Possible anemia-Desperately needing support

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anxiousvesper

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Hello again, back with another update and a question for you all:

Tosie is doing well, she’s very active now and is eating quite a bit. Her heart rate and temperature are normal, however she is breathing a bit faster than I’d like.

Currently there’s an awful heatwave in Europe so my wife and I and all four of our cats are sequestered in the bedroom because it’s the only room we have a fan in. Even with the ac unit, it’s still quite hot. Basically, my question is: have any of you noticed your cats breathing faster during high heat periods?

Our other three cats also have raised respiratory rates since the heat wave started but I worry about basing Tosie’s health off the assumption that it’s just the heat.

Her heart rate, while resting (not sleeping, just laying down) has been ranging from 28-34. Swedish vet websites says a normal rate is between 20-40 and anything over 60 equals a vet visit ASAP but American sites say 15-30 is normal and over 50 is dangerous. I’m just a bit confused…I’m getting different answers everywhere I look.

She’s so terrified of the vet and I really don’t want to have to bring her in unless it’s absolutely necessary but I’m so anxious over this and can’t seem to let it go. It’s just so confusing because she’s normal in every other way. She’s pooping/peeing. Eating great. Way more active. Pinking up in her gums/ears/tongue…it’s just this raised breathing rate that is haunting me
 

Furballsmom

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Can you put ice cubes in their water, also if the bathroom floor is cooler maybe leave the door open if you u aren't already, and maybe get another fan and place a bowl of ice water in front of it so it blows cooler air around.

This obviously requires a lot of ice cubes/ice. I've read lately about cooling mats but I don't know anything about them.
 
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Twylasmom

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Hello again, back with another update and a question for you all:

Tosie is doing well, she’s very active now and is eating quite a bit. Her heart rate and temperature are normal, however she is breathing a bit faster than I’d like.

Currently there’s an awful heatwave in Europe so my wife and I and all four of our cats are sequestered in the bedroom because it’s the only room we have a fan in. Even with the ac unit, it’s still quite hot. Basically, my question is: have any of you noticed your cats breathing faster during high heat periods?

Our other three cats also have raised respiratory rates since the heat wave started but I worry about basing Tosie’s health off the assumption that it’s just the heat.

Her heart rate, while resting (not sleeping, just laying down) has been ranging from 28-34. Swedish vet websites says a normal rate is between 20-40 and anything over 60 equals a vet visit ASAP but American sites say 15-30 is normal and over 50 is dangerous. I’m just a bit confused…I’m getting different answers everywhere I look.

She’s so terrified of the vet and I really don’t want to have to bring her in unless it’s absolutely necessary but I’m so anxious over this and can’t seem to let it go. It’s just so confusing because she’s normal in every other way. She’s pooping/peeing. Eating great. Way more active. Pinking up in her gums/ears/tongue…it’s just this raised breathing rate that is haunting me
Did you mean her respiratory rate, not heart rate? As someone with an asthmatic cat, I have found the best time to count breaths is when the cat is sleeping, not just resting. So try that and see what you get. You may also want to check at different times of day - warmer and cooler - to see if there are variances. I do think the heat could be a contributing factor and she may just be feeling it more due to her recent health challenges.
 
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anxiousvesper

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Did you mean her respiratory rate, not heart rate? As someone with an asthmatic cat, I have found the best time to count breaths is when the cat is sleeping, not just resting. So try that and see what you get. You may also want to check at different times of day - warmer and cooler - to see if there are variances. I do think the heat could be a contributing factor and she may just be feeling it more due to her recent health challenges.
Ooos, yes I meant respiratory rate! 28bpm for heart rate would be very bad lol 😬 I’ll try to get her respiratory rate when she’s sleeping! That will probably help a lot anyway because if I so much as look at her, she starts purring which makes it impossible to get an accurate reading (it’s very cute tho🥺)
 

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I have noticed my cats breathe faster when it is very hot, especially if AC has not kicked on yet, although this is only anecdotal. Your house is probably built to withstand cold winters, which makes it hotter than what is built in So Cal.
 
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anxiousvesper

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I have noticed my cats breathe faster when it is very hot, especially if AC has not kicked on yet, although this is only anecdotal. Your house is probably built to withstand cold winters, which makes it hotter than what is built in So Cal.
You’re absolutely right that the houses here in Sweden are built to withstand cold (and unfortunately, to trap heat) so it’s absolutely boiling here. Myself and three of our cats are American so we were spoiled with powerful AC back home…whereas AC is basically non-existent in Sweden😢. It took my wife over a month to track down a window AC unit and it’s unfortunately nowhere near as powerful as we need.

I did lay out some ice wrapped in a towel for the cats and they enjoyed that and I was able to get Tosie’s respiratory rate while she slept and it was 24 which is in her normal range. So I’m gonna keep a sharp eye on her and her breathing/heart rate/temperature and if anything feels off I’ll take her straight back into the vet. So I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that that won’t be necessary 😅
 

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You’re absolutely right that the houses here in Sweden are built to withstand cold (and unfortunately, to trap heat) so it’s absolutely boiling here. Myself and three of our cats are American so we were spoiled with powerful AC back home…whereas AC is basically non-existent in Sweden😢. It took my wife over a month to track down a window AC unit and it’s unfortunately nowhere near as powerful as we need.

