Leona is back at home with a diagnosis of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and a handful of medication. During her stay at the hospital she received injections of Polyflex and Dexamethasone along with subcutaneous fluids to treat the dehydration.
The tests show she does not have Feline leukemia virus or Feline immunodeficiency virus which is very good news. The bad news is that her red blood cell count is extremely low. Her condition is rare but treatable.
She is doing very well now that she is home and has actually started to eat a little for the first time in three days. The only real problem is that I have to manually give her medication. If you have ever tried to force cat to take a pill or liquid antibiotics you know it is a very unpleasant task. My first run at it resulted in a few minor scratches and a very unhappy cat. I suppose it will get easier with subsequent attempts at least I hope it will anyway.
Leona will have to go back to the doctor a few times over the next couple of months for blood tests to make sure her red blood cell count is doing better. I will have to make some serious adjustments to account for the lack of budget for something like this but Leona is very important to us.
My cat, Gus, was just diagnosed with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia too. It was really a shock when he got so sick. I guess I just never expected him to get sick since he is only 3 and has always been so healthy.
How is your Leona doing? Did it get any easier giving her the pills. Gus is definitely not a fan, but really hasn’t had the energy to fight me too much. Once his strength starts coming back, it could be a real challenge. I was thrilled today because he finally drank on his own (without me using an eyedropper) and he ate a little bit.
Any info you could provide would really be appreciated since there just doesn’t seem to be much out there.
Good luck and God Bless
Kathy
Kathy,
I’m sorry to hear that Gus has gotten sick. Leona is doing much better now. I’ve been meaning to update her blog about it (yes I know I’m a real geek when my cat has a blog!)
It took more than 3 weeks of recovery for her to get mostly back to normal. She never really liked taking the pills or the liquid medicine and as she recovered it was a little more of a fight. I assume your Vet showed you how to hold the him from the back of the head? This makes it much easier. When she started eating again I would make sure and give her a treat after each time I had to give her the medicine.
How long has Gus been sick and being treated?
If he has started eating & drinking on his own that is a very good sign! The recovery should be very noticeable from that point. Leona’s vet had me worried with this diagnosis, he told us that some cats just don’t recover and there was nothing that could be done if they did not. Fortunately did recover. It sounds like Gus is as well.
Leona was about 6 pounds when she was sick and now a couple months later she is closer to 8 pounds, very active and playful.
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I am so glad that Leona is doing well. You have given me some hope.
Gus just got sick on Tuesday. He seemed very lethargic, didn’t have much of an appetite and wanted to be alone. I took him to the vet on Tuesday and we had the results of the blood work up on Wednesday. We started the steroids right away, so he has only been on them 3 days. He seems a little worse tonight–just sleeps and won’t get up or drink. I’m hoping that he’s just exhausted from going to the vet again today.
My vet also worried me with the same prognosis, that some cats don’t recover. Plus, in an effort to learn more about this disease, I’ve read too much depressing stuff on the internet. My husband and daughters are worried about him too, but he has always been my cat, so I am having a very hard time with this.
Your response really helped. I will pray that Leona stays healthy.
Thank you!
I am so thankful I found this blog as I thought I was going crazy. I just took my cat Murray to the vet last week because of these same systems. He was very lethargic, lost a fair amout of weight and was just behaving like his normal, sassy self.
My vet did the blood work, but was absolutely clueass as to what was wrong, he never even mentioned that it could be anything like this. He had me scared to death that it was cancer or so and had me take him to an emergency vet where the kept him overnight and did a blood transfusion. While I’m thankful for all the help they gave me with him, the were never able to tell me completely what was wrong with him. They had me crying on my way to pick him up because it sounded like he was was not going to make it. All the tests they wanted to run, it would cost me a fortune. I ended paying over $1500 to the emergency vet and it was worth every penny because I had to make sure my Murray would be ok. But at the same time I wonder on how much they play on your emotions.
Murray is responding well to steroid therapy and antibiotics. Can I ask if Leona is still taking any kind of medication?
