Re: Uh-oh-oh update -pls help!!

[Lernermichelle]

First of all, hematocrit is different from PCV a little bit, but I am not sure how. Hematocrit is tested only on machine, I think, while PCV can be hand-spun.  The results sometimes differ when tested on  machine or by hand, and the hand spinning is considered more acurate.   I think the HGB, hemoglobin, has to do with iron. I am not sure, though. I would guess, with my very limited knowledge about this, that there is an iron deficiency of some sort. I myself have a low hemoglobin due to iron deficiency anemia, though my hematocrit is close to normal.  When I tested this way, the doctor made me get a colonoscopy and endoscapy to rule out bleeding in my GI tract from an ulcer or polyps or colon cancer. When that came back negative, I was told to just stay on iron supplements and try to eat better.  I also think I may not have been absorbing iron correctly because of an acid-blocking medication I took every day. Since taking it less frequently, my hematocrit and hemoglobin have both gone up.   I think it would be hard for cats to have iron deficiency from diet, because they eat mostly meat (and it sounds like mostly steak at your house!). So I would ask about possible GI tract bleeding like an ulcer or polyps, and about what kind of conditions might interfere with iron absorbtion in cats. Michelle