Epogen should be given 3 times a week to start *one dose will do
nothing*, It sounds like your vet isn't familiar with how to use
epogen. It should be given 3 times a week and ONLY once the cat is in
the normal range should that number be lowered. Bailey got it 3 times a
week for about 8 weeks, then it went to twice a week for a few weeks and
then we went to once a week. He was still getting it once a week when
he passed from cancer. He had been getting it for about 5 months and
his HCT was still normal at 33% when the cancer took him.
Like I said *almost ALL* cats will have a drop in their HCT when they
start epogen for the first 2 to 5 weeks, it can take 2 to 5 weeks to
work, average is 2 or 3 weeks for it to kick in and in that time the HCT
almost always drops, many vets will stop the epogen at that point
thinking it's an antiboby reaction. But I do know of a cat that took
over 5 weeks and the standard starting dose wasn't enough for this cat,
luckily her vet figured it out and upped the dose, the cat reversed it's
anemia.
Another cat I know on the feline lymphoma list who had CRF related
anemia problems along with his cancer lived 2 years on epogen before the
cancer came out of remission for a 3rd time and took him.
--
Belinda
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