My Cat had to have a blood transfusion

[purrfeckt1]

My Wolfy suddenly got ill last week, I had used Advantage flea on him and his brother because the neighbors kitten had gotten into the house and than before I knew it the were doing the flea dance. Wolfy has a twin brother Ozzy  they are 11yrs old and indoor cats. About 1/2hr later Wolfy came running into the living room and jumped on the coffee table foaming at the mouth, I think he had gotten the Advantage in his mouth some how, like it drained onto the side of his neck and was able to get to it. Anyways shortly after that he started to get real lethargic and wouldn't eat, someone told me to give him a bath to get it off of him, and I had given him baths in the past with no problems and I thought I was killing him, he yowled terribly so I got him out quickly and he was like a limp rag doll laying on the bathroom floor, his breathing was labored, I went nuts, and started crying because I thought he was dying. We got him to the ER vet and they looked him over and said his gums were real pale and that they were going to test for anemia, his RBC count was 11, it wasn't flea anemia because they are indoors and rarely get them. So they gave him a blood transfusion, he had to stay overnight, it brought his count up to 16 and I believe it should be in the 30's. they put him on an iron supplement to see if it helps. His WBC was normal so that indicates no infection. If the RBC doesn't continue to go up they say it is possible Lymphoma, he was tested for feline leukemia and that was negative.

He is home now, he will not eat dry food period or drink water hardly at all. I have been giving him soft food, found one he likes the best and finally got him to eat today more than just a couple of licks. I take him Monday to have his blood rechecked and to see if it is going up or down, if it's going down than I will most likely lose him. How long after a transfusion do they start to feel like there old self again? I have to take him out to the back patio which is his fav spot, so he will use the litter box, he hasn't had a bowel movement in days, they said he was not constipated, and I know it is probably from not eating much.

 

[stephanietx]

Sorry your kitty is going through this.  I've never had one have a blood transfusion, so I'm not a lot of help, but wanted to let you know you weren't forgotten.  Keep us posted on his progress.
 

 

[purrfeckt1]

Thanks Stephanietx,He went back to the vets yesterday and his RBC went up 1 point, They did Xrays, say no tumors on the spine, his spleen was a little enlarged but they say it can happen with a transfusion. They took more blood and sent out a CBC to see if there is any sign of cancer, He went back today and his blood seems to be trying to regenerate itself, did a urinalysis to check for protein in the urine, had some but not a lot, his lungs has a bit of inflammation mist likely from the Advantage, they have put him on an antibiotic and prednisone. so we still have a ways to go.They say cats will hide from their owners that they are sick and this was an underlying condition, it is hard for me to imagine that he has had this problem for awhile and I wouldn't notice it, I still believe this is all from the Advantage.

 

[franksmom]

So sorry this happened and it does seem like it may be an adverse reaction and you are not alone in having a pet have a reaction to spot on treatments (http://healthypets.mercola.com/site.../03/31/dangers-of-flea-and-tick-problems.aspx). 

Have they given him fluids at all? This may help flush out his system. 

It is actually great he is eating wet as is actually is much healthier for cats and a good quality grain free food may help him a bit because it is more bioavailable (see www.catinfo.org). I would try to add some more water to the wet food to again try to flush out his system and keep him properly hydrated. If he is eating significantly less calories you will want to syringe feed and here are some great instructions. (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating). 

Good luck and keep us posted! 

 

[purrfeckt1]

Thanks for the info, I am trying to do some research on his symptoms. he does good one minute with the food and than next feeding he barely touches it. the vet had given me a high protein wet food for him to eat and he ate it well for the first night and next day and now it's off an on, he just got put on the prednisone today so I am not sure if that will affect his eating. he was neg for the leukemia and they said his blood work today was not showing any kind of cancer, but could be in the bone marrow. He is still scratching and licking like he has fleas and there is nothing on him.

I am just at a loss that this has been underlying all this time and I wouldn't notice the changes,
 

 

[franksmom]

If the vet gave you A/D that is perfect for syringe feeding and he should be consuming at least one 5.5 ounce can of A/D a day (possibly more if he is heavy). I know syringe feeding sounds scary but is really is not that hard to do and it will really save your cat's life if he is not consuming enough calories because he can develop hepatic lipidosis in a very short period of time if he is not getting enough calories (http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/12/13/feline-hepatic-lipidosis.aspx). 

