Does my kitten have anemia?

[ragh]

Hi,
Can anyone know from this blood test if my kitten has anemia?
She’s very lethargic and her gum if very pale so I did a blood test and these are the results. I gave it to 3 vets and each one of them has a different opinion..

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Do you mind sharing what the vets thought? It would also be helpful if the full view of the blood work was available so that the high-low range could be seen. Although the numbers by individual labs aren't drastically different, they do vary, and how they are reported can vary as well.

Pale gums are hard to detect, especially in some lighter colored cats. If you have another cat, that would be the best way to tell if the gums are pale - by doing a comparison. Lethargy can point to any number of health issues, including infection. Pale gums can too, for that matter, although it isn't uncommon for it to be assumed to be related to anemia.

 

[BellaBlue82]

Hm, I have a cat with anemia, and when she was very sick her HCT (hematocrit) and MCV (mean corpuscular volume) was awfully low. That was a long with low HG. It looks like your cats HCT is slightly low, but still within range. MCV looks normal from the picture, but lymphocytes that high can be an indicator of infection amongst other things.
I agree with FeebysOwner , what did the vets say their opinion was?

 

[ragh]

One vet said that she has severe anemia and needs blood transfusion and she gave her injections with vitamins.

The second vet said she’s completely normal and healthy even though I mentioned her symptoms.

Third vet said she has bacteria in her stomach which caused diarrhea which caused anemia. He recommended to give her antibiotics and something to help her with digestion.

Her symptoms are again: lethargy, diarrhea, her gum is almost white(I have other cats and I compared and she’s not like them at all), when I touch her I feel like she’s hot/warm so I think she has a fever(when vets checked her fever she was okay except for one time), loss of appetite.

I thought I would go with the last vet so I’ve been giving her what he suggested for two days now and no improvement at all so far…

PS: she had parvo around 3 weeks ago and got a course(fluids and stuff) and she became okay and she was very active and eating well and everything until all of the above symptoms started around a week ago

 

[FeebysOwner]

If it were me, I would tend to think the third vet's choice of treatment would be the way to go but ask them about support for the anemia aspect as well. This sounds like it could be a secondary bacterial issue related to the parvo. Two days of an antibiotic isn't really long enough to see any kind of improvement. Dehydration probably needs to be treated again now - it too can cause some of the blood results as well as pale gums - and is also imperative with any level of diarrhea.

Ask this vet about all types of added care you can give your cat and what to repeatedly check on to ensure she is headed in the right direction. Nutrition is also a big factor, so you might explore a feeding tube as well.

 

[ragh]

Tomorrow is her last day to take the medications and she still has the same symptoms( this probably means she has something else but not sure what or how to find out..

 

[FeebysOwner]

Tomorrow is her last day to take the medications and she still has the same symptoms

Sometimes a longer regimen of antibiotics is required. Not for the same reasons, but Feeby was usually placed on a 10–14-day regimen of antibiotics to ensure her infection was eradicated. It can also be that the antibiotic that was given is not the right one for the bacteria she has. She needs to be retested - to check all of her blood levels - and if possible, have an analysis done of the bacteria to determine if another antibiotic might be more effective.

Keep at the meds given for digestion as well because most antibiotics are tough on the stomach and can themselves cause lack of appetite and even diarrhea. S. boulardii is a probiotic that helps with maintaining the 'good bacteria' in the gut, especially while on antibiotics, and has been known to help with diarrhea too.

Ask the vet what the next steps are to continue to try to resolve her issues.