Anaemic, awaiting diagnosis

elfin

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I adopted a 5 year old Devon Rex about a week ago. I knew he probably had some health issues as he's extremely thin, basically just skin stretched over bones and a very prominent abdomen. The vet found that he has one very small kidney and the other is very large, but his renal function is fine so she feels that his odd-sized kidneys are probably congenital. He's afebrile, his thyroid function is fine and he is clear of mycoplasma. However, he is anaemic (low RBCs and pale gums), detected twice this week in separate tests. He's getting tested again in a week, assuming I don't see an obvious deterioration before then. He's quite lethargic and spends most of the day asleep in his cube/my lap/my bed. I'm trying to keep him as warm as possible as it's cool at the moment and he has minimal hair. Right now he's on my lap wrapped in a jumper. He's separated from our foster cat so she's in no danger if this turns out to be viral.

He lived on dog food for the 4 months before I got him . Needless to say, I put a stop to that! To provide extra calories and protein I'm giving him Whiskas kitten pouches 3 times per day, which he usually eats all of, and RC Sensible always available. I also add a capsule of fish oil to his breakfast. He has a good appetite but I think sometimes he feels nauseous and can't face eating until it passes. The Sensible is just about gone so I need to decide whether to continue with it or give something else. I'm hoping to have time tomorrow to go hunting for better wet food. He looks like he's starting to gain some weight.

I know there's not much I can do until we get a diagnosis, but if anyone has tips for supportive care in the meantime I'd love to hear them. 


Getting comfy in my daughter's lap the day we brought him home.
 

denice

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Poor little guy.  I don't know much about anemia other than a little about the infectious type.  I don't think that is what is going on here because that is usually sudden severe anemia with the classic signs like labored breathing.  This could just be really run down from a lousy and inappropriate diet.  Hopefully he will recover with a proper diet of high quality food.  Hopefully someone has some other ideas to help him out.
 
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elfin

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It looks like we may have a diagnosis. He was quite flat this morning and having some trouble breathing, so I took him back to the vet. Another blood test, an xray and an abdominal aspiration later, we found that he is bleeding into his abdomen . The vet thinks he may have either been exposed to rat poison shortly before we got him, or he has vitamin-K dependent coagulopathy. He's started on vitamin K supplements. Hopefully we caught it in time. 
 

denice

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Wow, at least you know now.  I knew someone who had her dogs get into rat poison, she knew at least one of the them had eaten it.   She got the vitamin K from the vet and they were fine.  I guess the idea is to give a big dose so that it overrides the effect of the poison until it works out of the system.  It sounds like he came from a very bad situation so I think chances are good that he got into poison.
 
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elfin

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Yes Denice, I completely agree that rat poison is more likely. It's so hard when you don't know the animal's history. We could have started dealing with this straight away if we'd known, and he wouldn't have had to get so sick.

The difference in him since the first vitamin K shot is amazing. He's hungry, moving around, and PURRING again.  He's going to get spoilt rotten for a while. 
 

cocheezie

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It might be a good idea to put reputable flea meds from the vet (not a pet store whose flea products are usually questionable) on the cat if he's due or overdue for flea meds. The last thing you want right now, is fleas feeding on the blood.

I knew a cat that went through this with an inexperienced vet. Thankfully, the senior vet called almost immediately after we got home from the appointment and said bring the cat back for flea meds. The cat went on to live a long life.
 
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elfin

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It's good to know that he can recover from this. I've never had to deal with rat bait poisoning before, and I assumed it was always fatal. The vet set me straight but hearing from someone whose cat went through it and survived is heartening.

Flea treatment was the first thing we did, even before getting him home! He was crawling with fleas when we picked him up so we stopped at the local vet and got some Advocate spot-on (for fleas and worms). By the time we got home an hour and a half later there was not a flea to be seen. Our vet also treated him for tapeworm so there shouldn't be any parasites putting stress on his system.

I thought we might be taking on a cat with a chronic problem that we would need to manage. I never for a moment imagined that he was going to become so acutely sick so quickly. I don't regret taking him on though, not for a moment. Having him here has enriched our lives and it's probably saved his.
 
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