Thank you so much for this blog, you had just granted me my first good night sleep in I dont know how long!
Thank you, bless you, and I hope your cat is still doing well.
Traci
I’m so glad I found this site as well! I’ve been in tears for days now - my cat Oskar is and has been at the emergency vet for days now and they don’t know what is wrong with him. I think it might be AIHA from research I’ve done on the internet - all of the symptoms match. Can I ask each of you what your cats looked like as far as symptoms? Mine got to the point where he was turning yellow! Any info would be great! Unfortunately my experience with the emergency vets has been the same - they have not been very positive and I have been an utter mess because of it!
I’m so glad to hear your cats are doing well!
Chase
Hi Chase, Im very sorry to hear about Oskar. I really hope he gets better. I was told by the ER vet it could be an enlarged heart and that they wanted to do an EKG or that it could be caner and they wanted to do a bone biopsy. At that point I asked them if they had a clue what it was and they just could not give me an answer. I went so far as to have them do a blood transfusion (he definitely needed that to get his red blood cell back up) and an ultrasound of his stomach and spleen which yielded no info. After they told me the cost of everything I asked them point blank did they think Murray would be ok and they said no, probably not. Since he was not in any pain I told them no further testng, I would be picking him up and taking him home…which of course they did not want me to do because then they could not do all the expensive procedures they said needed to be done. The bone biopsy alone was over $700. They gave me some antibiotics (taken twice a day for 3 weeks) and some steroids. I can say thank you God because over a month later Murray is doing so well.
His initial systems were little to no appetite, very lethargic, and pale gums and of course a very low red blood cell count…sll signs of AIHA. I’m not sure what kind of testing they have done on Oskar but your best bet at this point might be to try just this simple therapy. Murray is now eating better, is way more active and his red blood cell count has gone up from 10 to 14 (last check up was over a week ago with the regular vet). Take care and let us know how he’s doing.
Traci
Hi Traci and Chase,
I hope and pray that all is well with your cats. I have hesitated responding, because things did not turn out well for my Gus. I lost him one month ago and have just not been up to writing anything. I decided to write now though, because I remember how desperate I was for information when he was first diagnosed with AIHA.
It happened so fast–I noticed one day that he just seemed to be very lethargic and did not want to lay on my lap as usual. He wouldn’t accept any kitty treats either. In looking back, I don’t think he had been eating well, but we have two other cats, and I just hadn’t noticed. I made an appointment with my vet the next morning. Gus was very anemic with absolutely no color in his gums and ears (he was an orange tabby). A blood test showed that his red blood cell count was very low. Further testing confirmed AIHA. My vet prescribed steroids and antibiotics. He said if Gus responded to treatment, I should notice an improvement within three days. He also said that he could make arrangements for a blood transfusion if I wanted to take Gus to an emergency vet. Because of the distance to the emergency vet, I decided to give the steroids a chance to turn around Gus’s immune system. Unfortunately, the steroids did not work for Gus. My vet assured me that even if I had taken Gus for the transfusion, the steroids were not working and the outcome would have eventually been the same. Maybe, but I’ll always wonder and question if I made the right decision–I would have done anything to keep my Gus safe.
Chase, my heart goes out to you. I know how awful it is not knowing exactly what is wrong or if you’re making the right decisions. Not a day goes by that I don’t cry over Gus. Even though we have two other cats, Gus was my cat and I think he loved me as much as I loved him. Sorry I’m babbling on about this, but I miss him so much. I pray that everything works out great for you and your Oskar and that he has a full recovery.
I’ll keep all of you in my prayers.
Kathy
Oh Kathy, I’m very sorry about Gus. My cat had all the same signs Gus did. He was very very pale and had a low RBC count. I think the best thing I did for him was get him the transfusion, bring him home and put him on steroids and antibiotics. I’m very sorry your kitty died.
Thanks so much for your comments, Traci. It helps to hear from someone who understands how hard it is to lose a pet.