My cat, Charlie, is an indoor only, neutered male, orange tabby domestic (American) short hair, estimated age is 11 years.
Charlie’s history is mysterious, complicated, and frankly sad at times and I will do my best to be concise (but still long… he’s had a busy life)
Early 2015 — a friend adopted him from a petsmart or petco after being charmed by Charlie’s friendly demeanor and learning that he kept getting adopted and returned for no clear reason.
Mid-2015 — friend couldn’t keep Charlie due to their living situation and had my ex boyfriend take Charlie under their wing.
End of 2016 — Charlie stopped eating and had sores in his mouth. None of them had money for urgent vet care but a roommate living with my ex boyfriend had a sister, who is a vet in Utah, and they were willing to take care of Charlie under the table. So they moved Charlie from Colorado to Utah to receive the medical care his ultimate diagnosis of stomatitis required. He is put on Atopica for cats and undergoes several tooth extractions.
Late 2017 — I learn that the owner taking care of Charlie in Utah is moving and can’t take him with them. They’re hoping someone back in Colorado will take him. I immediately contacted them and practically begged that they give Charlie to me. I was heartbroken by how unstable his entire life had been and I couldn’t understand how Charlie, one of the most sweetly dispositioned and friendliest cats I had ever met, had such a hard time staying with one person. I committed to being his forever friend.
January 6, 2018 — one of the best things ever happens to me; Charlie arrives at my front door. We immediately form a close bond and are 2 peas in a pod. I carefully keep up with his medication and routinely check his gums and remaining teeth. He is also routinely taken to the vet 1-2 times a year for check ups on his general health.
April 2019 — his final tooth extraction!
Early 2020 — he is successfully weaned off Atopica and has had no gum-related issues since.
March 2023 — an extremely stressful move. Charlie develops cat acne, hot spots on the heels of his hind legs, and loses weight despite appetite and feeding staying normal. Vet does a comprehensive blood panel and everything looks normal. He’s put on a short course of gaba pentin, then a short course of steroids. He had to wear a cone often to prevent him from messing with his acne and hot spots.
Lots of warm compresses on his chin in the evenings.
May 2023 — acne and hot spots completely clear up, gained a small amount of weight but never really gained it all back. He was previously a consistent 11 lbs cat. He was now a 9.5-10 lb cat.
November 16, 2024 — routine exam, listens to heart, everything is normal, gets rabies vaccine.
Late January 2024 — I start feeding him cat food from the brand Darwin’s Natural Pets, and cook it before feeding it to him.
Late February — Charlie has always been a voracious eater and very food motivated but he is insatiable at this point. It is practically all he thinks about.
Early March 2024 — At the house I live in, the first floor is essentially the foundation. There are cracks in the tiles from the foundation moving and a previous tenant filled them with concrete. I would occasionally feed Charlie in the living room and he would push his bowl around the floor and sometimes it would get close to one of those patches. I observed him licking the patches and initially assumed that his food got lodged in the tile cracks. But then the licking went beyond meal times and I stopped feeding him on the first floor entirely and he would still go and lick the patches. It reminded me of an animal or even people in desperate situations licking rocks for the minerals. I wondered if the Darwin’s I was feeding him was lacking in a nutrient he needs and maybe he’s deficient.
March 9 or 10, 2024 — I switch him back to his original food: Hill’s Adult 7+ wet cat food.
March 16, 2024 — He seemed more withdrawn. Stopped sleeping in bed with me and instead would go to his cat house. Uninterested in playing. Floor licking had not improved and he looked a little pale and I wondered if he was anemic so I took him to the vet. He was indeed anemic. RBC count was 18%, took a full blood panel and blood PCR. Sent home with an iron & vitamins tincture (liqui-tonic 4x), 1 ml orally twice daily.
March 18, 2024 — Charlie is barely nibbling at his food, vet prescribed an appetite stimulating gel, first application that night. Blood panel results show that everything is normal except his low RBC count and his reticulocyte count is low for someone who is anemic. At the time, the vet thought that we caught his anemia very early.
March 19, 2024 — PCR comes back positive for mycoplasma, prescribed prednisolone and marbofloxacin, first doses of each are given that night. Still not really eating and not having any BMs.
March 21, 2024 — Charlie completely refused to eat, had hardly eaten the day prior, the appetite gel had been applied every 24 hours for almost 60 hours at this point. His eyes looked sunken in, he was unsteady on his feet. I rushed him to the Vet ER, his RBC was <8%. He got a blood transfusion and RBC went up to 20% upon discharge on March 22nd. Reticulocyte count still low.
His official diagnosis upon discharge was Non Regenerative Anemia suspect secondary to Mycoplasma Infection. Given that all of his other lab work looked normal, including WBCs and platelets, the vet at the ER proposed the possibility that his own immune system possibly over responded and went for his bone marrow. They acknowledged how unusual that would be but it was the only explanation they could offer at that time.
