Dear Anita: If Anakin is severely anemic and you know he is FeLV+, did your vet do anything to determine the cause of his anemia? You said the vet mentioned his bone marrow is not producing RBC...did they do a test to determine that or is that just the vet's guesstimate? It is quite likely his anemia IS FeLV-induced and if his bone marrow is no longer producing enough RBC to make up for those being destroyed, there is little chance than any treatment will make a real diffrence. As the HCT continues to drop, a cat just gets weaker and weaker until the blood can no longer carry enough oxygen to sustain life and the organs begin to "suffocate" and shut down. A blood transfusion might buy a few days to a week or so, but it is only a temporary measure if his bone marrow cannot respond. A blood panel could tell you to what extent he is anemic...a Hematocrit of 9 or below is considered non-regenerative. I believe there is also some sort of test to confirm whether or not the bone marrow is still functioning. You might ask your vet about that.
In order to know if any treatment is likely to help, it is necessary to know what is causing the anemia. There are other things that can cause the HCT to drop that are treatable, such as the blood parasite hemobartonella, but it is sometimes difficult to detect and so some choose to give doxycycline just in case it might help. If the bone marrow is still able to produce RBC, it is possible Epogen and injectable steroids may help but that takes time to kick in and you would probably have to give him a transfusion or two to buy enough time to see if that would help. Epogen is more likely to be a viable treatment when the anemia is due to something like kidney failure and not FeLV-compromised bone marrow. There is also a chance a cat will develop antibodies and react badly to it. I believe one listmember found that Immunoregulin did help with an FeLV+ cat that was severely anemic, but not all vets are familiar with its use and I don't know if it was established for certain that her cat was truly non-regeneratively anemic. It all costs $$$ and any aggressive treatment is stressful to both you and the cat. I lost my very first FeLV+ furbaby to non-regenerative anemia. I tried interferon-alpha and other immune boosting supplements, but Purrsia failed so quickly there was nothing that could halt the progression. Accupuncture and some energy work by an animal communicator helped make her more comfortable and her crossing much more peaceful. She did not think she could get well from the get-go and was ready to leave her body, but I didn't want to believe there was nothing I could do to help her and asked her if she would give me time to try. She hung in there for another week, but it was to no avail and I had to honor her wishes and let her go. She crossed over on her own, very peacefully, within minutes of our last conversation with the AC. I don't know if you believe in telepathic communication with animals, but if I were you, I would ask Anakin how he feels about his condition and if he has decided he cannot get well and wants to leave his body, or if he is willing to keep trying. If he is not willing to fight to stay in his body, there is no point in putting him through a lot of treatment and assisted-feeding. I also find it is much easier for me to decide what to do after knowing how my furkid feels and, if they do have to leave, it is easier for me when I am able to say goodbye and let them go peacefully, knowing that is what they have chosen. I know how hard it is to just let them go...one never wants to give up "too soon" and not do whatever may be possible to give a beloved furkid every chance, but I think one must also be realistic and not put a critter through unnecessary stress and pain just for OUR sake. My own experience and that of others on this list is that with FeLV-induced non-regenerative anemia, it is an indication that the virus has recombined with the cat's DNA and mutated to one of the more virulent subgroups and there is no way to reverse that process...it is not a matter of if, but when, and the end ususally comes very soon. I will be praying that this is not the case for Anakin and that his anemia may not be of the non-regenerative sort. Anemia causes loss of appetite and depression. If he is still inclined to eat, a liver shake or some yogurt might be appealing to him. Someone else already mentioned Nutrical, a high-calorie, energy dense paste that has iron and B-vites and some cats actually like the taste and will lick it off your finger. It can be mixed with strained baby meat to make it nutritionally acceptable and can be readily fed with a cathether-tip syringe. Sometimes B-12 injections can stimulate the appetite. There are also drugs like cyproheptadine that stimulate the appetite but it is very gnarly tasting and the more drugs you give, that is just more toxins for the liver and kidneys to process. Only you and Anakin can decide what is best for him. Whatever you decide, try to keep him surrounded by positive and loving energy and keep him as comfortable as possible. Your love and comfort may be the very best you can do for him now. If you decide you would like to "talk" to Anakin, I can give you the name/number of an AC I have used with very good results. I will be keeping both of you in my prayers. Sally in San Jose
