I am going to talk to Monkee's regular vet (Dr. Jones) about this because I am worried. And I don't like how I was pretty much told to give up on a cat that doesn't look clinically sick! What dying cat eats a human-sized portion of raw hamburger meat and chicken livers (with gusto!)?! And has enough energy to rip the chicken livers to shreds! Come on!
Thanks for your insight- both of you. I didn't know there was a feline anemia list serve. I will try that too...
-Caroline
From: Belinda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: To Belinda: Re: Anemia Issues
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:20:45 -0700
       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 happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candlelight Service http://bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting & web design] http://HostDesign4U.com ------------ BMK Designs [non-profit animals websites] http://bmk.bemikitties.com
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