March 27, 2024 — follow up blood panel shows RBC is 22% but still non regenerative. Primary vet recommends a bone marrow biopsy.
April 3, 2024 — I have a consultation with a vet in internal medicine, at the same facility where Charlie had received a blood transfusion. She reveals that the estimate for a bone marrow biopsy would be $4000 which is beyond my financial capability, especially considering I’m already $4000 in the hole after what medical care Charlie has recently received and it’s an invasive diagnostic test for something that, at this point, is looking more and more grim. She is understanding of this and is agreeable to my proposal that we treat him with different steroids and immunosuppressants to see if this is possibly an autoimmune disease. She would first like another cbc, re-test him for FIV in case his was a false negative, and ehrlichia just to cover our bases. While they have him in another room to take blood, vet comes back and explains that she was listening to his heart and heard a murmur. Nothing particularly unusual there for someone anemic but she also heard a heart gallop which is indicative of heart disease. She recommends a chest ultrasound, I agree and also request that they test for hyperthyroidism. They were able to squeeze him in between appointments in cardiology. I was also advised to discontinue the iron & vitamins tincture and start giving him a chewable b12 supplement once daily. Supplements were received April 4th (today) and will be started tonight.
Expecting a call with results today or tomorrow. In the meantime, ever since the blood transfusion…
Improvements at home: Charlie’s appetite is back to normal (very food motivated and excited about food but not insatiable either), he is jumping to and from high places (kitchen counters, fridge, etc.), he’s more social and wants to be around people, he sleeps in bed with me again.
Concerns at home: His nose is a VERY pale pink. It’s less obsessive but he still wants to lick those concrete patches. The same day he was discharged, I actually ended up covering them all with rugs and duct tape because I don’t know what else he could be ingesting when he does that. He seems to get out of breath easily; he’ll be grooming himself, pause, and loudly huff out of his nose. He is not at all interested in playing (no surprise considering his anemia, of course, but still indicative that he’s not 100%)
Whatever is going on with Charlie seems abnormal and rare. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar to what Charlie is currently going through? I’m stunned that this is all happening ant once and I need advice. I’m quickly reaching the end of what I am financially capable of and, most importantly, I don’t want to put Charlie through much more of this if it’s going to permanently and negatively impact his comfort and quality of life.
Charlie’s history is mysterious, complicated, and frankly sad at times and I will do my best to be concise (but still long… he’s had a busy life)
Early 2015 — a friend adopted him from a petsmart or petco after being charmed by Charlie’s friendly demeanor and learning that he kept getting adopted and returned for no clear reason.
Mid-2015 — friend couldn’t keep Charlie due to their living situation and had my ex boyfriend take Charlie under their wing.
End of 2016 — Charlie stopped eating and had sores in his mouth. None of them had money for urgent vet care but a roommate living with my ex boyfriend had a sister, who is a vet in Utah, and they were willing to take care of Charlie under the table. So they moved Charlie from Colorado to Utah to receive the medical care his ultimate diagnosis of stomatitis required. He is put on Atopica for cats and undergoes several tooth extractions.
Late 2017 — I learn that the owner taking care of Charlie in Utah is moving and can’t take him with them. They’re hoping someone back in Colorado will take him. I immediately contacted them and practically begged that they give Charlie to me. I was heartbroken by how unstable his entire life had been and I couldn’t understand how Charlie, one of the most sweetly dispositioned and friendliest cats I had ever met, had such a hard time staying with one person. I committed to being his forever friend.
January 6, 2018 — one of the best things ever happens to me; Charlie arrives at my front door. We immediately form a close bond and are 2 peas in a pod. I carefully keep up with his medication and routinely check his gums and remaining teeth. He is also routinely taken to the vet 1-2 times a year for check ups on his general health.
April 2019 — his final tooth extraction!
Early 2020 — he is successfully weaned off Atopica and has had no gum-related issues since.
March 2023 — an extremely stressful move. Charlie develops cat acne, hot spots on the heels of his hind legs, and loses weight despite appetite and feeding staying normal. Vet does a comprehensive blood panel and everything looks normal. He’s put on a short course of gaba pentin, then a short course of steroids. He had to wear a cone often to prevent him from messing with his acne and hot spots.
Lots of warm compresses on his chin in the evenings.May 2023 — acne and hot spots completely clear up, gained a small amount of weight but never really gained it all back. He was previously a consistent 11 lbs cat. He was now a 9.5-10 lb cat.
November 16, 2024 — routine exam, listens to heart, everything is normal, gets rabies vaccine.
