Hi Kim, I just now read about Cole's situation and we had a similar situation here last month, except the kitty had hemobartanella (a blood parasite very common to FeLV+ kitties and causes anemia) in it's blood. Hemobartanella is very difficult to diagnose because one minute it will show up on a slide under the microscope, the next it's gone. So often positive kitties are diagnosed negative. It is standard procedure to put kitties with anemia on a 3 week round of doxycycline, even without a positive test for hemobart. This is what turned this other kitty around last month. I would caution you about starting with Epogen right away, only because sometimes cats' immune system begins to resist it and it can worsen the anemia in this case. Epogen also takes 2-3 weeks to kick in, so if you do use it, your kitty may need a blood transfusion in the meantime to give the Epogen time to work. Did the vet say what time of anemia it is? That's very important. Usualy regenerative anemia is associated with hemobartanella. Non-regenerative is more associated with bone marrow issues. But neither one of those is set in stone because I think we've seen a few cases that were the opposite here. Call you vet and find out and let us know. And you might repost with a subject line of 'Epogen?' or something similar so that those who have used it can chime in with their expertise. I've never had to use it. I did lose a kitty to anemia though before I knew all of these things. It was hard and anemia is very serious. 11% is low, and you were right to take Cole in to the vet. Good for you. I also agree that Cole should be assist-fed if he is not eating. That is very important because cats can quickly develop feline hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) and it makes them very sick. So eating is essential! B12 shots can help stimulate appetite, and steroids shots can too, as well as make kitty feel better. Prednisolone is one of them. Winstrol is another steroid that is supposed to help stimulate red blood cell production. Please keep us posted and if you have any other questions, please ask. We're here to help! :) Wendy
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world - indeed it is the only thing that ever has!" ~~~ Margaret Meade ~~~ ----- Original Message ---- From: Kim Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "felvtalk@felineleukemia.org" <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 9:52:55 AM Subject: [Felvtalk] (no subject) I took Cole to the vet this afternoon and I think it confirmed my worries. He has lost almost 2 lbs since June 24th. The vet did a complete blood count to see what his status is and his anemia is worsening at a very fast rate and if it does not increase his body will give out soon. His hemoglobin level was at a critical level of 11% this afternoon, where as a month and a half ago it was 20% and in May it was 31%. She said by the look of his blood work, his bone marrow has been greatly affected by the leukemia and his body is not making very many red blood cells anymore, if any. There was some concern that he might be developing a mass of some kind in his abdomen, but thankfully at this time nothing showed up on the xray. We are going to try to give him a little longer to get better by giving him Epogen shots which should increase his red blood cell production. At this time though it is unclear if his bonemarrow is to damaged to even make more red blood cells, but we will see. At this time he is still very weak and does not move around much, but he still purrs non stop and its as lovable as ever...which makes it that much harder to think of the end. I know that the shots will only improve the length of time he lives and will never cure him, but I am hoping it at least gives him enough energy to have a happy life. The vet said that if he lives through this week, then hopefully he can show a little bit of improvement. Thank you all for you support and words of advice. I am still terrified of knowing that I will lose my best friend sometime in the near future, but at least I get to spend time with him now. Here is a picture of my angel. Please pray for him. All of your kitties are in my thoughts and prayers and I am glad to know there are other people with hearts filled with enough love to take care of these wonderful kitties. Kim _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
