Anyone with a cat that has an autimmune condition?

akat717

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Hi everyone,

I am new to this site and wanted to see if anyone has or had a cat with a congenital autoimmune condition. I had to bring my 2 year old kitty to the emergency vet a month and a half ago because when I got home from work he had dark purple almost black bruises on his head and stomach. He was not in pain and was acting normal although a little bit tired, then again when are cats not tired?! When I brought him in they were going to take blood to test but when they put the needle in he bruised immediately and starting bleeding quite a lot and it was obvious he was not clotting properly.

They kept him over night to keep an eye on him and in case he needed a blood transfusion, thankfully it did not come to that. The vet said it could be a reaction to a vaccine (he had them a few weeks prior), cancer although unlikely, or an autoimmune condition.

When they were able to take blood and test it his platelet count was 0, another lab came back and said the count was 3, the normal range for a cat is between 150-600 and he was anemic. They gave him the steroid prednisone and said he was responding well, the vet was leaning towards an autoimmune condition he was born with but only time would truly tell.

Two days after being on the prednisone after the emergency visit all of his bruises were gone and we went back to get another blood test and his Platelet count was already up to 88.

The vets only concern was that if this is a long term condition, which she believe it was likely an autoimmune condition he was born with, is that over a long period of time prednisone can cause diabetes and other problems. So we were going to try to see how much we could space out the pred as he is only 2. He was on those for over a month, first twice a day for 5 days, then once a day for 5 days and then every other day until his check up 3 weeks later.

When they went to draw blood at his most recent check up last week he immediately bruised up both times on each leg when they tried to take blood. The bruises were not as bad as the first time but, still significant enough for her to think that the prednisone every other day was not effective enough. She then put him on Atopica to hopefully be a more long term option for him and the pred for another cycle to get him where he needs to be while the Atopica gets into his system. We have another check up today.

Basically, I am just concerned and would like to get as much feedback as possible to calm my nerves. Overall he seems happy and healthy but he definitely hates the Atopica and I put it in food once and it worked but the next two times he would not eat it and went for my other cats food instead. I have had to administer it but squirting it in his mouth and he almost throws up every time and hates it but, I do not want to keep wasting it in food he does not eat because it is an expensive medication ($113 for 17 mL). I do not mind paying for it or giving it to him if he truly needs it but, I would like advice from anyone who has dealt with this as it does seem like it will be something we deal with for the rest of his life.

Also, he is an indoor only cat and I have two other kitties with no health problems.

Sorry for the loooong story but I would very much appreciate any help on this!!



 

parisinthe30sx

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I know there is an autoimmune disease called IMHA,I'll provide a site where you can read more, there's primary and secondary types. My dog had primary. The primary kind is the body basically produces antibodies that attack its own red blood cells. It's not common in cats, but it does happen.secondary is caused by different conditions, IE drugs reactions, Felv etc. I'm not sure if this is what your cat has, but, it sounds a lot like what I went through with my aussie. He was 12, put on pred and his platelets went up, he passed from cancer about a year afterwards. It's a horrible disease but it is manageable. I'll pray for you and your kitty, he's adorable btw, good luck:)

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/cat...-z/immune-mediated-hemolytic-anemia-cats-imha
 
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denice

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There have been a few kitties here with autoimmune anemia.  Depo shots seem to have been the best treatment here.  I can remember two cats with this that went into remission after starting depo shots.  I don't know why that steroid works better than others, I am thinking the delivery system may be why.  It's a steroid that stays in the system and releases slowly over time.

This is the last thread here with a kitty that has anemia that is autoimmune in nature with no know cause found http://www.thecatsite.com/t/283731/anemic-cat   It is rather long.  It looks like this kitty is in remission.
 
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akat717

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Parisinthe30sx,

I'm sorry your dog passed away from cancer :( Thank you so much for the advice and the link I will definitely research it further, it has been rather hard to find good information and I want to be as educated as possible!

Thanks again!
 
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akat717

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Denice,

Thank you I checked out that thread and found it to be very helpful!
 

cards222002

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As Denise stated the depo has worked wonders with Trust. Don't know why, vet was even Alittle sceptical when I asked about it, but he's been in normal range for over a year now. Trust never had the bruising that you have stated. The best advise I can give is try the depo, we tried prednisone, prednisolone, and the atopica none really helped him. Hope you can figure things out.
 
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