Mystery case of Lucy

[Kayla&Lucy]

Hello all! I'm not sure what is going on with my sweet girl Lucy. She's got a long story to tell so thanks for taking the time to read this!
I got Lucy back in 2017 from someone that posted her for free on Facebook. I went and got her, and it appeared she had been living outside, with a dirty water bowl and food bowl available to her. I think she stayed around the vicinity of the trailer, but didn't have much interaction with the owners. They informed me she was fixed and didn't have any fleas. Upon bringing her home, I quickly noticed she was INFESTED with fleas AND worms. After spending a good chunk of change on dewormer, and capstar, and flea medication, she grew to loving her new home, and I could tell she felt a ton better. We have another cat named Oliver, and they get along like brother and sister. Oliver is an inside cat, and Lucy had to go through an adjustment period of not going outside. She eventually got over it, and you'd never know she was once an outside cat.
She's always been on the smaller size. Just a smaller frame in general. In 2017, she was 4 years old and weighed about 7 lbs.
After we got rid of her worms and fleas, her coat got shiny and soft, gained a little more weight, and always playful. Ideally, a healthy cat!
The past 2 months something seemed to have changed. She stopped eating as much. Her and Oliver usually eat a dry cat food, I spend a good amount on nutritious food specifically made for indoor cats. Oliver is actually over weight and weighs 15 lbs. After noticing this change in Lucy, I took her to the vet.
They weighed Lucy, she was 6 lbs even. They told me this was considered underweight, and they were concerned. They did blood work, and they said she was making and abundance of "baby red blood cells" indicating that she might be bleeding from somewhere internally, and this might be from intestinal worms. I told them I haven't seen any evidence of worms, but they said sometimes we don't see them. So they dewormed her. They checked out her teeth, and they were fine. They suggested I feed her a diet of wet catfood to bring up her weight and I agreed. Anything to get her appetite back!
They set an appointment 4 weeks later, for her to get weighed. Ideally, they want her to be 7 lbs even or over, by September 8th (next Wednesday)
I haven't seen her eat in 4 days. I have bought every wet cat food in Walmart. Pate, grilled, fancy feast, friskies. I have even tried to feed her sardines. She hasn't touched any of it. I weighed myself, and then weighed her, and the difference(which is her weight) is 5.5 lbs. She's lost .5 lbs since her appointment. I called the vet, and said "feed her anything she'll eat and we'll discuss it at her appointment". She looks like a living zombie walking around. I saw her throw up earlier (or try to) and nothing came up. Not even bile. I'm thinking it's from the naseau of being so hungry! I don't know what to do and they're not giving me any answers. The last vet bill cost $250 and they didn't give me a diagnosis. They said if she didn't gain any weight, they were going to test for cancer. I don't have the money to keep testing for things, especially if they're not giving me answers. I don't think it's environmental. Purified water is in their drinking dish, and their dishes get cleaned regularly.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Does anyone know what the baby red blood cells mean?

Thank you for your time to read this. I'll obviously know more when I bring her back next week, but I'd like to see if anyone else has thoughts on my Lucy.

 

[verna davies]

I so sorry you are having to worry about Lucy. I haven't heard the term 'baby blood cells' before, could it mean anemia, are her gums pale? Don't be afraid to question your vet, write them down prior to the visit next week. Try feeding kitten food as it has more calories. I hope you get some answers and Lucy gains weight.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site to you and Lucy! I also have never heard the term "baby blood cells" and did a little googling and agree that anemia is as close as I can get to a definition. So, you need to know what is causing it.

Different Types of Anemia in Cats, Explained | PetMD
This article gives an overview of the condition and might help you to know what to ask the vet.

Are you able to get Gerber's baby food meats? Will she eat any of the popular stews or bisques that many companies make, Hartz for example?

As for money, tell the vet that this has to be narrowed down as much as possible so that the most likely diagnostics will be run.
Anemia in Cats
This article names a few that might be needed.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Will she eat the kibble she used to eat? If so, give that a try. ANYTHING, at this point. If you have to, put wet food directly into her mouth and see what happens. Just a little bit so she doesn't aspirate it. Some people try to swipe wet food right behind their upper front teeth just to get it in there. Was that the first time you witnessed her trying to vomit? AT this point, eating is essential! Cats who go too long without food can develop issues with their livers and you definitely don't want that as it is very dangerous. It's worse for overweight cats, so at least she didn't start out overweight, if you can think of that as a blessing

I too immediately thought of anemia, although anemia wouldn't be an "abundance of red blood cells, but rather not enough, so I'm thrown too by "an abundance of BABY red blood cells" and can't figure out whether or not she has too many RBCs or not enough. Of course, if she does have internal bleeding, this might cause anemia. Did they do anything other than a de-wormer?

They should be able to give you an appetite stimulant that you can rub into her ear at the next visit. Those usually work quite well. Talk to your Vet when you're there and be frank about what you can and can't afford. Ask if they think it's cancer, what will that result in as far as future costs AND future outcome. In other words, Is it worth testing for if you cannot afford the chemotherapy, etc. Or are there other options, like put her on Pred. without a diagnosis to see if that helps. I know some people do this because often costs are prohibitive.

Maybe there is something in here that will help too, for the costs: Financial Help For Cat Care.

Let us know what the Vet says after your next visit. In the meantime, assist feed her because she cannot go until then to eat.

 

[vince]

The blast cells (immature red blood cells) show up in higher quantities in the blood as the body tries to compensate for losses elsewhere. They normally mature and take up their duties of transporting oxygen as others die (red blood cells don't live all that long). So, the vet's looking for a reason for the higher quantities of the blast cells. That's often bleeding somewhere (ask me how I know).

Kentucky Fried Chicken is 'kitty crack.' If they won't eat that, they'll most likely have to take an appetite stimulant to do better. Try some and see if she'll eat that.

The appearance of the cat's gums is a quick indication if she might have anemia. If they're pale, it isn't good. They should be nice and pink.

 

[silent meowlook]

They are talking about lymphocytosis. It is an increase in the lymphocytes ( immature WBCs)
If they didn’t tell you she is anemic, I wouldn’t worry about it. Ask your vet for a copy of the blood work.
There is no test for cancer other than biopsy or cytology but if there isn’t a mass I don’t know what that would entail.
She needs to eat. If not eating by morning you need to take her back in.
Did they do a feline leukemia and FIV test? If not it is very important to do one.

I am sorry she isn’t doing well.