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Anemia and low RBC

Guccismom

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Hi there, my name is Patricia and I’m a mom to a 4 year old Sphynx named Gucci. Gucci has been suffering from anemia. He has been admitted to the veterinary emergency clinic where he received a blood transfusion, a spleen biopsy and a bone marrow biopsy. He has been checked for parasites, feline aids, feline leukaemia and they all returned as negative. After his transfusion his RBC went from 11.5 to 13. He has been on prednisone and interferon syrup for a week. Today we returned to VEC to see if his RBC went up but it stayed the same, at 13. Can anyone please share if they’ve experienced something similar or if they know any more info that perhaps the specialist is missing. We are working with an internal medicine specialist and he said to wait one more week to see if there are any improvements
 

Cinafina

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Hi Patricia and welcome to you and Gucci! He's a very handsome boy and I'm sorry to hear of his health issues. I can't say I know much about this problem, but I have read that vaping can cause anemia in cats, due to the propylene glycol in e-liquids. It's the only cause I know of so I just thought I'd mention it, in case anyone in your household vapes that is... Fingers and toes crossed that you find out what's going on and that he gets better!
 

Catzzzmeow

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Hoping the specialist can figure this out. I do not know what else it could be, but I just want to give you hope. We had a bengal that was anemic once and he bounced back. We never knew what caused it. The vet was shocked because he was about 19 at the time.
 

Guccismom

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Hi Patricia and welcome to you and Gucci! He's a very handsome boy and I'm sorry to hear of his health issues. I can't say I know much about this problem, but I have read that vaping can cause anemia in cats, due to the propylene glycol in e-liquids. It's the only cause I know of so I just thought I'd mention it, in case anyone in your household vapes that is... Fingers and toes crossed that you find out what's going on and that he gets better!
Thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately nobody in my household vapes, I SO wish Gucci’s condition was explainable :(. I pray that his RBC is up next Friday!! I’ve been sick over this for almost 4 weeks now.
 

Guccismom

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Hoping the specialist can figure this out. I do not know what else it could be, but I just want to give you hope. We had a bengal that was anemic once and he bounced back. We never knew what caused it. The vet was shocked because he was about 19 at the time.
I hope so too! I’ve spent a little over 6 thousand on Gucci and looking for answers, so I pray we get to the bottom of this. Thank you for the glimpse of hope!!
 

Yoda mom

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@Guccismom , awhhh hugs and a lair full of positive vibes for Gucci

Many many years ago my Bengal cat was similar for months - I was in the middle of a 3k miles with him - no one knew what was going on - his medication was in liquid form- I moved with a cooler of meds for him

He had prednisone for what seemed like forever - all tests inconclusive -
Except they thought it was a spleen mass on films - turned out he was born with an abnormality - spleen tip flipped onto itself so looked like a mass but fortunately wasn't -
I spent so much trying to get a diagnosis -
He lost soo much weight - down to 6 lbs :(
We kept up the prednisone for months - had nothing to lose at that point -

Then he miraculously healed - lived a long healthy life without any other incident - gained his weight back to 13 lbs - to this day it was a mystery
We never knew what it was - the prednisone helped fight it off whatever it was

Sending hugs prayers for you and Gucci -
Please please keep us updated -
All paws are lair family here and we worry like one of our own

What a handsome boy

Stay positive !
 

Guccismom

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Where he’s spending most of his time these days :(
 

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Guccismom

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@Guccismom , awhhh hugs and a lair full of positive vibes for Gucci

Many many years ago my Bengal cat was similar for months - I was in the middle of a 3k miles with him - no one knew what was going on - his medication was in liquid form- I moved with a cooler of meds for him

He had prednisone for what seemed like forever - all tests inconclusive -
Except they thought it was a spleen mass on films - turned out he was born with an abnormality - spleen tip flipped onto itself so looked like a mass but fortunately wasn't -
I spent so much trying to get a diagnosis -
He lost soo much weight - down to 6 lbs :(
We kept up the prednisone for months - had nothing to lose at that point -

Then he miraculously healed - lived a long healthy life without any other incident - gained his weight back to 13 lbs - to this day it was a mystery
We never knew what it was - the prednisone helped fight it off whatever it was

Sending hugs prayers for you and Gucci -
Please please keep us updated -
All paws are lair family here and we worry like one of our own

What a handsome boy

Stay positive !

They thought it was his spleen at first too. They did an abdominal ultrasound to check for internal bleeding and came across an enlarged spleen. They did a needle aspirate to see if perhaps his spleen was the causes of his illness but once again the results were inconclusive. His spleen is working extra hard to compensate for his lack of red blood cells which explained the swelling.
Thank you for your response. I truly hope Gucci miraculously recovers like your Bengal. We appreciate your well wishes! Xx
 

Yoda mom

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Is Gucci eating and drinking okay?

