Extremely Low Platelet Kitten

[Ladyrosee]

You feel relieved, and remain watchful for changes...withOUT makeing yourself crazy over it! Day to day, now...then week to week, then month to month. HUGS!

I know you're trying to be positive but this isnt a good thing..

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It isn't a good thing, but it is a thing that can be dealt with, that your kitten can live a happy life with, properly controlled. It is not an automatic death sentence. I'm going to keep a candle lit that this is a "one and done" thing, and that 15 years from now, you are posting about his birthday here.

 

[Ladyrosee]

I just dont know whether to trust them I'm not sure why I dont? The other two cats I've had at other vets kind of skipped over their issues. They also didnt notice my kittens heart murmur but a week later at this new place they noticed it

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Hi guys. I got this today not sure how to feel

@Catxmama - Mamanyt1953 might be under the thumb of that autocratic Tortie, Hekitty, but she's not much for just blowing smoke, and the increase in platelet count is, indeed, an extremely good sign.

Just a guess, mind you, based on what you've shown us from your current veterinarian, but my personal opinion is that your sweet kitty is in extremely capable (and, I suspect, very caring) hands.

Morton's platelet count has come up from virtually nothing to normal levels, and your vet appears to have both short-term and long-term plans in place, following the same patient course as any good physician - "first, do no harm." I have an hunch that your vet's course of action will eventually prove out, and that Morton's future will be far brighter than it was just a scant three weeks ago when you began this thread.

Best advice: Love that little cat with your whole Heart; nothing can stand against the power of Love.
.

 

[Ladyrosee]

@Catxmama - Mamanyt1953 might be under the thumb of that autocratic Tortie, Hekitty, but she's not much for just blowing smoke, and the increase in platelet count is, indeed, an extremely good sign.

Just a guess, mind you, based on what you've shown us from your current veterinarian, but my personal opinion is that your sweet kitty is in extremely capable (and, I suspect, very caring) hands.

Morton's platelet count has come up from virtually nothing to normal levels, and your vet appears to have both short-term and long-term plans in place, following the same patient course as any good physician - "first, do no harm." I have an hunch that your vet's course of action will eventually prove out, and that Morton's future will be far brighter than it was just a scant three weeks ago when you began this thread.

Best advice: Love that little cat with your whole Heart; nothing can stand against the power of Love.
.

I just don't want to permanently harm him from being on this medicine now the dose is doubled?! I'm just so scared for him. He gained over 1lb in two weeks and I'm sure it's from the meds. what IF it turns out he doesn't need this? I dont know what I'm saying

 

[silkenpaw]

He gained over 1lb in two weeks and I'm sure it's from the meds.

You can’t be sure it’s from the meds. He’s a kitten, he probably had a growth spurt. The increased steroid dose is not forever, just for now, and, anyway, my vet tells me that cats don’t get complications from steroids as often as people do. You should be thrilled that his platelets are normal and, of course, worried about the enlarged lymph nodes, but he doesn’t have anything horrible or untreatable and you should just enjoy him or you’ll miss him being a kitten while you worry about his health.

Sending you lots of calming vibes.

 

[Ladyrosee]

You can’t be sure it’s from the meds. He’s a kitten, he probably had a growth spurt. The increased steroid dose is not forever, just for now, and, anyway, my vet tells me that cats don’t get complications from steroids as often as people do. You should be thrilled that his platelets are normal and, of course, worried about the enlarged lymph nodes, but he doesn’t have anything horrible or untreatable and you should just enjoy him or you’ll miss him being a kitten while you worry about his health.

Sending you lots of calming vibes.

Thank you. He's always been a weird one choosing love over playing. Even at almost 5 weeks he was a little off and kind of just space out and watch the others play..he still played but not nearly as much. He's the same now at 5 months. He will be playing then I'll pet him and he'll lie down and stop playing.

Apparantely she meant .5ml once daily because she forgot about the dose of the liquid hes given because most of the time its pills. So not increasing it but wants to give it once a day same dose instead of twice.. he is very loved don't worry about that. He's carried everywhere because, well, it's what the angel wants so he gets to sling over my shoulder

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Awwwwwww...That's what we live for, people who adore their kitties. And we understand how frantic a sick kitten or cat can make you, especially when something new rears its ugly head!