I did lay out some ice wrapped in a towel for the cats and they enjoyed that and I was able to get Tosie’s respiratory rate while she slept and it was 24 which is in her normal range. So I’m gonna keep a sharp eye on her and her breathing/heart rate/temperature and if anything feels off I’ll take her straight back into the vet. So I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that that won’t be necessary 😅
If it helps, Sadie's respiratory rate was higher than usual as she was recovering. Since her blood oxygen saturation suffered a bit due to the anemia, she would breath faster than normal so that her red blood cells would carry enough oxygen through her body. If I had to make an educated guess, I'm sure it's a contributing factor along with the heat. If her heart rate and temperature remain normal and the resp rate does not go up, I'd just keep an eye on it. ❤
 
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anxiousvesper

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Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since the last update, I was finally able to return to my Swedish lessons so I’ve been a bit distracted!

Tosie is still doing great!:) We just got back from a follow-up from the vet where we spoke to an internal medicine specialist. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get a great bone marrow sample so the results of the bone marrow biopsy weren’t as clear as we’d hoped. For now, Tosie’s anemia has been classified as non-regenerative but even that can’t be 100% since the samples they were able to retrieve weren’t great. Otherwise, they didn’t see anything unusual in the samples they were able to test.

The internal medicine vet is now testing her folate and b12 to make sure that a deficiency isn’t the cause of the anemia, and she is also testing Tosie’s renal values just because the steroid she’s on can be rough on the kidneys and she’d like to make sure there’s no potential for damage.

Her hematocrit was also taken today but we don’t have the results for that yet. We’ve scheduled a phone appointment for this Wednesday at 3pm to speak with the specialist about her results! I’ll update you all then:) otherwise, Tosie is just hamming it up over here! She’s gained some weight (YAY!!!), has been playing with her favorite mouse toy and has been super cuddly and active. Her ears are pink inside now, and it seems like her tongue and gums get pinker everyday💕
 

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Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since the last update, I was finally able to return to my Swedish lessons so I’ve been a bit distracted!

Tosie is still doing great!:) We just got back from a follow-up from the vet where we spoke to an internal medicine specialist. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get a great bone marrow sample so the results of the bone marrow biopsy weren’t as clear as we’d hoped. For now, Tosie’s anemia has been classified as non-regenerative but even that can’t be 100% since the samples they were able to retrieve weren’t great. Otherwise, they didn’t see anything unusual in the samples they were able to test.

The internal medicine vet is now testing her folate and b12 to make sure that a deficiency isn’t the cause of the anemia, and she is also testing Tosie’s renal values just because the steroid she’s on can be rough on the kidneys and she’d like to make sure there’s no potential for damage.

Her hematocrit was also taken today but we don’t have the results for that yet. We’ve scheduled a phone appointment for this Wednesday at 3pm to speak with the specialist about her results! I’ll update you all then:) otherwise, Tosie is just hamming it up over here! She’s gained some weight (YAY!!!), has been playing with her favorite mouse toy and has been super cuddly and active. Her ears are pink inside now, and it seems like her tongue and gums get pinker everyday💕
So good to hear she's doing well! I wouldn't be too concerned about her anemia being non-regenerative at the moment; when Sadie was first diagnosed and her HCT was around 9% she was classified as non-regenerative. But she's no longer in that classification now.
Give sweet little Tosie kitty luvs from all of us for making such great progress! ❤
 

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This is such good, uplifting news!! I am so happy for you all, I know how scared you were! Prayers Tosie continues on this great path!
 
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anxiousvesper

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So good to hear she's doing well! I wouldn't be too concerned about her anemia being non-regenerative at the moment; when Sadie was first diagnosed and her HCT was around 9% she was classified as non-regenerative. But she's no longer in that classification now.
Give sweet little Tosie kitty luvs from all of us for making such great progress! ❤
Sadie’s story has helped me calm down so much! I was expecting the vet to classify her as non-regenerative after talking to you about little Sadie and I didn’t feel that horrible panic I’d expected when they confirmed the classification. I’m hopeful that Tosie will bounce back and start making her own RBCs again soon just like Sadie ❤
 
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anxiousvesper

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Hello friends!!

I just wanted to poke my head in here and stay that I haven’t forgotten to share Tosie’s results with you. The vet hasn’t received all of them back from the lab yet so she’s waiting to call me until she has all the labwork back.

I am waiting on a call back from the vet on call-duty today though. The cyclosporine is giving Tosie awful diarrhea. She pooped four times between 7pm last night to 7am this morning. Three of which were diarrhea.

Luckily (I guess lol) the last bout of diarrhea was just a teensy teensy bit, but I’d still like to speak to the vet about this. Hopefully they’ll let us up her anti-nausea pills or give us something else to counteract the diarrhea she’s getting from the steroid.

Otherwise, she’s still doing great! If it wasn’t for the diarrhea, I would think she’s almost completely back to normal now (she’s still a bit tired, but the vets told us that’s to be expected as she is still anemic for now).

My wife and I are adding extra water to the gravy in her wet food to hopefully keep up her hydration. But if anyone has any advice on fighting the poopies, please feel free to let me know!!😅
 
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anxiousvesper

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Ask the vet about Forti Flora!
I'm so glad she's doing so well!
Ohhh, yes I’ll definitely ask about that! I forget that animals also can have their own probiotics😅 I bet that will help a lot since she was on antibiotics initially
 
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