(used to supplement Nutrical paste . my moms cat was given vitamin b12 shots to increase appetite ..
Be sure to check him frequently with the skin Turgor test for hydration )


A lair full of prayers for handsome Gucci
Will be following closely for updates
 

Guccismom

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@Guccismom , I did a search on the top right box
Sphynx cat severe anemia
@MyJezebel may be able to chime in with some advice

@Guccismom , did they rule out IMHA?
They did at his vet before I took him to the veterinary emergency clinic. The internal medicine specialist believes Gucci has some sort of immune mediated disease. Gucci’s anemia still appears to be non regenerative as it’s been one week since he started taking prednisone and interferon syrup and his RBC is still the same at 13. We are waiting for the histology results from his bone marrow aspirate. Dr said his bone marrow appears to have many cells which rules out the possibility of him having a virus.
 

Guccismom

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Messages
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Points
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Is Gucci eating and drinking okay?

(used to supplement Nutrical paste . my moms cat was given vitamin b12 shots to increase appetite ..
Be sure to check him frequently with the skin Turgor test for hydration )


A lair full of prayers for handsome Gucci
Will be following closely for updates


He is eating and drinking okay, however he appears a bit lethargic :(
Thank you very much for the link!
 

Guccismom

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@Guccismom , awhhh hugs and a lair full of positive vibes for Gucci

Many many years ago my Bengal cat was similar for months - I was in the middle of a 3k miles with him - no one knew what was going on - his medication was in liquid form- I moved with a cooler of meds for him

He had prednisone for what seemed like forever - all tests inconclusive -
Except they thought it was a spleen mass on films - turned out he was born with an abnormality - spleen tip flipped onto itself so looked like a mass but fortunately wasn't -
I spent so much trying to get a diagnosis -
He lost soo much weight - down to 6 lbs :(
We kept up the prednisone for months - had nothing to lose at that point -

Then he miraculously healed - lived a long healthy life without any other incident - gained his weight back to 13 lbs - to this day it was a mystery
We never knew what it was - the prednisone helped fight it off whatever it was

Sending hugs prayers for you and Gucci -
Please please keep us updated -
All paws are lair family here and we worry like one of our own

What a handsome boy

Stay positive !

Hi again, and I’m sorry for the bother.

I was wondering how long it took for the prednisone to help your bengal? Gucci has been on it for 10 days now and there still hasn’t been any improvement. I called the veterinary emergency clinic to speak to the internal medicine specialist but he’s not in today. Gucci has lost most interest in his food and I’m getting worried. Are there any cooked meals that you would recommend I feed him? Thank you!
 

Yoda mom

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@Guccismom , hugs and continuing prayers for Gucci
It is no bother ... We are all here for each other in Sphtnx Life .

Did you als the vet office about him losing interest in his food and their recommendations for his circumstances?
You want to make sure he status hydrated so be sure to do the Turgor skin test in the video posted .

To be honest , no one could figure out what was wrong - so we took a shot in the dark and kept him I'm Prednisome for what seemed like forever - Months - literally - he lost weight didn't want to eat - wemt does to 6 lbs -
I gave him nutrical supplement and fed him whatever he would eat - that included canned foods I usually wouldn't -but he would eat it so that's what was important me- Friskies , fancy feast , etc - bought several different canned foods just to get food in him . I also placed an extra water bowl away from his food dish - he drank ,ore water when it was away from his food .

You can ask the vet if a B12 shot would be helpful to encourage appetite amd go with what they recommend for Gucci

There is also a fattening up Brian recipe om the sphynxlair I will get to you

I would ask the vet if you should feed him whatever he will eat to get nutrition in his system -
I did that with my Omar Bengal - later on - yes a year later - he was put back on his Normal food

It was truly a year of meds till he gained back his weight to 13 lbs ..
It was quite the roller coaster - I get it - please kmow my thoughts are with you and Gucci

Prayers you get amswers from the specialist
Upcoming appointments?

Big hugs and head smooches to sweet Gucci

Let me go get the link for the glop recipe amd post it here for you

Have you called his regular vet for suggestions for food amd appetite stimulation?
 

Yoda mom

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@Guccismom , here is the recipe a member shared
Scroll down in the thread for her recipe

Fattening up Brian - GLOP recipe

***
call the vet and ask if it would be indicated to give him or keep on hand Clear Unflavored pedialyte
my vets office gave me that little liquid plunger to gently administer to the inside side of the cheek


Amd a pill popper for his meds

I got his Prednisome chicken formulated liquid at a pharmacy simce we were doing it looong term


Your vet can show you how to use the pill popper amd liquid syringe plunger
( sorry the bold button is stuck om my iPad )

Keep us updated often
((((((((Hugs)))))) here for you

We aren't vets so cannot diagnosis but share info you can discuss with Gucci's vet
 
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