Re: blood transfusion
I do know of one cat that has had many transfusions, more than 5, I think it was one of Hideyo's cats, I seem to remember her posting it on the anemia list I'm on. I believe it was because the epogen quit working or her vet thought the cat had developed aiitbodies. I will write her and ask to double check, this cat is alive and well though still with an extremely low HCT, she is doing good. The vets can't figure out what is causing her anemia. Did you get the answers you needed? Speaking specifically about anemic cats who are FeLV+, blood transfusions are probably given every 10 days, and probably not more than 3 times. This is only knowledge I have gleaned from what I've seen here in the past two years and might not be completely right. Some vets won't even do more than 2 transfusions. -- 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
RE: blood transfusion
The vet I was taking Monkee to wouldn't do more than 2 transfusions. We only did one. When it wore off, it wore off bad. I realize now that Monkee was suffering much more than he let on and I just didn't know it at the time because he was such a toughie, with a real zest for life. I think psychologically, when you have a very anemic cat, the blood transfusion effects can be really hard to deal with. Monkee had lymphosarcoma at the same time and I wonder now if that was causing him pain and difficulty more than the anemia. In the future, I personally would only consider multiple transfusions (ignoring the cost for the sake of my hypothetical) maybe if anemia is the only thing a cat is suffering from. In hindsight, I feel like we were keeping something going that shouldn't have kept going and I think the fact that he died in my arms before we could even get him to a vet exactly 14 days after the transfusion, was proof of that. His body literally was not making and red blood cells at all and he needed that replacement blood to even function. But it's just a replacement and the body uses it up. So psychologically, it was really hard on me to see this cat I loved more than anything be normal again for a while just because he'd been given some replacement blood. And then to witness the effects of the transfusion wearing off slowly...very hard to endure. I just think doing a blood transfusion really needs to be thought through, especially if you have a cat who's Felv and anemia is maybe the least of his problems...like it was in Monkee's case. -Caroline Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:05:48 -0700 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: blood transfusion I do know of one cat that has had many transfusions, more than 5, I think it was one of Hideyo's cats, I seem to remember her posting it on the anemia list I'm on. I believe it was because the epogen quit working or her vet thought the cat had developed aiitbodies. I will write her and ask to double check, this cat is alive and well though still with an extremely low HCT, she is doing good. The vets can't figure out what is causing her anemia. Did you get the answers you needed? Speaking specifically about anemic cats who are FeLV+, blood transfusions are probably given every 10 days, and probably not more than 3 times. This is only knowledge I have gleaned from what I've seen here in the past two years and might not be completely right. Some vets won't even do more than 2 transfusions. -- 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 _ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmailnews
Re: blood transfusion
Caroline, I remember Monkee and all the heartache you guys went through. I would be doing all positives a disservice though if I didn't make a point about what my vet told me and I have personally seen happen with some cats on the lists I'm on. Sometimes for what ever reason it takes 2 or 3 or more transfusions to kick start a cats blood production, my vet told me she has done up to 5 transfusions on the same cat with no ill effects. Of course you still need to find out what is causing the anemia so you can hopefully fix it. Baileys anemia was his first symptom of the cancer we couldn't find until after he passed BUT we did reverse the non-regenerative anemia with epogen and prednisolone, his HCT was normal (33% from a low point of 15%) when the cancer took him.* * I didn't need to do a transfusion with Bailey because I did a bone marrow aspirate to find out what was causing the anemia and treated accordingly. Every cat I've lost has taught me something in hindsight that I and my vet missed at the time, I wish my guys weren't the ones that had to pay with their lives but I know one thing, if I ever hear of a cat having the same symptoms or God forbid I have a cat with like symptoms, I will know what to tell them to look for, doesn't mean they will but I will make the effort to let them know. -- 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
RE: blood transfusion