 

[purrfeckt1]

Update Wolf seems to be doing a little better, he is still having issues with eating, He goes back Friday for another checkup.

He is starting to act like his old self a bit, he actually came and laid beside me instead of in the crate

 

[franksmom]

Great to hear! I also wanted to mention that you might want to try meat baby food a lot of sick cats will eat that just make sure you get one that only has meat in it and not garlic and onions. 

When my cat was sick with the syringe feeding I gave him as many treats that he could eat to get as many calories as I could in him. 

 

[purrfeckt1]

Sad to report Wolf is on the decline again, his RBC's fell to 13 after they had gone up to 15.

he is not responding to the medications they have him on, and is not eating or drinking at all.

I got some tuna, he ate some of it and licked the juice, that's about it. he is getting so

dehydrated he can barely eat the treats. He goes back to Bets tomorrow.

I am watching him wither away and it's killing me.

 

[jcat]

I'm sorry to hear that. Mega that his condition improves again.

 

[ldg]

Yes, a problem like this can be underlying and you might not notice the changes. They can be very subtle. We had this happen to our cat, Tuxedo. The only thing we saw with 20/20 hindsight was that he ate less and became less and less active. By the time we got him to the vet, his hematocrit was 12.

For our Tuxedo, the problem was never determined, and it was called an "autoimmune disease" where his body just attacked his red blood cells. His blood work was so confusing, they had to do a bone marrow aspirate to see if his bone marrow was capable of producing red blood cells.

What antibiotic was your cat on? Is he still on it? Or did it finish, and then he declined again?

Did they determine if it is infectious anemia (caused by a parasite that destroys the red blood cell wall) - or is the cause still unknown?

Tuxedo had ups and downs actively for several years, and ultimately we fought for four years, and then he stabilized, and after 7 years, he went into remission, and is now fine and no longer needs any medication.

But initially we had to provide support by giving him Epigen to help is bone marrow produce more red blood cells; and the vet did have to switch from using the steroid prednisone to using the shots of depomedrol, because the pred stopped working to suppress his immune system enough. Thankfully, the mechanism of action between various steroids was enough to be the difference between Tuxedo living and dying.

I hope you're able to get some answers and find an effective treatment.

 

[stealthkitty]

Hi Purrfeck1, just want to tell you I'm sorry that your kitty is so sick. One of my kitties is just getting over a painful bout of vomiting, constipation, and not eating. He had to be on an IV for two days at the vet office, and when we brought him home I had to syringe feed him until he started to eat on his own again. We're not sure what caused it, and to say it was scary is an understatement. I'm so, so sorry that you are going through such an ordeal. It's good he's going back to the vet. Maybe an IV will help with the dehydration, and meanwhile you can try syringe feeding him. I started by giving my little guy 10 ml every hour and I could see him perk up after each. Please consider it, and don't worry if your kitty resists. Sometimes we just have to do what we know is best for our cats even when they try saying otherwise!

 

[emmastorm]

