We got a call about a new case, and need advice again. This one is heartbreaking and is urgent.

Today, we got notified of a case that is local to us, and as such, the people have reached out the us for help. Apparently, a student at a local University has been feeding the local cat population around his boarding house. One of the cats has lost an eye from some infection, but was otherwise in seemingly good health. Last week though, he began to become lethargic and refused the eat. The student took that cat into his boarding house for closer observation, but things went from bad to worse. A couple days ago, he began having trouble walking, and now he is unable to move and is constantly crying in pain.

The student, who is already on a very limited budget, finally got him to the vet today. The vet has told him that the cat is suffering from anemia. Unfortunately, the student choose the wrong vet to take the cat too, since they charge excessive fees for overnight observation/care. He paid what he had, but does not have enough money to get the cat released tomorrow.

Someone put him in contact with us, since we are fast becoming known for our rescue of at risk cats. We have our own financial problems, but we obviously can't sit by and watch this situation by turn worse and do nothing. We have agreed to pay the remaining balance and pick up the cat tomorrow. We are going to transfer him to the same veterinary care that has been treating our Zeus. So far, they have been the best care givers to our animals.

I am unfamiliar with anemia and it's effects, but this sounds off to me, unless it is some form of feline sickle cell enema, which I know in humans can become extremely painful and lead to a type and for paralysis. Does anyone know more about this condition, how it is diagnosed and what the treatments may include? We are taking over the care for this kitty, and are distressed at his rapid decline. Maybe we are wishing beyond the limits of nature, but we hope that this can be halted and reversed, so this beautiful kitty can have a new lease on life, and we plan to give him exactly that.

I will post a video on here as soon as I can get it from the original owner/care taker for the cat, his name is Nick (the cat, not the student). Please put this little one eyed kitty in your hearts and prayers, I think he will need all the help and support we can muster. I know this is probably an uphill battle, but we remain very optimistic that he just needs to be moved into the right hands for a better outcome. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

Is your organization helping with the costs of the kitty's medical bills? 

I have no experience with anemia, but here are several threads on the subject:  http://www.thecatsite.com/newsearch?search=Anemia

Sadly, we are the organization, which is to say, we are not an organization at all and will have to absorb all the costs ourselves. We can't afford to do this, but we can't sit back and do nothing.

The person who has been trying to care for Nick, tried to contact several of the registered rescue organizations in the area, none of them replied. I understand that they can't take every case, but I am sad they didn't even respond at all.

We are just a couple with bigger hearts than wallets, and we have sacrificed so much money, we are 6 months behind on our rent savings, but I will figure something out. To save money, I pay our rent for the year, in one lump sum, but this year, I have not saved any money for that payment coming in January, but what else can we do?

Anyway, we are leaving soon to pick him up and transfer him to our vet, cross your fingers and toes, this one is really critical and he needs every drop of love and support that we can muster.

This article may help:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/no-money-for-vet-care-how-to-find-help-and-save-your-cats-life

Best of luck to you.  I'll be following along to see how you progress.

Anemia usually causes tiredness lethargic and the cat may be cold. B12 shots can help. I don't know if you have any way to test to see what is going on. There is a pcr test that breaks apart all the cells to see if the bone marroe is producing red blood cells. Then an ultrasound to see if the spleen is swollen as it may be destroying the red blood cells. Its kind of complicated. But usually the anemia has to be 18 or less to get a transfusion. But then the blood type has to be tested. There are three types of blood but normally two. The blood has to be checked for antibodies. If it has the wrong antibodies it could be devastating.

Another thing is if the immune system is destroying the rbc then a course of pred at 10mg a day is done for some time to stop the immune system from attacking. The problem is infection. Without the immune system to fight off infection you could be in trouble.

Without knowing what the level is and whether it is regenerative or non-regenerative then its a specific treatment for this.

In the meantime fluids. Warmth. Pain meds. Food! Is all I can recommend.

They don't even have access to a blood typing test, so I seriously doubt they have the test you are talking about.

But, the update as of this afternoon is this. His heart rate is still very high, but about half what it was yesterday, so that is a big improvement. His breathing is still rapid and shallow, and he still has all the signs of anemia that he had before, white gums/mouth, pain all over, lethargy, inability to stand or eat on his own. They have constructed a basic enclosure using plastic and tape, finally getting a new cylinder of medical grade oxygen to pump into his tent.

Also, they have him on a continuous IV drip, including the B12, which is another positive advance in his care. They have administered other medications through IV injection. I don't have the names of every medication being given, they will give me the list tomorrow.

For the Philippines, this is probably the best care one could hope for. There is a team of students taking turns monitoring Nick and giving him all the care as scheduled by the doctor. They are an amazing group of people, each on invested in Nick at a personal level, which is also something that you would want in any high risk care. Special thanks to our friend Ivy, she has been a real trooper through all of our cats needs, and was there for Lilo, and Vlad when they both required urgent care. She took a bite from Nick, and he put a few holes in her hand and fingers. Through it all, she never stops giving the best care possible while sacrificing much needed sleep, so thanks again for all that you do, day in and day out, we can leave our kids with you all and not have anxiety in doing so, that alone is priceless.