I know, you are also right. But I didn't want to make Monkee go through the bone marrow aspirate because he'd already been through so much, since we did Chemo on him (which, in hindsight, I will NOT do again with another animal). I'm sure it's possible the chemo itself brought up the anemia, but he had the lump on his leg that was only getting bigger with chemo (which the Dr. was shocked by) and by the time we did the transfusion, he had lumps in his stomach and groin area, so the cancer was clearly spreading- despite chemo. The Doctor was almost positive it was the cancer causing the anemia and at the time, I was so disenchanted with her, I didn't really listen. But I'm sure now that she was right. We felt like a bone marrow aspirate would just tell us what we already knew, but didn't want to admit. I guess my point was really that the blood transfusions are so emotionally taxing. -Caroline Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:27:21 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: blood transfusion Caroline, I remember Monkee and all the heartache you guys went through.I would be doing all positives a disservice though if I didn't make a point about what my vet told me and I have personally seen happen with some cats on the lists I'm on.Sometimes for what ever reason it takes 2 or 3 or more transfusions to kick start a cats blood production, my vet told me she has done up to 5 transfusions on the same cat with no ill effects. Of course you still need to find out what is causing the anemia so you can hopefully fix it. Baileys anemia was his first symptom of the cancer we couldn't find until after he passed BUT we did reverse the non-regenerative anemia with epogen and prednisolone, his HCT was normal (33% from a low point of 15%) when the cancer took him. I didn't need to do a transfusion with Bailey because I did a bone marrow aspirate to find out what was causing the anemia and treated accordingly.Every cat I've lost has taught me something in hindsight that I and my vet missed at the time, I wish my guys weren't the ones that had to pay with their lives but I know one thing, if I ever hear of a cat having the same symptoms or God forbid I have a cat with like symptoms, I will know what to tell them to look for, doesn't mean they will but I will make the effort to let them know.-- 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 _ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmailnews
Re: blood transfusion
Similar with my vet - limited # of transfusions. But it didn't have any ill effects on mine, only positive, then after a time they went down again. Gloria On Oct 17, 2007, at 9:06 AM, Caroline Kaufmann wrote: The vet I was taking Monkee to wouldn't do more than 2 transfusions. We only did one. When it wore off, it wore off bad. I realize now that Monkee was suffering much more than he let on and I just didn't know it at the time because he was such a toughie, with a real zest for life. I think psychologically, when you have a very anemic cat, the blood transfusion effects can be really hard to deal with. Monkee had lymphosarcoma at the same time and I wonder now if that was causing him pain and difficulty more than the anemia. In the future, I personally would only consider multiple transfusions (ignoring the cost for the sake of my hypothetical) maybe if anemia is the only thing a cat is suffering from. In hindsight, I feel like we were keeping something going that shouldn't have kept going and I think the fact that he died in my arms before we could even get him to a vet exactly 14 days after the transfusion, was proof of that. His body literally was not making and red blood cells at all and he needed that replacement blood to even function. But it's just a replacement and the body uses it up. So psychologically, it was really hard on me to see this cat I loved more than anything be normal again for a while just because he'd been given some replacement blood. And then to witness the effects of the transfusion wearing off slowly...very hard to endure. I just think doing a blood transfusion really needs to be thought through, especially if you have a cat who's Felv and anemia is maybe the least of his problems...like it was in Monkee's case. -Caroline Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:05:48 -0700 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: blood transfusion I do know of one cat that has had many transfusions, more than 5, I think it was one of Hideyo's cats, I seem to remember her posting it on the anemia list I'm on. I believe it was because the epogen quit working or her vet thought the cat had developed aiitbodies. I will write her and ask to double check, this cat is alive and well though still with an extremely low HCT, she is doing good. The vets can't figure out what is causing her anemia. Did you get the answers you needed? Speaking specifically about anemic cats who are FeLV+, blood transfusions are probably given every 10 days, and probably not more than 3 times. This is only knowledge I have gleaned from what I've seen here in the past two years and might not be completely right. Some vets won't even do more than 2 transfusions. -- 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 Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! Try now!
