High Eosinophils In Older Cat?

movinintime

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Any idea of causes? Vet says maybe infection or allergy? Our cat of about 11-12 yrs old (unknown age as we caught in '09 as a stray) has crusty rims around her eyes over last yr or so. She sees our all-cat only vet 2x/yr.

Today she did bld work & again Eosinophils were high; like 1.03 so over the high end of ref. range of .10 to .79. Vet thinks it is caused by allergy & eyes are crusty rimmed due to this? Sound right?

Heartworms? Never knew this til googled it today. Uh oh but she is an all indoor kitty so unsure if this is cause? She eats RadCat raw food daily & no other food in diet as of now, til I run out of leftover tubs of raw RadCat.
 

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I was just looking this, among other WBC elements, up minutes ago. Here is the actual description I found in the document (link below):

EOSINOPHILS are a type of white blood cells of the immune system. An elevation in absolute or total eosinophils can indicate allergy disorders, parasitism, and some skin and intestinal disorders.

Understanding Your Cat's Blood Work Results - All Feline Hospital located, 2300 S. 48th St. Suite 3 Lincoln, NE 68506

There are numerous other things that fall into the 'parasitic' description - not just heartworms, so unsure why you brought that specific one up... But, it does sound like it could be related to the eye issue/allergy. If it were an infection, I would have thought a few of the other elements (as you will see noted in the above link) would have been elevated as well.

Did the vet consider testing the content of the 'crusty stuff' around her eyes?
 
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movinintime

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Yes, she did try to take a sample (smear of the dried skin around eyes) but it is hard to do near eyes w/out cat pulling away. She felt it too close & unsafe near the eyes. She did scrape a bit off but not enough, I think, to try to eval it. She isn't sure what this is & advised to watch it for 6 mos. unless gets worse then call asap. It has not gotten worse since Jan. & I will compare old test from 1/'19 to these white bld cell counts. TY again & more to come. :)
 

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You do frequently take a damp cloth and wipe the crusty stuff away, right? I am sure you do, just had to ask though - sorry!! :blush:

Edited: Btw, I found this description of blood work up to be much better in terms of providing more details/explanations.

How to Interpret Your Pet's Bloodwork - The Meowing Vet

I also came across a comment on one of the web sites that stated:
Eosinophils are often elevated when a cat has parasites or an allergic reaction. Basophils aren't very common and tend to appear in cases of parasite infection, particularly in animals with heartworm.

Did your cat also have a basophils reading? Maybe that is why you mentioned heartworm.
 
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movinintime

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Yes on wiping!LOL

No, on high Baso's as they are very low. Good news there, yes?
 

FeebysOwner

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No, on high Baso's as they are very low. Good news there, yes?
You would think, but even though Feeby's eosinophils were high, her basophils count was 0. I guess that just means your cat might have a better chance of worms than mine!! So, it doesn't really tell us anything - figures!!! Ain't that the way this stuff works?!?!
 
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movinintime

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I cant find old bld work from 1/17/19 to compare but i'm thinking it as not high then. It seems allergy related says vet so I will keep a close watch to see if I can isolate things causing it at home. But really nothing new since last few yrs as far as exposure to things around here. hmm, I'm stuck..
 
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movinintime

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Found them all way back for last many yrs. Ok, in 1/17/19 they were well w/ in normal. So, just a weird flareup I guess.

The test prior in mid '18 shows also lower then yesterdays, & in 2017 even lower & in 2016 the lowest, period of all the recent ones back 4 tests ago.

But in 2015 it was higher than 2016 (in 2016 when it went down) so shot up from 2014 which tho & 2014 was lowest of all tests back in 2014. So trending upward.. sorta.

Wonder if I should ask vet re this asp? I can try to call her?
 

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Do you recall if there were any issues going on before when the results were higher? When - but not always - Feeby has had a UTI the associated white blood counts were typically elevated.

After that, you could always call and ask if there are things to be on the look out for since the counts are climbing recently. Just to see what the vet thinks. I call any time I want to know something - after all, why not?
 

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My cat used to test high for eosinophils when she was younger. The vet always said it was allergy-related. A while back I started changing her food to grain-free, certain proteins, etc. and they haven't been high since.
 
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movinintime

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TY both & I will call & I will stop ANY kibble, as it is a treat as I use ONLY very god remaining raw RadCat but over the past few months been using Purina Naturals dry kibble as treats. A tiny daily amount but maybe it is a no no.

Yes, I too bother my vet alot but then again have spent 1000's of $ since 2012 when she had I-131 radiation done for hyperthyroid back then. Ok, on to call. :)
 
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