PS. I almost forgot, last night when dropped Nick off for the first time, we learned that he was under the proper body temperature. So after the initial treatment and test were done, we informed the doctor that we had a heating pad and asked if that would help. Yes, was the obvious answer, so we promised to bring it back later that night. We of course followed that promise, and Nick has had his temperature monitors and is no longer a shivering mess that he was before. The doctor is so overwhelmed by the heating pad (they have never had one) and made such a big deal about its importance, so we will be donating a heating pad to their clinic.

Maybe this gives me an idea, and for those of Philippines decent, I want to appeal directly to you. I am sure that there is probably plenty of unwanted/unused medical equipment available in the US. Maybe people can work together to collect some of this stuff, and ship to the Philippines via Balik Bayan box. This is a flat rate shipping system that is based in size, not weight, so it can go extremely heavy with no cost increases. One box is less than 100 dollars to ship, no taxes or duties required.

Anyway, just brain storming. Thanks everyone for keeping up with my trials and tribulations here, sincerely, the kittykeepers.

we have what is called MBag shipping-its airmail bulk and min weight is 11 lbs. Do you know about this? Years ago it used to be by boat and took 6 to 8 weeks. now its a week.

I think that is a wonderful idea.

Anemia kitties are often cold so wrapping in blankets plus when they do the iv fluids=don't forget the fluids are cold room temperature=this would make sense about him shivering. yes a heating pad works.

have you heard of putting rice in a sock and microwaving it? It holds heat for 4 hours. you can wrap a towel around it to make It not so hot. I have seen folks do this for kittens=obviously you could put some in a large mitten type glove or other=a pant leg and sew it into a square shape then it will fit under their bedding and provide warmth. I think keeping them warm is just like we do for people sick in the hospital=I was always so very cold in the hospital even with it at 70 F. 

Was the cat tested for Haemobartonellosis?

Hemotrophic mycoplasmosis is an infection of the red blood cells by mycoplasma. It can be either M. haemofelis, the most severe form that affects cats, or M. haemominutum, the less severe form. This disease may also be referred to as haemobartonellosis, or feline infectious anemia, though hemotrophic mycoplasmos is the preferred medical term. While some cats will show no symptoms of infection, others may show minor symptoms of anemia, and still others may lose all of their energy and die.

Click to expand...

A few months ago our shelter had two severely anemic stray cats within a few weeks of each other. Both were diagnosed with haemobartonellosis and successfully treated with antibiotics.

I forgot about that ^^^ Good Call @jcat!! yes its fairly easy to test for-maybe you can send it to a Europe place to test? The treatment I believe is doxycycline if I remember correctly. I have a friend who had 2 cats get this infection and it was successfully cleared up with antibiotics.

While I appreciate your input and passion with regards to Nick, sending off blood samples or other clinical/bio hazardous materials to another continent is absolutely beyond the whelm of "within reason". I would not know where to even start to request such a test, but I am pretty confident that the sample would need to be in an environmentally controlled state for the entire journey. Thanks again for your concern.

Today's update is a positive one. Nick is reacting well to the treatment he is receiving. His heart rate is now almost normal, and his breathing is closer to the normal range. He was also able to eat a lot of food, while reading still requires assistance to do so, this is a marked improvement from just a day ago. He also ate quite a large portion as well. He remains on the B12 IV drip and the oxygen saturation therapy as well. His one eye is absolutely blind, and the other eye does not function normally as he still has problems finding his food even. The heating pad we donated has been a huge help in bringing Nicks temperature back up to normal.

We should be getting the first rounds of updates by Sunday, Monday at the latest. Keep praying for Nick, or crossing your fingers, every effort, no matter how small or large seems to be doing its part. Sincerely, the kittykeepers.

*UPDATE*

Sadly, Nick passed away today. This was not unexpected to those of us who were close to the case, but for the sort of owner (he was feral, but one student did feed, care and spend time with him daily), this must have been very difficult for him.

We only knew Nick in the last week of his life, and he was very sick the entire time. We asked the owner to share photos with us, and he did so. He has been caring for Nick since he was just a baby kitten, still nursing on his mother. The whole litter is still around, and the owner has lots of siblings, even parents to help comfort him. From the kitten photos, through his adolescent time, Nick really seemed to stand out. His good looks coupled with an apparent natural photogenic appearance made him a star.

As a tribute to Nick, we have named one of the kittens that was left abandoned in a box outside the vet clinic, while we were visiting with Nick a few days ago. I know he can never be replaced, but with every tragedy we have the misfortune to watch over, there are many more triumphs. The 5 kittens that we took home, are 3 weeks old, at best. They are bottle fed every 3-4 hours, burped, stimulated and weighed. They were skinny and malnourished when we got them, and all have rebounded to good health in just a few days. They have adapted to being bottle fed faster than any kittens we have had in the past. This might be due to finally finding a formula that the kittens like, and is effective. (finding quality products for cats, is next to impossible in the Philippines)

Anyway, we must say goodbye to Nick, but he will always be remembered and his photos will make us smile the rest of our lives. Hopefully the kitten version, will live a long, healthy, playful life with us, and if the original owner of Nick can set up for an exclusively indoor cat, he can take Nick home with him, and enjoy the new life that was saved because of Nick. If he had not been sick, and we had not got involved in his case, we would never have been there to rescue the abandoned litter, so Nick enabled us to save those kittens, it's only fitting that he gave life when his was ending. We love you Nick, thanks for being part of our lives, even if only for a short while, all the love from the kittykeepers.

Rest you gentle, Nick, dream you deep.  You walk in someone's heart forever.