Hey with respect to Benny,
In the cats in this situation that I have seen, a blood transfusion can really
help. If their hematocrit is really low (15) this can be very helpful. In
fact if the donor is a cat that has been given the felv vaccine, it may help
convey passive immunity against the virus in the recipient.
Also, interferon can have some absolutely horrendous side effects including
nausea and simply feeling lousy. In fact, in people, some patients cannot even
finish the course because of the side effects. Generally, however, they are
worse in the beginning and improve with time.
I would look at a blood smear to make sure there is no agglutination of the
RBCs, although it sounds like they have tested for hemobartonella - I would
still do a smear. Since, however, his WBCs, platlets and RBCs are all low, it
would suggest a primary bone marrow deficiency rather than something attacking
only the RBCs (as hemobartonella would do). Is there any indication of
regenerating RBCs in the blood work. This should be reported on a blood smear.
They are called reticulocytes. If there are, that is hopeful. It suggests
that the bone marrow is attempting to replace the lost cells.
I have never heard of doxy causing this problem so I can't add anything there,
sorry. If, however, it does appear that Benny has hemobartonella, there are
other abx. in that class of drugs that could be tried. Or perhaps there is an
injectable form - that I do not know.
It sounds like Benny you are doing a wonderful bit of nursing over there. Have
you tried baby food - make sure no onions are in it (worsens anemia)? Does he
have any interest in food at all? Have you tried offering dry food or cat
treats?
Good luck!!
Jenny
Belinda Sauro ma...@bemikitties.com wrote:
Hi, this was sent to the list but didn't make it, I am forwarding it,
please respond to April directly at * aprilpres...@verizon.net*
Hi. I am responding to a post by Wendy on 1/10/09 titled ‘Benny’…sorry,
I am not sure how to respond other than emailing…. Benny is doing the
same. Very anemic. He is still pretty lethargic and weak and won’t eat
much on his own. He did, however, gain 1 pound since I started assist
feeding him a/d prescription food. But I would give anything to get him
eating on his own again. Wendy asked if my vet put him on a 3 week round
of doxycycline for possible hemo, and no, he did not. Benny’s hemo tests
came back negative when we got him bloodwork done about a month ago. And
then on Christmas eve, we got him more bloodwork that showed his RBC
really low, (also his WBC and his platelet count was super low) but the
vet didn’t mention hemo then either. I asked the vet today if doxy would
be an option for Benny and he said he would be scared to give it to him
because of the side effectshe mentioned doxy can create throat
ulcers that if they burst could cause the cat to aspirate on their
food Has anyone ever heard of this? I am so confused as to what
treatment roads to take with Benny. So far, this is what he has gotten
since he got sick….(this is all over a 6 week period)
6 weeks of Immunoregulan injections
1 week of interferon (we added this just this past week)
1 week of Clavamox antibiotic (We also added this just this past week as
well)
Probiotics twice daily
Omega 3’s twice daily
Hi Vites twice daily
1 week of Nutri-Cal (a high calorie supplement) added to his food
2 weeks of Transfer Factor Plus
1 Injection of Cortisone (Trying to stimulate appetite)
1 Injection of B-12 (Just today for anemia and appetite)
Sub Q’s last weekend
1 can of a/d food syringed to him every 24 hours
I am scared of putting one more new thing into his system, but don’t
want to pass up on the chance to give him something (doxy) that might
really get him better. I believe it is severe anemia that we are
battling. We can’t afford Epogen shots and the vets say a blood
transfusion wouldn’t even be worth it because of it being so temporary.
Some days I think Benny is doing better and looking stronger, and some
days I think ‘how can he possibly go on being this weak. He still gets
up and walks around and goes up and down the steps to his litter box,
but aside from that he pretty much hides out behind the couch and stays
in one spot all day long. L He has been my best friend for 13 years and
I am not about to give up on him without doing everything I can. And I
can’t figure out if he is not eating on his own because he just won’t
eat or if I am stuffing his face with a syringe all day long and he is
too full to eat. But unfortunately, my gut tells me it is not the latter.
What should I do?
--
Belinda
happiness is being owned by cats ...
http://bemikitties.com
http://BelindaSauro.com
___
Felvtalk mailing list
Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