Late January 2024 — I start feeding him cat food from the brand Darwin’s Natural Pets, and cook it before feeding it to him.
Late February — Charlie has always been a voracious eater and very food motivated but he is insatiable at this point. It is practically all he thinks about.
Early March 2024 — At the house I live in, the first floor is essentially the foundation. There are cracks in the tiles from the foundation moving and a previous tenant filled them with concrete. I would occasionally feed Charlie in the living room and he would push his bowl around the floor and sometimes it would get close to one of those patches. I observed him licking the patches and initially assumed that his food got lodged in the tile cracks. But then the licking went beyond meal times and I stopped feeding him on the first floor entirely and he would still go and lick the patches. It reminded me of an animal or even people in desperate situations licking rocks for the minerals. I wondered if the Darwin’s I was feeding him was lacking in a nutrient he needs and maybe he’s deficient.
March 9 or 10, 2024 — I switch him back to his original food: Hill’s Adult 7+ wet cat food.
March 16, 2024 — He seemed more withdrawn. Stopped sleeping in bed with me and instead would go to his cat house. Uninterested in playing. Floor licking had not improved and he looked a little pale and I wondered if he was anemic so I took him to the vet. He was indeed anemic. RBC count was 18%, took a full blood panel and blood PCR. Sent home with an iron & vitamins tincture (liqui-tonic 4x), 1 ml orally twice daily.
March 18, 2024 — Charlie is barely nibbling at his food, vet prescribed an appetite stimulating gel, first application that night. Blood panel results show that everything is normal except his low RBC count and his reticulocyte count is low for someone who is anemic. At the time, the vet thought that we caught his anemia very early.
March 19, 2024 — PCR comes back positive for mycoplasma, prescribed prednisolone and marbofloxacin, first doses of each are given that night. Still not really eating and not having any BMs.
March 21, 2024 — Charlie completely refused to eat, had hardly eaten the day prior, the appetite gel had been applied every 24 hours for almost 60 hours at this point. His eyes looked sunken in, he was unsteady on his feet. I rushed him to the Vet ER, his RBC was <8%. He got a blood transfusion and RBC went up to 20% upon discharge on March 22nd. Reticulocyte count still low.
His official diagnosis upon discharge was Non Regenerative Anemia suspect secondary to Mycoplasma Infection. Given that all of his other lab work looked normal, including WBCs and platelets, the vet at the ER proposed the possibility that his own immune system possibly over responded and went for his bone marrow. They acknowledged how unusual that would be but it was the only explanation they could offer at that time.
March 27, 2024 — follow up blood panel shows RBC is 22% but still non regenerative. Primary vet recommends a bone marrow biopsy.
April 3, 2024 — I have a consultation with a vet in internal medicine, at the same facility where Charlie had received a blood transfusion. She reveals that the estimate for a bone marrow biopsy would be $4000 which is beyond my financial capability, especially considering I’m already $4000 in the hole after what medical care Charlie has recently received and it’s an invasive diagnostic test for something that, at this point, is looking more and more grim. She is understanding of this and is agreeable to my proposal that we treat him with different steroids and immunosuppressants to see if this is possibly an autoimmune disease. She would first like another cbc, re-test him for FIV in case his was a false negative, and ehrlichia just to cover our bases. While they have him in another room to take blood, vet comes back and explains that she was listening to his heart and heard a murmur. Nothing particularly unusual there for someone anemic but she also heard a heart gallop which is indicative of heart disease. She recommends a chest ultrasound, I agree and also request that they test for hyperthyroidism. They were able to squeeze him in between appointments in cardiology. I was also advised to discontinue the iron & vitamins tincture and start giving him a chewable b12 supplement once daily. Supplements were received April 4th (today) and will be started tonight.
Expecting a call with results today or tomorrow. In the meantime, ever since the blood transfusion…
Improvements at home: Charlie’s appetite is back to normal (very food motivated and excited about food but not insatiable either), he is jumping to and from high places (kitchen counters, fridge, etc.), he’s more social and wants to be around people, he sleeps in bed with me again.
Concerns at home: His nose is a VERY pale pink. It’s less obsessive but he still wants to lick those concrete patches. The same day he was discharged, I actually ended up covering them all with rugs and duct tape because I don’t know what else he could be ingesting when he does that. He seems to get out of breath easily; he’ll be grooming himself, pause, and loudly huff out of his nose. He is not at all interested in playing (no surprise considering his anemia, of course, but still indicative that he’s not 100%)
Whatever is going on with Charlie seems abnormal and rare. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar to what Charlie is currently going through? I’m stunned that this is all happening ant once and I need advice. I’m quickly reaching the end of what I am financially capable of and, most importantly, I don’t want to put Charlie through much more of this if it’s going to permanently and negatively impact his comfort and quality of life.
