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 effects....he 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 http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
