Re: Update on Leeloo

[Lernermichelle]

Pet Tinic you buy at a vet's office, though it might also be available at places like Pet Smart.   I would take her for some blood work. She could have something like lymphoma, which is treatable to some extent and which, even if you decided not to treat with chemo, can be staved off for a little while in comfort with steroids.  Anemia could also indicate some kidney problems, as the kidneys normally excrete a hormone that stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells but sometimes stops doing so (there are medicines called Epogen and Procrit which can help if this is the problem).  It could also be Hemobartanella, which is a bacteria, I believe, that cats with FeLV are susceptible to and which causes severe anemia but which can be successfully cured with antibiotics if caught early enough.  In short, anemia is a symptom and not a diagnosis in itself, and you really need to find out the diagnosis at a regular vet's before you will be able to help her further.   So you are less anxious about the heavy breathing, I am not sure if you read the posts when I thought Simon was dying but he was trying to walk and falling down and gasping for breath due to the anemia. he is now able to walk, run, and jump without getting out of breath at all. I am not sure if he is less anemic or if the steroids are just temporarily making him more able to cope with the anemia.  But I wanted to tell you or remind you of this so that you know there is some hope that she will stop having so much trouble catching her breath.   Good luck and please keep us updated-- she and you are in my thoughts and I am sending her positive energy, Michelle