RE: blood transfusion
Blood transfusions really are emotionally taxing. Olive was only given one, because at the time I took her to the vet, I had no idea what was wrong with her. The vet discovered she was extremely anemic, but didn't know why, and said that if I wanted her to live, she needed one. I didn't know until a couple days after the transfusion, when she was doing so much better, that she was positive. And only a day or two after that, when she had become her normal, extremely playful, semi-annoying self once again, she started going downhill. It was the most heartwrenching thing I've ever experienced. I thought I had saved her life, but I had only given her an extra few days of feeling better before fading again. I considered another transfusion, but after doing extensive research, I figured it would be a lost cause. I didn't want to put her through any more pain. Transfusions are good in live-threatening situations, but with non-regenerative anemia, they only postpone the inevitable, and not for long. -Megan -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Caroline Kaufmann Sent: Wed 10/17/2007 11:46 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: blood transfusion I know, you are also right. But I didn't want to make Monkee go through the bone marrow aspirate because he'd already been through so much, since we did Chemo on him (which, in hindsight, I will NOT do again with another animal). I'm sure it's possible the chemo itself brought up the anemia, but he had the lump on his leg that was only getting bigger with chemo (which the Dr. was shocked by) and by the time we did the transfusion, he had lumps in his stomach and groin area, so the cancer was clearly spreading- despite chemo. The Doctor was almost positive it was the cancer causing the anemia and at the time, I was so disenchanted with her, I didn't really listen. But I'm sure now that she was right. We felt like a bone marrow aspirate would just tell us what we already knew, but didn't want to admit. I guess my point was really that the blood transfusions are so emotionally taxing. -Caroline Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:27:21 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: blood transfusion Caroline, I remember Monkee and all the heartache you guys went through.I would be doing all positives a disservice though if I didn't make a point about what my vet told me and I have personally seen happen with some cats on the lists I'm on.Sometimes for what ever reason it takes 2 or 3 or more transfusions to kick start a cats blood production, my vet told me she has done up to 5 transfusions on the same cat with no ill effects. Of course you still need to find out what is causing the anemia so you can hopefully fix it. Baileys anemia was his first symptom of the cancer we couldn't find until after he passed BUT we did reverse the non-regenerative anemia with epogen and prednisolone, his HCT was normal (33% from a low point of 15%) when the cancer took him. I didn't need to do a transfusion with Bailey because I did a bone marrow aspirate to find out what was causing the anemia and treated accordingly.Every cat I've lost has taught me something in hindsight that I and my vet missed at the time, I wish my guys weren't the ones that had to pay with their lives but I know one thing, if I ever hear of a cat having the same symptoms or God forbid I have a cat with like symptoms, I will know what to tell them to look for, doesn't mean they will but I will make the effort to let them know.-- 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 _ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmailnews winmail.dat
RE: blood transfusion
Megan: I tried to prepare you for that when you first joined the list due to Olive's condition with relaying to you Monkee's experience. But it's never as bad as it is when you actually experience it yourself. Our experiences were similar in so many ways. -Caroline Subject: RE: blood transfusion Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:02:58 -0400 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Blood transfusions really are emotionally taxing. Olive was only given one, because at the time I took her to the vet, I had no idea what was wrong with her. The vet discovered she was extremely anemic, but didn't know why, and said that if I wanted her to live, she needed one. I didn't know until a couple days after the transfusion, when she was doing so much better, that she was positive. And only a day or two after that, when she had become her normal, extremely playful, semi-annoying self once again, she started going downhill. It was the most heartwrenching thing I've ever experienced. I thought I had saved her life, but I had only given her an extra few days of feeling better before fading again. I considered another transfusion, but after doing extensive research, I figured it would be a lost cause. I didn't want to put her through any more pain. Transfusions are good in live-threatening situations, but with non-regenerative anemia, they only postpone the inevitable, and not for long. -Megan -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Caroline Kaufmann Sent: Wed 10/17/2007 11:46 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: blood transfusion I know, you are also right. But I didn't want to make Monkee go through the bone marrow aspirate because he'd already been through so much, since we did Chemo on him (which, in hindsight, I will NOT do again with another animal). I'm sure it's possible the chemo