Cats blood work, has low neutrophils

[Meganchild1]

My cat, Nicklaus, got blood work last Thursday and I just got the results today. The vet said everything looked good and there was nothing to worry about. I had them send me the results and as I was going through them I noticed how low his neutrophil levels are. They are 1620 when the normal value is 2500-8500. Everything else looks normal. The reason we got the blood work in the first place is because of his lethargy. So I’m a little concerned now. Has anyone else had a similar situation ? What was the outcome?

 

[silent meowlook]

I believe it is stress neutropenia. We would often see it in cats at the cat hospital that were otherwise healthy. Below is a quote from a website, eclinpath.com. I reference it often when looking things up relating to blood work or urinalysis. I also use it often to identify cells at work. Did they test him for FELV/FIV?

• Idiopathic neutropenia in cats: Cats can suffer from idiopathic neutropenia (with no left shift or toxic change). The cats are usually negative for common viruses associated with neutropenia, such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and are usually asymptomatic (they do not suffer from recurrent bacterial infections). Any cat with an unexplained neutropenia should be tested for these viruses. Neutrophil counts can be less than <1,000/uL but are generally slightly higher and low counts are persistently documented (Swenson et al 1988). In our experience, bone marrow aspirates are not helpful in these animals as no abnormalities are seen typically in the bone marrow (neutrophil lineage cells can be normal or hypoplastic). This neutropenia in cats is similar to chronic idiopathic neutropenia reported in adult human beings (Gibson and Berliner 2014).

 

[Meganchild1]

I believe it is stress neutropenia. We would often see it in cats at the cat hospital that were otherwise healthy. Below is a quote from a website, eclinpath.com. I reference it often when looking things up relating to blood work or urinalysis. I also use it often to identify cells at work. Did they test him for FELV/FIV?

• Idiopathic neutropenia in cats: Cats can suffer from idiopathic neutropenia (with no left shift or toxic change). The cats are usually negative for common viruses associated with neutropenia, such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and are usually asymptomatic (they do not suffer from recurrent bacterial infections). Any cat with an unexplained neutropenia should be tested for these viruses. Neutrophil counts can be less than <1,000/uL but are generally slightly higher and low counts are persistently documented (Swenson et al 1988). In our experience, bone marrow aspirates are not helpful in these animals as no abnormalities are seen typically in the bone marrow (neutrophil lineage cells can be normal or hypoplastic). This neutropenia in cats is similar to chronic idiopathic neutropenia reported in adult human beings (Gibson and Berliner 2014).

Thank you! Is there anything I can do to help raise them? Do I need to make a vet appointment to make a plan for him?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would simply call the vet and ask about the count and see what their thoughts are. They might suggest a re-testing in the near future.