My poor kitten is really sick, vet is clueless, any ideas?

Swarley McChunk said:

I took my 11 month old kitten Swarley to the vet today due to a lack of energy, appetite and weight loss. It was bad news after more bad news from the second we saw the vet. At first, she said she felt a mass in his lower abdomen, so she needed to do an x-ray, also blood work (which was expected), then she showed me his gums which were nearly white. She brought him back after all the tests, and the mass I had been freaking out about was the least of my worries as the little guy was just constipated. As it turns out, my Swarley has an extremely enlarged left ventricle in his heart, severe anemia, and a heart murmur she noticed upon listening again. She was absolutely certain he had feline leukemia or was FIV+ even though I told her he had been tested before. She kept insisting so much so that I ended up just telling her to run the test again. After running it, he came back negative, like I said before. She then looked at me like a deer in the headlights and said, I just don't know what to tell you, I don't know what's wrong, I'm so sorry, but there's nothing I can do. So, basically, I left with amoxicillin mixed with a small amount of steroids and the little guy got a B12 and steroid shot, BUT!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON OR WHAT TO EXPECT OR WHAT TO DO!! I'M SO FRUSTRATED

!! Any ideas as to what it could be or what I can do to help my precious Swarley?!

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Swarley McChunk said:

I took my 11 month old kitten Swarley to the vet today due to a lack of energy, appetite and weight loss. It was bad news after more bad news from the second we saw the vet. At first, she said she felt a mass in his lower abdomen, so she needed to do an x-ray, also blood work (which was expected), then she showed me his gums which were nearly white. She brought him back after all the tests, and the mass I had been freaking out about was the least of my worries as the little guy was just constipated. As it turns out, my Swarley has an extremely enlarged left ventricle in his heart, severe anemia, and a heart murmur she noticed upon listening again. She was absolutely certain he had feline leukemia or was FIV+ even though I told her he had been tested before. She kept insisting so much so that I ended up just telling her to run the test again. After running it, he came back negative, like I said before. She then looked at me like a deer in the headlights and said, I just don't know what to tell you, I don't know what's wrong, I'm so sorry, but there's nothing I can do. So, basically, I left with amoxicillin mixed with a small amount of steroids and the little guy got a B12 and steroid shot, BUT!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON OR WHAT TO EXPECT OR WHAT TO DO!! I'M SO FRUSTRATED

!! Any ideas as to what it could be or what I can do to help my precious Swarley?!

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mickNsnicks2mom said:

hi and welcome to TCS!

i'm so sorry your Swarley is having these symptoms. 

i don't have experience in this area, but i'm sure someone will be along soon who does have experience.

in the meantime, i'm going to try 'paging' a couple of members who have a lot of experience with kittens and medical issues.

@catwoman707
, @Red Top Rescue
-- may i ask for your expertise for the OP (original poster)?

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StephenQ said:

On the surface it sounds like possibly cancer with severe anemia, but i would suggest more diagnostic work like an ultrasound and xrays (unless those were done) and a consultation with a more knowledgeable vet or at least a second opinion.  Are there other vets in your area?

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Red Top Rescue said:

As usual, @StephenQ
has given you excellent advice.  The first thing I would do if I were you is TRY to find a more experienced or more confident vet.  If you can find an AAHA accredited hospital in your area, go there right away.  Tell them what has been found so far.  AAHA hospitals are required to meet certain standards and must have continuing education to maintain their accreditation so they are usually right on top of things.  Here is a link where you can search for AAHA hospitals using your zip code.

https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/abou...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

If your kitten's gums are white, then he is anemic, and there can be many causes of anemia.  He has heart problems too, and he may have a mass in his intestines, or it may be constipation.  When you call the AAHA hospital (and I hope there is one within reach), tell them all of the above and say you need to see another doctor so you can get a diagnosis and find out what to do.  You already know it's NOT FIV or leukemia, but obviously your cat needs some medical help.  They will probably get you in to see a doctor quickly.  Let us know what you find out.