Some kittens just seem...calmer...than others, don't they? Maybe he meditates.

Regardless, you have a direction to go, and the steroids seldom affect cats as they do humans (same with chemo, come to think of it), as silkenpaw says. Try to relax and enjoy your little love bug.

And remember, you are NOT alone!

 

[mikameek]

I know that the prospect of having a cat that needs to have medications every day for the rest of their life is not a fun thing. Trust me, I've gone that route and battled with the realization that the rest of my 20's is going to be a lot less exciting compared to what I originally thought I could do. But, if you're anything like me, then you also recognize that it's totally worth it.

I wouldn't give up my girl for the world. Even if she has to be medicated every day. Even if it's a pain to medicate her. Even if it sucks how much her medication costs. Even with the expensive vet bills.

I think you're there too, right? Morton may need a little extra care but he's worth it, isn't he? The love he gives you makes up for it, right? My Mika is also a cuddle bug over a player. But I like to think of it as her letting me know she's thankful to be alive. She's letting me know she's happy and she loves me. I like to think it's her way of letting me know she appreciates everything I do (Maybe thats just me being a human, but who cares?).

Morton may need help for the rest of his life but that doesn't mean his life won't be meaningful. It doesn't mean he won't be able to be a regular cat. He's not limited. It'll be tough, but again, take it from me, this community is SO awesome. You're a member here and that means you're family. We'll be here to hold your hand (virtually) when things come up and we'll be there to guide you with any questions or craziness that happen. There is so much love and support here that you're not ever really alone in this. So it's okay.

edit: Also, as a side note, my cat is also on prednisolone (just at a higher dose) so I get the worry there too.

 

[silkenpaw]

Morton may need help for the rest of his life but that doesn't mean his life won't be meaningful. It doesn't mean he won't be able to be a regular cat.

The thing about animals is, they don’t know there’s anything wrong with them. They don’t compare themselves to others. They don’t worry about not “measuring up” to their peers. They are free from concern about what the future will bring. They just do what they can do with joy in their hearts, that’s the great thing about them. Your kitten is just a kitten, I’m glad you love him as one. Big hugs to both of you!

 

[Ladyrosee]

Thank you guys. This is us pretty much all the time him wanting to see what I'm doing (while hes up and awake) and he will just lie there draped over me at night hes not comfortable but wants to be on me lol.

I do worry about prednisolone! His platelets and red blood cells are normal but still another month?! And they dont know why his liver and spleen are a little bigger and his lymph nodes are still a little swollen? It's the worst. It sucks so bad. I hate life sometimes. I can't imagine having a child and them getting sick my life feels ruined if my animal is sick its all I worry about.

This is probably a really dumb question but I did the feLV shot for my older cat which made him very ill... but Morton never had it.. could he catch the virus from another cat just getting the shot?

 

[Ladyrosee]

I'm also 10000 percent good with helping him forever..its why I adopted him. As a foster he always needed help and he was much slower than the others and I did not want him getting returned because of it. And look at him now..a different owner might have just gave him up or put him down because of all I've spent.

It's just the fact of what kind of medicine I'm giving him. It's not great for him and could give him something deadly. I just wish there was something else he could have and I'd be fine

 

[vince]

I have idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which is the human version of what seems to be bothering Morton. You can look it up online. The treatments are about the same for cats as people. It seems to be autoimmune in my case.

They had to do a biopsy to make sure I didn't have cancer, too.

It comes and goes, but hasn't been troublesome for years. I'll probably have it as long as I live. It became a problem for me when my platelet count dropped to 21,000. Got better on its own, and my platelet count stabilized at about 58,000 (normal is about 150,000-450,000). I'm just about asymptomatic at that level.

Morton will most likely be all right since his acute condition seems to have been resolved.

 

[Furballsmom]

On the felv, I'd ask the vet what is suggested depending on everything else....

 

[Ladyrosee]

I have idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which is the human version of what seems to be bothering Morton. You can look it up online. The treatments are about the same for cats as people. It seems to be autoimmune in my case.

They had to do a biopsy to make sure I didn't have cancer, too.