Hi, sorry you had to go through this . I actually am going through the exact same thing as you. I adopted Theo about four days ago. On the first day he seemed normal although i noticed he didn't eat much. I wasn't sure if this was normal for him since it was about only an hour that i had had him. Also i didn't know the last time he ate so didn't think much of it. I worked that night so i dropped him off at my sisters house so he wouldn't be alone . when i got him back the next day i was still in bed so i put him to sleep next to me. he slept even after i work up and was making noise and he just slept through which put me on alert a bit . when he did get up he was still walking around and curious so i was a little puzzled but i noticed he still wasn't eating or drinking. i had to go to work that night so i dropped him off at my moms and asked her to try and get him to eat or drink. she told me that he ate a bit while he was there. when i picked him up the next day i received the news that he was just sleeping the whole time and very inactive. when i seen him he was so weak when you picked him up he would barely open his eyes barely could move or have any energy what so ever. since this happened over the weekend i was trying to wait til monday to take him to the vet since i have 14 day of free vet care. but on that sunday when i brought him home he was so weak and i literally felt like i was watching him die. and i could not do that. i took him to the emergency room. they put him on an iv for fluids. his temperature was 92 which is low they are supposed to be at 102. he was very lethargic . his gums were white!!! he was pale.it was so sad. he got better as the night went on. temperature went to 102. he was hydrated so when i picked him up in the morning to transfer him to the humane society he was still weak but not as weak as the day before. when i dropped him off i received a call that he needed a blood transfusion and they sent him back to the ER. when they were doing the blood transfusion he got really bad. he started bleeding out of his nose during the surgery. they called me and told me that i should put him to sleep so he wouldn't suffer. i was so overwhelmed and so so sad. i couldn't make that decision without seeing him first. they didn't even give him a chance to finish the surgery and letting it heal his body a bit before telling me this. i went on my way to see him as fast as i could. lucky my that i got lost on the way which caused me to get there 30min later. but when i did he was doing so much better. he was responding to me. he was standing . alert. walking. eat. things he has never done since i had him. i was so happy. when i first walked in i was crying my eyes out watching him lay there and as i was petting him he came alive before my eyes. it was so nice. but now I'm still waiting to see what will happen. i know he can spiral back down as fast as he came back. this has been and emotional roller coaster. and it is not over. i was wondering if you can give me a little knowledge of what happened after with your baby. please and thank you!

 

[macaroons]

Hi Perfeckt1,

I know this post was several years ago, but your situation is very much mine.  We are debating the transfusion as we hate to put our kitty through the stress if the outcome is not positive.  I know there is know way of knowing, but given your description, I wanted to ask how Wolf did after the transfusion - I know you said his count went up, and then down.  Hopeful that it turned around and he got better.  Any guidance from this experience would be extremely helpful.

Thanks!

 

[macaroons]

Hi LDG,

I know this post is several years old, but I'm following up on your exchange with Perfeckt1 regarding non-regenerative anemia.  My cat has this as well - like Tuxedo, it happened quite suddenly.  I am curious what the results of the bone marrow test were on your cat, and also whether or not you did a transfusion.  I am worried about doing either given how frail my kitty is.  The vet started him on an antibiotic, prednisone and iron supplements yesterday.  No feline leukemia or auto-immune. No signs of kidney failure.  I don't want to lose him but I don't want him spending one day in the animal hospital if our time together is limited.  Any experience you can share would be so appreciated!

 

[oliversmomma]

We are experiencing a similar situation with our 5 month old Ragdoll, Oliver.  Unfortunately we recently have discovered he was accidentally infected at the catery we purchased him from but we were not informed until we called them to ask about the possibility of Giardia, a parasite that attacks the red blood cells, causes diarrhea that is very stinky and then extreme lethargy and not eating.  We were treating him for the Giardia then a couple days into the treatment he quit eating, moving, drinking and we thought he wasn't going to live.  The vet stopped this antibiotic and did further blood tests which showed he is extremely anemic.  They at first thought he may have F.I.P. but the head vet disagreed with that diagnosis.  Because Ollie has just continued to fade, we took him to the head vet again.  He thought it was time to try a transfusion.  OK, this is a costly and scary thing, but when your heart is affected by the innocent mew of a little pink mouth fading away before your eyes, money doesn't seem to be a consideration. 

  He had the transfusion on Thursday afternoon and seemed to do well but due to the possibility of negative side affects especially within the first 24 hours they kept him overnight.  We brought him home yesterday afternoon.  He was bright eyes and aware and even ate and drank more than he had in a few weeks.  Today though, he mainly sleeps.  We have found the one thing he will drink fairly well is Kitten Formula.  It's mixed with water just like baby formula, loaded with vitamins and iron and he seems to like it ok.  We have been offering the A/D cat food, tuna, chopped up chicken breast, and whatever we may be eating which was usually what interested him most before he got so sick.  So, today that included a couple of pieces of donut!  The vet said "anything he wants, give it to him".  Gladly!  Our next attempt is meat baby food which is what the vet said they used to give until the A/D cat food became available.  

  Our hopes are guarded but we keep trying!  If anyone can add to this and give us your insite, we would appreciate it.