Merlin is sick

[fleafly]

Merlin has been sick for the last 3 weeks or so, it has been up and down. He gets really sick, then gets a little better, then gets really sick again. The vet is very perplexed about what is wrong with him. They drew some blood and the values are all sorts of funky.

He is severely anemic, but has a lot of white blood cells. Everything else is indicative of kidney problems, except his kidney values are normal. Every diagnosis is like that; it could be this except one thing doesn't fit. His electrolytes were way out of balance which is highly abnormal.

They are doing a test to see if his body is making red blood cells or not to try to figure why he is anemic.

I just hope they can figure out what is wrong with him. I thought I was going to lose him 3 or 4 times already. I really want to know what is wrong, and hopefully it can be treated.

I thought I would post in case any one else has ever had a cat with weird symptoms like Merlin's.

[Chessmind]

Hi Fleafly. I'm so sorry about Merlin. Let us know what the RBC results are. I'm sure Merlin is in good hands with your vet. She'll figure out what's going on with him. You already got a blood sample. Did she take a stool sample as well? If so was that okay? All the best to Merlin.

[nern]

I'm sorry to hear this Fleafly...how frustrating. I hope the vet can figure out whats going on with him and get him better. I'll keep you and Merlin in my thoughts.

[vene]

Fleafly, I'm so sorry that Merlin is so sick. I wish I can help. I was surfing the net and found some info that I'm sure you already know:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/anemia.html

http://www.catmom.com/marina/articles/hornfeldt.html

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the vet finds out what's wrong with Merlin.

[fleafly]

Thanks for the sympathy. Merlin started getting really sick at the same time that I had to put the bunny down, so it has been a stressful few weeks.

I will post the RBC results as soon as I get them. I managed to get a stool and a urine sample. The stool sample was normal except for having a lot of mucous. The only thing remarkable in the urine was the presence of protein. That would tend to indicate kidney problems, but again his kidney values are normal.

The article on anemia I have already read, but the one about the Bentonite poisoning is very interesting. The bloodwork listed for the betonite cat doesn't quite match Merlin's, but I will mention it to my vet and see what she thinks. I have been doing a lot of research and asking her a lot of questions and she doesn't mind.

She is a very good vet, but like I said she is perplexed. She consulted another vet in town and he was equally perplexed. I am going to call the Cornell Vet Feline Medical Center in the morning and ask about a consultation. They see more weird diseases, so the bizarre blood results might ring a bell with them. Merlin has always been a little odd, he has gingivitis and a malformed eye duct, but this is weird even for him. His sodium and chloride levels were so high that the lab re-checked them to make sure they didn't make a mistake in the test.

At least the RBC test will tell us what type of illness is causing the anemia. I had him checked today, and he is a little more anemic than when they drew the blood on Friday. So far the only thing that might fit is FIP, and that is b/c FIP can have a ton of different symptoms. I hope it isn't that b/c there isn't anything you can do. I will post any new info when I get it.

[fridaylove]

I am sorry to hear about your kitty, sounds like you are doing everything that you can to find out what's up and to get him treated so he will feel good.

I am going to do a search for this but I have seen a few posts saying "FIP" what is that????

[fleafly]

FIP is Feline Infectious Perotinitis, it is an illness caused by the corona virus. A cat has to be exposed to it between 6 and 20 weeks of age, then if they are re-exposed sometime during their life they get sick. Usually this happens in the first 3 years of life. It has a variety of symptoms, and since it is virus, there is no treatment.


Well, the test results I was waiting for are back. They did a Red Blood Cell count with the first blood work, and it is 3.33 (normal 5.92-9.93). The test they were doing was a reticulocyte count, the immature red blood cells, that came back as 0.3% (normal <1%). So that means his body isn't producing enough red blood cells, also called non-regenerative anemia. My vet consulted with the other vet again and they think it might be a chronic haemobartonella infection, which is interesting b/c I asked if that could be the problem a few days ago and she dismissed it. It's not a big problem here but she saw a lot of cases in Texas, and the cats were all jaundiced, which Merlin isn't, but apparently they can also be really pale from the anemia. Merlin is from Texas so he could have picked it up there as a kitten and been carrying it, some sort of stress could have brought on the clinical disease.

So we have switched him over to doxycycline and put him on prednisone to keep his immune system from destroying the red blood cells he does have. If he isn't better tomorrow, he will need a blood transfusion or oxyglobin to boost his red blood cells and oxygen levels. We are also going to draw some blood to test specifically for Haemobartonella.

I consulted with Cornell Vet today and the Dr. basically mentioned all of the things my vet had. He didn't have the reticulocyte results though, so I will fax those to him tomorrow. He was very nice and went over all of the blood test results with me and explained why they might be abnormal. When Merlin is stable again, I think I will consult with them on the best treatment for his gingivitis. They provide a very good service.

I will let you guys if anything changes. Hopefully the doxycycline will help.

[nern]

Thanks for the update Fleafly. I hope Merlin is stable soon.
Best wishes.