Just by way of background info: March 9, I took Tomi to the vet and found out he had Hemobartonella, Feline Leukemia, and a red blood count of 9. The did a transfusion, bringing his count up to 13. He started taking Doxycycline, and Prednisone, 2 pills per day.
One week later, his red blood cells were up to 17, and his Prednisone was dropped to 1 pill per day. In another week, his red blood cells were 19, and the vet stopped giving him the Prednisone. I've noticed since he stopped the Prednisone that he became a little less active, and when he went to the vet today, his red blood cells had dropped to 17. The vet gave me another bottle of Prednisone, and I am supposed to continue giving him 1 per day. Giving him this drug scares me, because I am afraid it will weaken his immune system too much. I am also giving him Interferon (1cc per day), 1/4 tsp Mega C Plus, 1 Transfer Factor capsule, and about 1/2 capsule of L-lysine. I've been giving these for 1-2 weeks in baby food. I asked the vet about Erythopotein, and she didn't think it would be of much help since she didn't think Tomi's bone marrow was healthy enough to respond to it. I could probably insist that we try it though if it might help. The vet thinks that the FeLV is responsible for destroying the blood cells in Tomi's bone marrow. I was really hoping that once we got rid of the Hemobartonella, that Tomi's red blood count would get back to normal, but it looks like that may not be the case. This is so hard to deal with on a daily basis, never knowing if he's going to get better, or if these are the last days I will get to spend with him. Each kitty on this list that passes away brings tears to my eyes, and I can't help but wonder if my little boy might be next. If anyone has a suggestion of what else I might be able to do to help him, I would be greaty appreciative. Cassandra
