Elevated ALT, WBC - Anemia

[missbliss]

Hi,

Haven't posted in a long time, all this while was doing what I could to help my kitties the best way I can.

Just came back from the vet, Chi has not been feeling well all week, and her pain was too much for either of us to take, so rushed her to the nearest hospital in the area and the results of her chem and CBC are low RBC, high WBC and elevated ALT and neutrophils. She also had elevated glucose, the vet though says that this is normal given the stress level.

Her ALT was slightly elevated last year. It is now 194. Her RBC 5.67 , HCT 24.8 HGB 8.6 WBC 16.94 NEU 14.12

She is more dehydrated than usual - have been giving her sub-q as needed. Today gave her 100 cc - but she is still dehydrated and don't know if I should give her more. The vet, was not helpful with anything. I basically just went to get the results of the blood tests to see what we're dealing with, if only to get some kind of picture. Where we are is very hard to find a good vet and we're still looking.

He wrote her a prescription for antibiotics, - amoxicillin. She is eating some, sleeping a lot but basically - conked out.

Could be IBD, she's had loose stools, some light, some dark. Could this also be parasite related? Would it be safe to give her another drontal? Last dose was in April and I did see fleas on her before combing them out.

I have 2 babies, she is my mama cat. This is very hard for me.

Joy

 

[denice]

I am no good at figuring out blood tests results.  I know what it is like trying to find a good vet, I am a veteran of 6 years of vet hopping with a chronically ill  kitty before find a good one.  

It is true about the high glucose being stress related.  I had a kitty that came up with high glucose when I took her into the vet when she was sick.  The vet had another test done which gives an idea of the blood glucose for a period of time before the high reading and it was normal.  The high neutrophils could be from some type of inflammation going on, high white cells sounds like infection.  I have heard of kitties having a slightly elevated ALT from stress as well.  Your kitties ALT is  only slightly elevated,  normal is 100 or less.   My kitties got up to 1200 when he had fatty liver.  I have seen kitties here with fatty liver and an ALT up around 3000.  

I usually don't like the idea of blindly throwing antibiotics at  'something' but the high WBC does indicate some type of infection.  I don't think parasites would cause these types of abnormal blood test results.  I know a very heavy flea infestation can cause anemia but it doesn't sound like your kitty was heavily infested.  Fleas usually cause tapeworm and a tapeworm is actually one of the parasites that cause the least issues.

Are there any vet schools close or cats only vet clinics?  

 

[the3rdname]

The low HCT, while not bad per se, is worrisome.  You don't want it to drop further.  There was no evidence of kidney impairment?  All the values were within normal ranges?  Are you doing sub-q because of the loose stools?  Appetite is normal?  Is Chi an indoor cat?

Fleas can carry mycoplasma, which can cause anemia, and for that you'd need doxycycline.  That wouldn't explain the high WBC or neutrophils, however.  Has Chi ever been tested for FeLV/FIV?  

Hope someone else can give additional insight/suggestions. 

If you're in the U.S., this is a good resource for finding a vet hospital: https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/about_aaha/hospital_search/default.aspx    If you plug a hospital name into google, you'll usually get at least a few review sites in your results, like Yelp.  Another possibility: I wonder if your vet could give you a referral to an internal medicine vet.  

So sorry you're dealing with this 

  Hang in there and keep us updated!

 

[missbliss]

Hi, in the past Chi had kidney issues but the tests came back yesterday within normal range - BUN/Creatinine normal. Giving her sub-q because of her dehydration.

Appetite comes and goes, I've started her on abx so she's sleeping now even more. I gave her some fancy feast - it is half eaten. She's eating Orijen kibble, a bit here and there, but she has lost at least a pound in the last month or so.

Thanks for your help - will update as things become clearer.