------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Jennifer Dykhouse <redg...@hotmail.com> To: <felvtalk-ow...@felineleukemia.org> Subject: Blood transfusion on Felv+ cat Date sent: Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:17:45 -0500
Hello everyone, I thought I'd let you know how the blood transfusion helped/didn't help my Felv+ cat, so that if you need to reach that decision, you can see my example. The day before we did the blood transfusion, Mr. Darcy's hematocrit count was at 7 (I was told that 30 is the lowest you can be and still be healthy). He was extremely lethargic and as a result would eat. He lost 2 pounds in a month (even with us assist feeding him) and he was starting to catch a respiratory bug. Right after the transfusion, which cost 800 dollars and took about 5 hours, his hematocrit was at 17. That's great, but I am upset. I was thinking he'd be brought up to a healthy level, not just a slightly better level. He had perked up and he is eating turkey baby food now, but he still is extremely tired and now he has balance troubles. What I am most upset with was the lack of information from my vet and the animal hospital. When told about the blood transfusion by my normal vet, she made it sound like he'd be back at a healthy level and that it could work for months and that it was perfectly safe. When we were handing him over to the vet at the hospital, he finally told me that Mr. Darcy could die during the procedure and that it may only last a few hours, days. I am furious. It makes me feel like money is more important then informing the owner. I have decided to not do any more transfusions due to the fact that he's in the last stage of his illness and going to the vet really stresses him out. He won't eat for the rest of the day and since the transfusion may only give him days, I would rather have him enjoy his last days/weeks. So right now, we're at the point where the most we can do is get him to eat and sleep and to pet him and love him as much as we can. Now, your cat may have a different experience, but I just wanted to tell my story. Jennifer and Mr. Darcy ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
