[Felvtalk] Please help! Anemic felv kitty, what can be done??

Fri Feb 27 15:26:00 CST 2015

Belinda,
Was Bailey diagnosed with kidney disease or did his bloodwork indicate that
anything was amiss with his kidneys?  I did come across Epogen in my
research, but the doctor overseeing his care following the first
transfusion insisted it's only for anemia resulting from renal disease and
they wouldn't administer it to him because it could potentially cause a
reaction.  Not sure if I can convince a different doctor to try it, but I
am curious as to whether or not it could work in cats with perfectly
functioning kidneys.

Very sorry for your loss, btw. What a horrible disease this is.

On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 3:41 PM, Belinda <macat at bemikitties.com> wrote:

>      When my Bailey was anemic and yes it was non regenerative anemia, we
> tried Epogen, it kept his HCT within normal range, I have also used
> Procrit, when my CRF kitty was anemic.  My vet didn't think it would do any
> good but I figured what did we have to lose except his life .... he lived
> for months until the cancer we could diagnose took him.  We knew he had
> cancer but non of the tests or ultra sounds gave us a definitive
> diagnosis.  After he passed my vet did a necropsy and he had pancreatic
> cancer which I suspected because he didn't want to eat and sometimes his
> tube feedings seemed to bother him.
>
> There is also something called Eprex, which I have not heard of or used.
>
>
> On 2/27/2015 12:21 PM, Katherine K. wrote:
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 3:00 PM, N. E. Juskowich <nej917 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Time is of the essence for us and I need to know if there's something
>> else that can be done for my sweet little just-turned-one-year-old boy.  He
>> had a PCV of 12% and received a blood transfusion, his PCV went up a
>> little, then back down, then up to 17% over the course of 24 hours.  He was
>> put on 7.5 mg. prednisone, 25 mg. mycophenolate, 18.75 mg. plavix (to
>> prevent clots from the pred/mycophenolate combo), 25 mg. doxycycline (in
>> case of mycoplasma infection), and 5 mg. famotidine to prevent GI issues
>> from the pred.
>>
>>  His anemia is currently non-regenerative with two most likely potential
>> causes: he was agglutination positive, a sign of immune mediated red blood
>> cell destruction; he may have leukemia in the marrow.  We did not do a bone
>> marrow aspirate because cancer would be too advanced at this stage, the
>> severe anemia indicating this to be the case.  The doctor said it could
>> take a few days of immunosuppressant therapy for the bone marrow to
>> respond.
>>
>>  Two days after the PCV of 17% we had a recheck and it is now down to
>> 14%.  He is going to receive another transfusion.
>>
>>  I need to know as quickly as possible: Is there anything else that can
>> be done at this stage?  I was looking into treatment with TCyte (LTCI), but
>> my vet said it would be a waste of time and money.  I'd read on a forum
>> that a severely anemic felv kitty responded very well to the drug and I
>> would've been willing to give it a shot.  My vet is of the opinion that I
>> should not have bothered with this second transfusion (he had to go to
>> emergency hospital for it) and the TCyte is "hogwash".  I'm sitting here
>> feeling hopeless and wondering if this really is the end and what do I do
>> now if he doesn't respond to the transfusion.
>>
>>  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  No sugar coating necessary,
>> but please be gentle.  If nothing can be done, what can I do for him to
>> keep him happy and comfortable?  Will he need euthanized or will he pass
>> peacefully?
>>
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>>
>
>
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>
> --
>
> Belinda
> happiness is being owned by cats and Emma ...http://MyFundit.com/sitehttp://FreeAnimalRescueWebsite.orghttp://HostDesign4U.com
>
>
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