How to care for a starving anemic cat without vet treatment?

An RBC of 7 is seriously low. It will take quite some time (around three weeks to get a normal RBC count) for your kitty to make new blood, so it is important that it eats and drinks. I would actually feed it canned food only, and even add some minced beef (hamburger) to it to make sure it has enough iron and moisture to make new blood. He should get a little bit better every day. Such severe anemia weakened your kitty and that is why he is so lethargic.

If Harry is very anemic and dehydrated he needs to be seen by your vet in person. They will likely have to give him some IV or subcutaneous fluids along with medications to help treat the anemia. If he is refusing all food, your vet may also recommend inserting a feeding tube to help make it easier to force-feed food until he starts to recover. If he is at home with you, you can try to keep offering bland wet food, however it sounds as if hospitalization or at least in-person care from your vet is needed at this point.

Anemia is not, by itself, a disease, and therefore there is not a medication that I can recommend that will treat it. The cause of the anemia - whether blood loss, a tick or flea-borne disease, or an immune-mediated disease that is destroying the red blood cells - must be first discovered and then appropriately treated. You need to take your cat to a vet in your area who can run tests and then give him the appropriate medication.

The amount of time it takes for an animal to recover from anemia depends on the cause. There are multiple types of anemia and many causes of anemia. Infection, decreased production, destruction and hemorrhage. Diagnosis of anemia can sometimes be a bit tricky. However, that being said I would at least check for some of the most common infectious diseases that lead to anemia. There are infectious disease blood panels I can be sent out to the laboratory that test for a multitude of infectious organisms that can potentially cause anemia. If an abdominal ultrasound has not been performed, I would consider having this done as part of a full workup as well as a urinalysis. Without seeing her for an examination and not having the blood work in front of me, it is difficult to guide you in the exact direction that you should go. These are just some suggestions four cases that I commonly see. A reticulocyte count may also help in ruling out causes. A reticulocyte count tells us if the anemia is regenerative or non regenerative which helps us rule out certain causes of the anemia. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns that you may have. If you would like to talk more in detail about her case so that I may look at blood work and other lab results I am available via text or phone console if needed.

You are so welcome! I'm glad I was able to help you before. Jerry could be anemic from the heavy infestation of fleas, and anemia is fatal without treatment. Be careful with the milk, as cats are lactose intolerant, and milk gives them GI upset. I would take him into a vet today to have this anemia treated. Once he is better, he can get vaccinated and dewormed. Best of luck.

I am sorry to hear Stevie is not feeling well. Some gastrointestinal parasites drink blood through the intestinal wall. This will cause a patient to be anemic. However the level of anemia is important to know. IF the red blood cell count gets low enough a patient might need a blood transfusion or could pass away from this. If the red blood cell count is only slightly low and the parasites are treated over time (maybe a few weeks) the patient will recover and the anemia will resolve. I hope that helps

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mellow. This would only help if the anemia is due to an iron deficiency. This is not that common though. Most cases are due to an immune mediated disease. Kittens though can be affected with parasites leading to anemia. It is best to work with his veterinarian to determine the source of the anemia so that most appropriate treatment can be started. I hope this information helps!