[Felvtalk] Merlot

[Maya D'Alessio]

Thanks Marsha. Yeah it seems somewhat common for thrombocytopenia to
develop in FeLV cats. I am assuming that it means it's not a good sign
overall for his longer term health. I am hoping to hear of a miracle drug
to get his platelets back up, then hope his body can keep it up.

His platelets were much less than the 200 low limit of the normal range.
They tested twice and got 38 and 64, and they did a smear just to confirm
there wasn't platelet clumping.


On Sun, Oct 18, 2015 at 3:34 PM, Marsha <martia at lynxe.com> wrote:

> Treatment depends on the cause of the low platelet count.  If it's low
> enough that blood can't clot properly, he could develop internal bleeds
> from minor events, and become anemic or worse.  If the cause was his immune
> system attacking his own platelets, the treatment might be prednisolone to
> suppress his immune system.  But if he's FeLV+, that's not so likely.
> Platelet deficiency is called thrombocytopenia.
>
> Marsha
>
>
> On 10/18/2015 1:54 PM, Maya D'Alessio wrote:
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> Merlot is my 3.5 year old cat. Last summer my other cat passed away from
> FeLV (we had no idea she had it), and we had Merlot tested. He tests + on
> the snap/pcr test, but - on the ELISA. This gave me a little bit of piece
> of mind, in the hope that he would not become persistently +.
>
> Last night he was completely uninterested in dinner (very unusual for
> him), and he seemed a bit warm and lethargic. I took him in to the vets
> this morning and they wanted to do bloodwork. He has a temperature of 40.5
> C. First results come back all normal except a very low platelet count.
>
> They gave him a small dosage of prednisone, and a shot of penicillin and
> sent me home with doxycillin and some food to force feed him if he won't
> eat on his own. They want me to watch him and come back in to the vets in 3
> days to re-test his blood.
>
> Any experience with low platelet count, what that means and if there is
> any treatment?
>
> --
> Maya D'Alessio
> PhD student
> B1 377B, x32320
> Graduate Studies Endowment Fund Coordinator
> Biology GSA Vice Chair
> GSA Director At-Large
> University of Waterloo
>
>
>
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>


-- 
Maya D'Alessio
PhD student
B1 377B, x32320
Graduate Studies Endowment Fund Coordinator
Biology GSA Vice Chair
GSA Director At-Large
University of Waterloo
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