Senior Cat Mildly Anemic Blood Results

sillywoody

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Hi all,

may 18.5 year old recently had slightly anemic blood results. Is it not cause for concern at the moment, but is there any additive or natural food remedy (like adding a specific food protein like liver to his diet) that you think could help him?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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There are certain iron supplements you can give cats, but your Vet would need to tell you how much to give. I really think it depends on what is causing the anemia as to how to best "treat" it. You don't want to feed too much liver as that can cause an over abundance of Vitamin A, which can actually kill a cat. A little liver here and there won't hurt, but not more than 10% of their daily calories should come from that. Lean meats, fish and the occasional egg are good sources of natural iron.

When is he due to go back for recheck? I wouldn't be nonchalant about slight anemia. I'd jump on it right away, as you are. Did your Vet say why they aren't concerned? Do they know what is causing it?
 

Astragal14

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There unfortunately aren't many natural treatments for anemia, and available treatments are wildly different depending on what is causing the anemia (and there are SO many different causes!). You'll want to work with your vet to make sure you're giving the appropriate remedy for his specific type of anemia. Some treatments are relatively mild and can easily be given with only a little guidance from your vet (this would include things like B12 injections or fish oil for inflammation). But certain treatments, such as supplementing iron, require a high degree of involvement with your vet because of how dangerous they can be if improperly dosed.

Anemia
There are many causes of anemia in the cat, but they can be broken down into three major categories: loss of red blood cells, destruction of red blood cells, and failure to produce new red blood cells.

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - All About Anaemia
It is very important to treat anaemia because it can have some serious effects on the body, and in the worst case it can even kill. There are various treatments for anaemia, and which one you should use depends uponthe cause and the severity of the anaemia.

If you know the cause of your cat's anaemia, getting it under control may resolve the problem e.g. if your cat has an infection, getting it under control with antibiotics should mean that your cat's anaemia gradually resolves.

If you don't know the cause of your cat's anaemia, your vet will need to consider and rule out possible causes until you know the most likely cause (don't forget there may be more than one cause). Please read above on how to do this.

I would recommend B vitamins for every anaemic cat, whatever the cause.

Other possible treatments include flea treatments if your cat has fleas, antibiotics if your cat has a bacterial infection, treatments for gastrointestinal bleeding such as sucralfate, and corticosteroids if your cat has an autoimmune disease.
 
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sillywoody

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Hi all, I thought I posted an update at the time of posting this. I have a new unfortunate update regarding his anemia that should be posted shortly.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Did you post the update in another thread? I'm hoping the news isn't too bad :crossfingers: :crossfingers:
 
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