Have they been tested for hemobartanella, a bacterial infection that causes anemia and needs antibiotics? and have you tried steroids-- someone on this list has a positive who became anemic from destroyign her own red blood cells with an auto-immune reaction (which the oncologist thinks simon did as well) and shots of depomedrol for 6 months helped her cat reverse that condition and stop destroying her red blood cells. And then there is epogen/procrit if it is a kidney-related issue. And possibly most important, it is possible that the feline interferon that has to be imported from Europe will stop the anemia caused directly by the FeLV virus.
I have lost 2 to anemia, Simon whose anemia was lymphoma-related and Buddy whose anemia was either related to lymphoma or FIP (he never got a definitive diagnosis). Michelle In a message dated 2/8/05 9:12:20 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Michelle, I had one family - mom and 3 kittens. mom is going on 4 years old but doesn't have much time left. she is no longer producing red blood cells and her hematocrit is falling. her son hannibal is 3 years. he has had it since birth and his hematocrit is 10. he probably has only days left. her other kittens died at 9 months and 11 months, one from anemia and one from lymphoma. I also had another cat die at a bit over 1 (anemia) and i have 2 adults 2-3 that are still doing well. I don't think many people see how anemic these cats get. I do blood work on all mine every 3 months so i can see how they are doing. almost all of mine have died from the anemia. has anybody figured out a way to stop this? my vet has researched it over and over again. people have told me to do the liver shake, use pet tinic or iron supplements, etc. i don't do any of this because my vet tells me you can give the cat all the iron you want but if the bone marrow can't make the cells, it doesn't help. I don't want to keep giving my cats meds that don't help. if anybody has reversed the anemia, please let me know. I've considered transfusions but my vet says after 1 or 2 transfusions, you get too much cross-reactivity. >>
