Senior Kitty With Elevated White Blood Count

[Luanne B]

Hello, I'm new to the site and wondering if anyone can give insight/experience dealing with a senior kitty who has had hyperthyroidism for several years and may now be having pancreas, liver, IBD problems or cancer. Took Mr. Kitty to the vet earlier this week as lethargic, not eating and had loose stools. Blood work showed elevated white blood count, high bilirubin levels and elevated blood sugar. Vet not that worried about blood sugar. TX with Amoxicillin and Metrandizole (I may have misspelled) and gave IV fluids for dehydration. Had to take him back for IV fluids again and help the next day to give him a pill. Mr. Kitty is doing better. He's eating, drinking water but still has loose stools. Not his old self yet, but certainly better. Oh, I failed to mention he's 17 yr old. We TX hyperthyroidism with food. Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - thanks for coming here!! It certainly sounds like your attention, care and love are doing good things for him.
He's on wet food?

 

[Luanne B]

He's on Hill's Science Diet Y/D cat food, and eats both wet and dry food. My research on hyperthyroidism shows the condition will eventually cause damage to an animal's vital organs. With Mr. Kitty's bilirubin being high, it leads me to believe his symptoms may be liver related. I believe the vet didn't want to tell me right away maybe in an effort to see how Mr. Kitty does with his current treatment plan, and also to maybe prepare us for the future.

 

[Furballsmom]

hopefully someone with more experience than me here can weigh in with thoughts for you.

 

[Luanne B]

Thank you for your concern......

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again mrsgreenjeens I don't know if this is your area of expertise - would it be possible you could pop in?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again - I'm on a different computer so I can do the copy paste thing better. This may look like a lot but they're well written and reasonably concise. I so hope this helps you, and hopefully someone has a chance to come on in. Hang in there!!

Elevated Liver Enzymes In Cats - Should You Be Worried?
Inflammatory Bowel Disease In Cats
Liver Disease In Cats
Feline Leukemia Virus (felv)
Fiv In Cats
Living With Feline Cancer

 

[Furballsmom]

Also, something you might gain info from is if you type hyperthyroidism, likewise with pancreatitis into the search on this site, there are several relatively recent thread discussions that could help. @Mamanyt1953 would you have a chance to come in?

 

[Kjl]

So sorry to hear this about Kitty My 14 yo boy was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a few months ago. We tried all of the meds offered(didn't tolerate pills or gel) and are now on the food (which he now won't eat) UGH..so I guess I just mix other food with the thyroid and hope it helps even a little bit. My concern with the hyperthyroidism is the effects on the organs..I certainly don't want my baby to suffer. I hope your Kitty starts to feel better or that the vet has some better news for you. Please keep us posted

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Elevated bilirubin certainly can be indicative of liver issues, but doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the world. My own bilitubin has been elevated for over 20 years and I'm still hanging in here

Our last kidney cat used to get one of her liver values (NOT bilirubin) out of sync every now and then, and she would get an antibiotic, which your old guy is getting now, and it would help, then several months later it would happen and we would repeat the antibiotic and it would reverse itself. Wash, rinse, repeat kind of cycle thing. We never knew what was going on, and didn't want to put our girl thru a bunch testing because she was, afterall, already chronically ill . But we always knew when it was starting up because she would get lethargic, stop eating, and then start vomiting bile

Anyway, you mentioned several things that may be going on. Was your Vet unable to narrow it down any further than those items you mentioned? Are they waiting to see how he reacts to the meds before trying to make any further determinations? The high wbc could be from an infection which is also affecting his liver...I'm guessing your Vet discussed this with you? In the meantime, did they discuss giving him any supplements for his liver, such as Sam-E and/or Milk Thistle? And how about Vitamin K, and/or B-12, which are just good overall things when cats, particularly elderly cats, aren't feeling well. AND, if it IS IBD, Vitamin B-12 is pretty much essential.

I think in this instance you are going to need to pretty much rely on your Vet to let you know what is happening, because they really know how to interpret blood tests, and what things mean when grouped together.

OH, BTW, while taking the antibiotic, your old guy should probably be taking a probiotic as well, or his diarrhea might not get better. I know one of my guys gets diarrhea with any antibiotic he ever has to take. Of course, same rules apply as with humans...don't take them at the same time. If he gets his Amoxicillan in the morning, then give him probiotics at noonish, etc. Just a couple hours in between should do the trick. AND, I would mention to the Vet that he still has the diarrhea. Not sure how long it should take for the Metro to take effect. It's possible he needs a different medication. Was he tested for internal parasites? (does he go outdoors?)