Anemia - Regenerative Or Non Regenerative?

[spac]

I am getting desperate. How can I tell if my cat's anemia is regenerative or non-regenerative? Is there something in the lab results that can tell me? And yes, I have looked at felinecrf.org (I even have the book), but I'm not sure I'm understanding things.

I don't have access to the lab results right now, so this is from memory:
My cat's HCT is between 17-18 (low)
RBC - around 4 (low)
HGB - around 5 (low)
The reticulocytes are around 6 with the percentage being 0.2% (this number is exact).

I'm just tired of watching the poor thing go downhill. The vet is only recommending antibiotics for an unknown infection. The BUN and creatinine aren't that bad.

 

[foxxycat]

There's a PCR test they can do: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique used in molecular biology to amplify a single copy or a few copies of a segment of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence.

The antibiotics could be for a suspected case of a parasitic infection of Haemobartonellosis-
Parasitic Blood Infection (Haemobartonellosis) in Cats | petMD

This parasite attacks red blood cells.

The only thing I know that treats anemia would be a blood transfusion. Did they do a bone marrow aspiration to get more information about what's going on?

Many years ago I had a young cat get a sudden case of anemia-$3500 later we had no answers. The PCR test just showed the bone marrow making blank copies of cells-she wasn't producing red blood cells-only these blank cells that were useless-they said it was a rare bone cancer-I never did the bone marrow test on her=I ended up doing a transfusion and she lasted 3 weeks. I ended up letting her go because her blood cells didn't come back and she tested negative for that Heamobartonellosis. Which was an easy treatment of doxycycline if it was that. We did try the doxy for the ten days but it didn't seem to make any difference.

You can ask about pet tinic- it's a liquid that has iron and other things-not sure if it helped but the vet had me give this. We fed her whatever she would eat. Some days she was weak and cold-anemia makes them cold so make sure they are warm and have quiet area to sleep. I am so very sorry you are at this point. What does the vet think?

My vet was very blunt with me when she got the test results from a regular Chem Profile/CBC. She recommended Euth but was willing to try a blood transfusion-we were hoping it was a blood parasite-but it wasn't meant to be. Flash was her name. She was a chocolate tortie-small cat. She was 7 lbs when it happened. She used to be 9.5 lbs. It's been almost 5 years and since then I have had a voracious appetite of learning vet medicine-I hope you find some answers to put things to rest.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Your Vet is the one who should be able to tell whether it's regenerative or non-regenerative, based on the tests above, and how to read them. I'm pretty sure they have to take multiple tests,though, at different time frequencies, to make that determination, to see the changes in the numbers (to see if anything is regenerating).

I know it's extremely frustrating when the exact cause of health issues cannot be determined. It happens in humans too. Sometimes the cause is never discovered, BUT if you are not confident in your Vet for any reason, then you should probably look for another one.

 

[foxxycat]

The other thing to ask about is prednisolone. Sometimes it has been known that a regiment of pred can stop the immune system from attacking it's own red blood cells. Sadly I never got the pills into my girl. We tried liquid pred and she literally held it in and spit it out--it broke my heart-but I decided not to medicate her-I think I knew what the end result was going to be.

You can ask to see an internal vet to get more answers...so very sorry again.

 

[foxxycat]

This site has some more information about anemia=but they focus in infectious anemia-they don't talk about non reg or regen type.

http://www.petwave.com/Cats/Health/Feline-Infectious-Anemia.aspx

The end of page has some treatment suggestions to help=maybe you can print this out and take to vet-sounds like you need a new vet-they usually should be able to tell If it's regen or non regen based on results from blood tests.

 

[babiesmom5]

Anemia is non-regenerative when the bone marrow FAILS to mount an adequate response to correct it. Conversely, anemia is regenerative when the bone marrow DOES mount an adequate response to correct it. A bone marrow aspirate and cytology can be performed to get more information as to the disease process.

How long has the anemia been going on? Is your Vet recommending a blood transfusion at this point? I say this because i had a cat with bloodwork very similar to yours ( RBC 4.28, HCT 16.5, HGB 5.1, Reticulocyte 0.6% Reticulocyte 26 and he did receive a blood transfusion. His was non-regenerative anemia; a presumed combination of immune mediated hemolytic anemia and anemia of chronic inflammatory (IBD).

Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells and are the precursors to formed mature red blood cells. A reticulocyte count of greater than 50 K/uL of blood is considered evidence of bone marrow response to increased peripheral demand. Depending upon degree of anemia, a reticulocyte count of less than 50 K/uL may indicate an inadequate bone marrow response.

I know that "Erythropoetin" (a hormone) is sometimes given to CRF cats suffering from anemia which can stimulate the formation of reticulocytes. You may want to ask your Vet about this. In my case, my cat received periodic injections of a similar hormone Darbepoetin, which did stimulate his bone marrow to start regenerating red blood cells. He then became "regenerative" again. His bloodwork required regular monitoring.

Have you considered taking your cat to an Internal Medicine specialist? I understand your desperation. Based on my experience anemia is part of a downhill trajectory unless intervention is taken to correct and/or reverse.

 

[spac]

The vet hasn't really mentioned anything about the anemia. I asked if they could prescribe something, the tech mentioned Prednisolone, but they never gave me a prescription.

I wish the vet would've at least mentioned how serious this is or something. I'm getting the sense that things are really bad, but the vet hasn't even acted like it's serious. This is odd behavior from her, unless it's not serious.

I don't know, I'm getting angry about this now.

 

[babiesmom5]

What is your cat's diagnosis? Does your cat have kidney disease? What issues caused you to bring your cat to the vet in the first place? All here on this site are trying to help you, but we need more information.

As I mentioned in my first post, my cat had very similar values as yours and was near death! My Vet advised that my cat needed a blood transfusion and more specialized care than they were able to provide at their clinic. As a result, I drove almost 2 hours one way to get my cat specialized care including a blood transfusion. Is this something you would consider doing?

In my humble opinion, and I am not a Vet, Prednisolone alone will not solve your cat's problems.