itself brought up the anemia, but he had the lump on his leg that was only getting bigger with chemo (which the Dr. was shocked by) and by the time we did the transfusion, he had lumps in his stomach and groin area, so the cancer was clearly spreading- despite chemo. The Doctor was almost positive it was the cancer causing the anemia and at the time, I was so disenchanted with her, I didn't really listen. But I'm sure now that she was right. We felt like a bone marrow aspirate would just tell us what we already knew, but didn't want to admit. I guess my point was really that the blood transfusions are so emotionally taxing. -Caroline Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:27:21 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: blood transfusion Caroline, I remember Monkee and all the heartache you guys went through.I would be doing all positives a disservice though if I didn't make a point about what my vet told me and I have personally seen happen with some cats on the lists I'm on.Sometimes for what ever reason it takes 2 or 3 or more transfusions to kick start a cats blood production, my vet told me she has done up to 5 transfusions on the same cat with no ill effects. Of course you still need to find out what is causing the anemia so you can hopefully fix it. Baileys anemia was his first symptom of the cancer we couldn't find until after he passed BUT we did reverse the non-regenerative anemia with epogen and prednisolone, his HCT was normal (33% from a low point of 15%) when the cancer took him. I didn't need to do a transfusion with Bailey because I did a bone marrow aspirate to find out what was causing the anemia and treated accordingly.Every cat I've lost has taught me something in hindsight that I and my vet missed at the time, I wish my guys weren't the ones that had to pay with their lives but I know one thing, if I ever hear of a cat having the same symptoms or God forbid I have a cat with like symptoms, I will know what to tell them to look for, doesn't mean they will but I will make the effort to let them know.-- 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 _ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmailnews _ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmailnews
Re: blood transfusion
Not sure your vet knew this but the most reliable way to get all the cancer when it is on a limb is amputation of that limb and then possibly chemo. Animals do very well with missing limbs. -- 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
Re: blood transfusion
Hi Angela, Did you get the answers you needed? Speaking specifically about anemic cats who are FeLV+, blood transfusions are probably given every 10 days, and probably not more than 3 times. This is only knowledge I have gleaned from what I've seen here in the past two years and might not be completely right. Some vets won't even do more than 2 transfusions. Lance was right. The anemia has to be corrected and transfusions only buy time; they don't fix the problem. :) Wendy Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world - indeed it is the only thing that ever has! ~~~ Margaret Meade ~~~ - Original Message From: Angela B. [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 10:48:05 AM Subject: blood transfusion I would like to know how often FELV cats are given blood transfusions and how successful are they? Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting
Re: blood transfusion
Baileys anemia was Non regenerative and epogen and trednisolone brought it back to normal. For example, Epogen has been discussed on this list for FeLV+ cats with regenerative anemia. Someone will hopefully come along to give much better (and more specific) info than I have. -- 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
Re: blood transfusion
And there you have it. The power of the list. On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:32:17 -0700, Belinda [EMAIL PROTECTED] said: Baileys anemia was Non regenerative and epogen and trednisolone brought it back to normal. For example, Epogen has been discussed on this list for FeLV+ cats with regenerative anemia. Someone will hopefully come along to give much better (and more specific) info than I have. -- 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 -- Lance Linimon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: blood transfusion
I meant prednisolone epogen and trednisolone -- 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
Re: blood transfusion
Angela, I have not had experience with transfusions and cats. From what I've read, transfusions are usually given to FeLV+ cats when they are severely anemic. The transfusion may be successful, in that the kitty will feel much better for awhile. Unfortunately, this doesn't clear up the anemia. It simply buys time, and the effects wear off. There are folks on this list with experience who can tell you their own stories, and a compassionate and experienced vet should be able to tell you when a transfusion is needed and what kind of success they've seen. I can tell you that you want to do what you can to boost red blood cell counts with other measures. For example, Epogen has been discussed on this list for FeLV+ cats with regenerative anemia. Someone will hopefully come along to give much better (and more specific) info than I have. Lance On Oct 13, 2007, at 10:48 AM, Angela B. wrote: I would like to know how often FELV cats are given blood transfusions and how successful are they? Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail
