupa liked videos years ago when I had tv on and it showed a bird landing on grass and then flying away I saw her watching it with big eyes, she then jumped up on top of the tv and stared at the wall looking for the bird.

Got Chalupa really cool toy she likes the other day called a hexbug, a nano robotic cat toy, it's like a caterpillar. Also a new food got her eating again after a bad couple of days called Murr, it's cat food from Iceland, think it's good stuff, picked up on my way home from work the other day.

I really like this site too there are many really great people on here with a lot of wisdom and someone almost always answers my annoying questions.

The Chalupa standing on me gets worse and she has always done this, she licks my face, my mouth especially, she knows how to get me out of bed. One time she started licking my face and I opened my eyes and there's a centipede leg hanging out of her mouth(one of our apt's had lots of centipedes.) Chalupa was slightly overweight at the time, so she was not starving to death, she just knows how to get humans to listen to her. I know if I die she will eat me, I'm ok with that. Spotty sounds much more considerate than Chalupa.

Thank you for being supportive with my decision to get her supplements, it's hard to know what's the right thing to do.

Agree, Chalupa really might need those whole days of rest.

Thanks for your friendly posts, wish You, Floppy and Spotty the best!

forgot to ask, do you and your cats have favorite tv or videos? would be interested to find out what, thanks

Wow, I'm sorry about your cat friend, I do know how you feel. What kind of lymphoma does you old girl have? How long have you known something is wrong? When was she diagnosed? Thank you so much for your post because it is making me realize that my worse fears are probably true and also am interested in this amino acid/b complex tincture, is called something in particular?   Definitely getting a blood test and bringing up the bone marrow concern. Would like to find out what this does to them exactly.  The only difference with Chalupa is she does not really eat a lot even after she begs like crazy, she will even skip a day here and there, which is why I was worried about deficiencies. Has your cat lost a lot of weight? How are her kidneys being effected? does this have to do with the cancer or anemia or both? Is your cat on any other medications?

Hope you and your cat have a great weekend!

Yeah,  @chalupa.     Sparky was a stray, who showed up on the side porch, in the month of November.  At the time, I had Spotty and also watching a cat for a friend.  So I didn't know what to do.  He was so small, maybe 2 months and would not get close to me.  It took me 3 weeks to coax him inside.  But when he finally was inside,  he did purr and lick my hands....so I knew he had human contact before.

The reason the dog is Floppy, is because he just flops down wherever he is.  He has done this always.  Usually dogs will lay, but Floppy just flops.

Paper pellets....I never tried those.  But I did try corn based litter for Sparky.

Wow, your Chalupa really sounds like a good computer cat, and avid watcher....lol.

Sparky would watch my screensaver....I think it was a davinci invention....and he would also like the curser or fish game I had on screen.  But I never heard of those other games.  I am thinking of getting another cat, so i should write those down and look them up.

Spotty is like your Chalupa,  loves to chase bird sounds and also liked watching soccer games when Fifa was on.  It was his younger days.

I have never heard of a toy called hexbug....I will look it up online.

Bringing you food....I mean centipedes is hilarious.   Spotty used to be outdoors before the age of 9yrs...so he caught a lot of mice, and actually brought them to show us....I felt bad for the mice, but don't want them in the house, either.  He was so proud....So he would get extra temptation treats.

Your questions are not annoying, and I wish I knew more about the lymphoma,  but that is what makes this site great.  There is so much info, and then when you ask, someone who had a similar experience can help out.  It's hard sometimes, when you think you can do more, but their lives are so much shorter.  And as long as Chalupa is not in pain, then its good.

thanks for your well wishes, too, and back at you.

What kind of lymphoma does you old girl have? How long have you known something is wrong? When was she diagnosed? Thank you so much for your post because it is making me realize that my worse fears are probably true and also am interested in this amino acid/b complex tincture, is called something in particular?   Definitely getting a blood test and bringing up the bone marrow concern. Would like to find out what this does to them exactly.  The only difference with Chalupa is she does not really eat a lot even after she begs like crazy, she will even skip a day here and there, which is why I was worried about deficiencies. Has your cat lost a lot of weight? How are her kidneys being effected? does this have to do with the cancer or anemia or both? Is your cat on any other medications?

Hope you and your cat have a great weekend!

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I don't know what kind of lymphoma it is. We never took a biopsy. A tumour was found on or near her liver late last year on an x-ray when we ended up at the emergency vet for severe constipation. Whether the tumour and the constipation are related, I don't know. It did show on the x-ray that the tumour had pushed some of her organs out of place. It took a long time to get her constipation under control and get her eating again (thank you again to this forum). She was not well enough for a biopsy to be done and it would not have made any difference in the long run to know what kind of cancer it was. Three vets have said that she wouldn't make it through any type of surgery. Two said "not good," third vet said "not good" and "she has a heart murmur" but this vet wasn't interested in the cat, she was only interested in trying to best the emergency vet by showing us things that the emerg vet has missed (in her opinion). Hence, supportive measures only. There is not an oncologist in the area and the cat does not travel well.

