Kitten anaemia recovery

[HeyKat]

I'm currently fostering a kitten who's recovering from anaemia, and I was wondering if anybody has any experience with this? What does a normal recovery timeline look like? Weeks? Months?

He had an illness that caused the anaemia, which he's now completed treatment for, plus a lot of fleas (still trying to get the last one or two little buggers). He's probably around 3 or 4 months old, but he was severely underweight when he came to me - you could feel every bone.

He's eating high quality food and gaining weight well, and I can see his energy has increased. He's gone from hobbling like a 30 year old cat to trotting and even occasionally running short distances. My concern is he still sleeps/rests 90% of the time and has almost no interest in playing.

But I have no idea how long recovery from anaemia should take. My last litter of foster skeletons were playing and climbing even when they were ill (no anaemia though). So is this normal?

Btw he saw the vet on Thursday for his last dose of medicine and she wants to see him again tomorrow for a blood test. I'm just looking to ease my worrywort brain in the meantime.

 

[BellaBlue82]

I'm currently fostering a kitten who's recovering from anaemia, and I was wondering if anybody has any experience with this? What does a normal recovery timeline look like? Weeks? Months?

He had an illness that caused the anaemia, which he's now completed treatment for, plus a lot of fleas (still trying to get the last one or two little buggers). He's probably around 3 or 4 months old, but he was severely underweight when he came to me - you could feel every bone.

He's eating high quality food and gaining weight well, and I can see his energy has increased. He's gone from hobbling like a 30 year old cat to trotting and even occasionally running short distances. My concern is he still sleeps/rests 90% of the time and has almost no interest in playing.

But I have no idea how long recovery from anaemia should take. My last litter of foster skeletons were playing and climbing even when they were ill (no anaemia though). So is this normal?

Btw he saw the vet on Thursday for his last dose of medicine and she wants to see him again tomorrow for a blood test. I'm just looking to ease my worrywort brain in the meantime.

If you don't mind my asking, how anemic was kitty? Sadie my girl cat has IMHA which is an autoimmune disorder, and she was extremely anemic. Her HCT was 9, when it should be around 45. It took about a year for her to fully recover and be out of the red zone.
So depending on the level of anemia, I would say 6months to a year. It takes 45 days for red blood cells to generate and replenish.

 

[HeyKat]

If you don't mind my asking, how anemic was kitty? Sadie my girl cat has IMHA which is an autoimmune disorder, and she was extremely anemic. Her HCT was 9, when it should be around 45. It took about a year for her to fully recover and be out of the red zone.
So depending on the level of anemia, I would say 6months to a year. It takes 45 days for red blood cells to generate and replenish.

I don't know if it was ever measured. The shelter I foster for has very limited resources. He's been on treatment for about a month though and he still has very little energy.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[BellaBlue82]

I don't know if it was ever measured. The shelter I foster for has very limited resources. He's been on treatment for about a month though and he still has very little energy.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

I totally understand. I'm glad they are going to do blood work, once the results are back you'll have a better gauge on how bad it was and how much longer he should be on medicine. Sadie is on a low dose of Prednisone for the remainder of her life, but most other cats that have secondary anemia are on it for a shorter term and it helps speed up RBC production.

Best of luck, keep us posted on how kitty is doing!!

 

[HeyKat]

His face has swollen up I first noticed this afternoon but thought I was just being paranoid, but it's past 9pm and it's definitely real. Vet clinic opening hours feel forever away

 

[BellaBlue82]

His face has swollen up I first noticed this afternoon but thought I was just being paranoid, but it's past 9pm and it's definitely real. Vet clinic opening hours feel forever away

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that! Maybe he is having an allergic reaction. Is there an emergency vet close to you that you can take him to? I hope he will be ok.

 

[HeyKat]

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that! Maybe he is having an allergic reaction. Is there an emergency vet close to you that you can take him to? I hope he will be ok.

No emergency vets here. Fortunately kitten seems fine now and the swelling is all gone 24h later. I'm wondering if maybe he got stung by a wasp. He likes to try eat specks of dirt off the floor and I did find an old wasp on the kitchen floor this morning...

Anyway vet checked his blood this morning and he's free of illness and red/white blood cell count looks good! Hopefully it's just a matter of time before his energy picks up amd he starts playing like a normal kitten!

 

[BellaBlue82]

So glad to hear the good news! I agree, I think his energy will pick back up soon. A lot of medicine can make kitties very tired.