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catwoman707 said:

IF, and I can't help but question your vet and lack of experience, but IF correct about the x-ray results, it sounds like it may be juvenile HCM.
(hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)
If so, it is not a good prognosis I'm sorry to say.
I strongly suggest locating a highly experienced veterinarian who, hopefully specializes in heart issues ASAP.
I also suggest an ultrasound rather than an x-ray, so they can see any thickness and just how well/not the heart is able to work.
There may be ACE inhibitor drugs that can help it's function, but any further then this info, this is beyond my area of experience and expertise.

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sidneykitty said:

To help narrow down, are there are cat-only vets in your area? I find they really know their stuff when it comes to feline health and might have more insights. I wish you and Swarley all the best. :heart3:

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Red Top Rescue said:

Most of the AAHA hospitals have several doctors, and often one is a feline specialist.   Sometimes you will find a cardiology specialist and/or one who specializes in ultrasound. If there are several AAHA hospitals within 40 minutes of you, try checking their web sites and reading about their doctors.  Most of them give lots of information on their web sites including where and when the vets graduated, from what school, what their special skills and areas of interest are, etc.  That would be a worthwhile project for Mothers Day, and then you will know which one you want to call first to see if they can get you in on Monday.  Also, since you did get copies of his medical records including blood work, you could take a picture of them and post them here and we can tell you what we think, i.e. how bad the anemia is and if any other blood chemistries are off, and if so, what that might tell us.  Several people on here have experience in reading lab results and could say he has "really bad anemia" or just "moderate anemia," which isn't diagnostic but might make you feel better just knowing.  There is an amazing amount of knowledge on this site.  We are like an AAHA hospital in that we have a lot of experience in many different areas, and sometimes that's more useful than just book learning. (We have a lot of book learning also!)

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Swarley McChunk said:

Thank you so very much for your help!! It truly means the world to me

!!

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catwoman707 said:

 
IF, and I can't help but question your vet and lack of experience, but IF correct about the x-ray results, it sounds like it may be juvenile HCM.

(hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)

If so, it is not a good prognosis I'm sorry to say.

I strongly suggest locating a highly experienced veterinarian who, hopefully specializes in heart issues ASAP.

I also suggest an ultrasound rather than an x-ray, so they can see any thickness and just how well/not the heart is able to work.

There may be ACE inhibitor drugs that can help it's function, but any further then this info, this is beyond my area of experience and expertise.

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Swarley McChunk said:

Well, that sounds absolutely terrifying

. In this case, I really hope that the vet I saw is absolutely wrong. I plan on taking Swarley to one of the AAHA hospitals mentioned by one of the other users, so hopefully that way, I will at least get a definitive answer one way or another so I can know what me and my little guy are dealing with. Thank you so much for your help

!!

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Red Top Rescue said:

It does look like she ran the blood chemistries twice and got different values.  The blood count itself looks like both reports are the same but one includes the sliding scale to visually show you any things out of range.  Obviously the anemia IS severe unfortunately.  Anemia is sometimes associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  No wonder he has no energy.  The red cells (RBC) are the ones that carry oxygen through the body, and those are very low.  If his heart is not pumping properly in addition to this, he would be pretty much exhausted.  In your search for the right AAHA hospital to choose, do try to find one that has a cardiologist on staff, and they would also have he ability to do a cardiac ultrasound or echocardiogram.  If you can't find one that can do that at their hospital, you may be best to go to the University of Illinois vet clinic because it does look like the cardiac ultrasound will be the next thing needed for proper diagnosis, so no point in going somewhere they can't do that.  You can certainly ask when you call.  Sending positive vibes and hoping there are some good treatment options for him.

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catwoman707 said:

I'm sorry to scare you, but had to bring up HCM as a real possibility, and after reading his blood test results it's looking even more-so like HCM.
He is most definitely VERY anemic, lacking oxygen, which would be caused by the heart valve's lack of adequate distribution.

I agree that an AAHA hospital, ESPECIALLY with a skilled cardiologist on staff is the way to go at this time. ASAP too.

Hoping like mad that I am wrong here!
Cats are often inbred, causing so many genetic issues, we never know the full background on these little furballs until we are so in love with them, most are fortunate and are fine, some have mild deformities like extra toes, kinked tails, etc. Then even less are born with cleft palates, heart defects, etc. or worse.

I will be anxious to hear what a qualified vet says. 
We are all here for support. 

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