She lost a lot of weight going through the constipation problem. We successfully managed to get most of it back. (She's looking a little skinnier today though, will have to weigh her.)

From what I've read, she's in stage 3 (of 4) kidney failure. The rest of your questions can probably be answered here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/276706/20-kidney-function-high-liver-high-side-thyroid

She's on cisapride, miralax and pepcid ac for constipation. Wet food only. No dry. She gets sub-q fluids every 2nd day for her kidneys. She gets Rx Vitamins Amino B-plex for the anemia. She is not on steroids. She's 16 and as perky as anything.

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. It's terrible when they're ill and not knowing what to do or when to let them go.
I had to let my lotto go last may. I can't believe it's been a year already. He was old and share with arthritis and kidney problems so when it was the right time I let him go.
Have you Googled to see why he licks the pavement? It may be that he's
missing a mineral.
I think you are wonderful how you are caring for him. He's lucky to have you as a mummy.
I wish you all the best and there's lots of nice places to visit on this site.

Hi, Stewball, really like the name by the way.

I'm very sorry that you lost your good friend, it's very sad.

Thank you very much for your supportive words.

Pavement licking seems to point to anemia according to what I've found and it makes sense with the tumor and all I guess.

This is a great site, with all the really friendly people like you who have helped me deal with this.

Wish you the best!

Hi Cocheezie,

That's awful about your cat friends kidneys and also having cancer to deal with as well. I'm so glad she is still going strong though, it is very hopeful and amazing, and she is not on steroids.Think I will be able to relate to the tumor constipation thing as my cat is starting to not be able to get it all out lately. We're going to the vet in a 3 days and will address this. Need to look up cisapride. My cat has a tumor near her colon so it may be causing problems. 

Do you take her in for x-rays regularly or blood tests? If so how often?

Sparky sounds so cute no wonder you couldn't help yourself, I probably couldn't either. Were you worried about the Felv /fiv  with Spotty though, how was it handling that?

It's so cool when when cats bring presents, once a stray I used to feed brought me a live intact big green praying mantis, just dropped it at my feet, not sure why, it was the best present I ever got because always wanted to but never seen one.

Paper pellet cat litter is so far my favorite, I can keep an eye on her poop, it doesn't get all over the place like scoopable and it doesn't hurt her paws, her previous owner declawed all 4 paws then gave her up(maybe one good thing she might be spared by this disease is really bad arthritis). Also doesn't stick to paws. They used it at her veterinary center while she was hospitaized and I changed to it because it seemed like it would not get inside her incision. Afraid to use corn litter because of bugs. I recommend but some paper pellet brands are better than others, I use a brand called fresh news, tried others it's better.

Hope You, Spotty and Floppy are having a good time to-day/night

I was only slightly worried about Spotty being exposed to fiv, and not really to felv, since Spotty had always had vaccinations for felv.  He did not get vaccines for fiv.

One of the vets at the clinic did give me the latest rundown, of how it can be transmitted and just watching for first signs of any illness or infection so he could be treated faster than regular cats with normal immune systems. Basically if both cats don't bite each other or have open cuts, there is not much to worry about.

It is funny when a cat brings you a present.  Maybe they want to trade it for some better food.

Good info on the litter...I will remember fresh news.  I never thought about the bugs in the corn or the wheat based ones.  Right now I am still using clumping cat litter, and Spotty seems okay with it, so far.

We actually all had a tiring day, but I think it had more to do with the weather being overcast and dreary.  Floppy is the only one who does not mind being outside in the rain, but the "wet dog smell" is enough for me. So I gave him a bath/shower.

Hope you and Chalupa had a good day.

Going to go to vet today to do b injection myself on chalupa. Very nervous and no sleep will be very long work day and appointment after. Cocheezie thank you for the encouragement, tried to thank you on rubydoos post but my autocorrect wrote coached. Hope your cat is good as can be. Watching YouTube videos on cat shots is not helping

chalupa said:

Going to go to vet today to do b injection myself on chalupa. Very nervous and no sleep will be very long work day and appointment after. Cocheezie thank you for the encouragement, tried to thank you on rubydoos post but my autocorrect wrote coached. Hope your cat is good as can be. Watching YouTube videos on cat shots is not helping

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Hi @chalupa   good luck today, I think you will be fine, but maybe tired later on.  Yeah, worrying really messes up the sleep and I have never figured out how to stop it either, except to write down my worries on paper, somehow it helps....even in point form.

Also if you want to get any member's attention.....then put down the @ sign before their name....so it will send message to them....it they have it on.

Like the above you would send @cocheezie   they would see it, hopefully when on site, and then read it.

again good luck and just take it slow.