It comes and goes, but hasn't been troublesome for years. I'll probably have it as long as I live. It became a problem for me when my platelet count dropped to 21,000. Got better on its own, and my platelet count stabilized at about 58,000 (normal is about 150,000-450,000). I'm just about asymptomatic at that level.

Morton will most likely be all right since his acute condition seems to have been resolved.

I'm very sorry you have that. I have my share of autoimmune diseases and I'm always ill from them. I will look it up. I was looking at immune mediated thrombocytopenia but I dont know anything about them other than what you told me about YOUR condition. The vet didnt say anything. Is your liver and spleen enlarged too or lymph nodes? It's hard to tell too because she said he could just be growing into his organs but no matter what they arent normal size.

She said he looks very good but she said she wants to be extremely cautious when she decides to lower his dose. So it will be the same dose for another month no matter what since his next blood work is September 11th. It would make me very sad but it could be a vaccine reaction or all the meds they loaded him with while in my foster care but maybe we'll never know

 

[vince]

I just wanted you not to worry so much about your kitty. My condition isn't any problem, although it gave me a scare when I was going through it. Mostly, it's a tendency to bleed a bit more than usual when I cut myself. No lasting spleen or liver problems, either. Most ITP cases resolve themselves spontaneously. I think that's what the vet is trying to tell you.

Prednisolone is one therapy used in human cases as well. Fortunately, my ITP got better without it. It does have lots of side effects and I was glad not to have to take it. Removal of the spleen was another alternative. When questioned about that, my doctor said that the treatments listed on the internet are outdated, that there are excellent alternative treatments and she wished they weren't on the internet any more because they were unnerving to patients.

Do exercise due caution with the other possible problems mentioned above, though.

 

[Ladyrosee]

I just wanted you not to worry so much about your kitty. My condition isn't any problem, although it gave me a scare when I was going through it. Mostly, it's a tendency to bleed a bit more than usual when I cut myself. No lasting spleen or liver problems, either. Most ITP cases resolve themselves spontaneously. I think that's what the vet is trying to tell you.

Prednisolone is one therapy used in human cases as well. Fortunately, my ITP got better without it. It does have lots of side effects and I was glad not to have to take it. Removal of the spleen was another alternative. When questioned about that, my doctor said that the treatments listed on the internet are outdated, that there are excellent alternative treatments and she wished they weren't on the internet any more because they were unnerving to patients.

Do exercise due caution with the other possible problems mentioned above, though.

Thank you for that. It's just so hard with animals because they cant tell you they're not feeling well

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's the worst part of animals, isnt' it? They can't tell you where it hurts, and their instincts tell them NOT to show it. And you can't explain what the doctor is doing, and why the meds are needed. Very like a small child. I've had both, and there's a real degree of desperation when they are sick. Hugs.

This is probably a really dumb question but I did the feLV shot for my older cat which made him very ill... but Morton never had it.. could he catch the virus from another cat just getting the shot?

My instinct is "probably not a problem," but it certainly isn't a dumb question, and it's one that I could not find a definitive answer for online. I'd ask the vet about it.

 

[Ladyrosee]

I was job shadowing at the vet earlier and they said Morton has ITP. But he was negative for tick illnesses and for aids and FeLV so I just dont understand and I hate that no one knows if this will kill him or not. Said since responding great to steroids thats great but they rarely see this and had one patient just had it come and go and they were fine.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I did a little researching, and only found the obvious...that is is rare in cats, but is also the most common primary hemostatic defect in cats, as well.

I found this article about it that's pretty comprehensive, although apparently written for vets:

Thrombocytopenia in Cats - WSAVA2006 - VIN

It did make me wonder if the platelet counting was automated or not, see this paragraph:

"In cats, decreased platelet counts are a common laboratory finding. However, this is often a so-called pseudothrombocytopenia (incorrect low platelet values) which can occur with automated counting of platelets. It is related to the tendency for feline platelets to aggregate and the size of some of the platelets that in this species can be similar to the size of red blood cells. Therefore, manual counting (e.g., using Thrombo Plus®-tubes, Sarstedt and a Neubauer counting chamber) or slide evaluation must always be done to confirm whether the thrombocytopenia is real or artifactual."

It is heartening that the one patient they saw did fine, though. I'm keeping that candle lit for you both!