[Felvtalk] Buzzy is Anemic

[Belinda Sauro]

      Bailey was on the other name for the procrit, it is epogen.  
Bailey bacame anemic and we did a bone marrow aspirate and tested for 
hemobartonella.  I had him on doxy even though he tested negative.  He 
had precancerous cells in his marrow and the oncologist my vet consulted 
with, he was her mentor in vet school, said to put him on epogen and a 
fairly high dose of prednisolone, where I live it is a bit cheaper than 
procrit.  His HCT went down before it went up, we started the epogen 
when it was 18%, it went to 15%, then started going up.  When he passed 
from undiagnosed pancreatic cancer, his HCT was still normal at 32% or 33%.

It is normally dosed at 3 times a week to start, with the cat being 
carefully monitored to make sure it doesn't go up too quickly.  It took 
6 weeks for Bailey's HCT to go from 15% to 40%, once it got to 40% we 
spread the dose to once a week, that kept it at 32% to 34% which is 
normal.  It is fairly common for the HCT to go down and can take up to 3 
weeks, with some cats even longer, before it goes up.

We did every test we could think of to find the cancer we suspected, my 
vet didn't feel comfortable treating for cancer without knowing what 
kind or where.  We never found it, it was upon his death we found out 
what and where.

If you don't do something quickly Buzzy will die, if he is having 
breathing problems he is in extreme danger.  I lost my Frankie to this 
when he started breathing funny I took him to the vet, his HCT was 6%, 
my then vet didn't express to me how dangerous this or how close to 
death he was, so I took him home to decide whether or not to do the 
transfusion, he died that night.

-- 

Belinda
happiness is being owned by cats ...

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