My cat has anemia, inflammation, vomiting. How do antibiotics help?

Poor guy. Non-regenerative anemia in an older cat is always concerning. Due to the timing of all of these events however, his anemia could have very well have been caused by the medication alone. This would be considered to be an adverse reaction that would not be normal for any pet to have not can be predicted. But with that said it usually is a regenerative anemia when medication is the cause. A closer look at his bloodwork could help clarify this. Other possible causes that are common in older cats are: feline leukemia/feline aids or cancer unfortunately. Typically with all of these you will also get some changes with the white blood cell count levels as well and often-times a fever. Overall the prognosis would be guarded to poor considering your pets age and the fact that the anemia is non- regenerative. I am so sorry to be bearer of bad news here. If you wish to share more information about your pets specific bloodwork results and also physical exam findings (i.e. temperature, body condition score, etc), then you can request a private consultation with one of the experts here on the site. Best of luck moving forward with your vets treatment plan for Puddy and I do hope that he is able to stabilize soon. Take care.

Renal failure often causes cats to lose weight. The waste products that build up in the blood because the kidneys can't properly eliminate them cause nausea and gastritis (inflammation in the stomach) and sometimes even ulcers in the mouth. Talk to your vet about trying some medications to manage these conditions - either omeprazole or famotadine are often helpful, as well as the anti-nausea drug Cerenia. Also the drug mirtazipine can be used to help stimulate his appetite. Unfortunately it sounds like he has multiple problems that may be difficult to manage concurrently. I'd also consider running a bacterial culture of the nasal discharge to try to focus the antibiotic therapy and ensure that an effective drug is being used.

Poor Jasper! In addition to antibiotics, I would start Jasper on an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) to help with the fever, if they have not already done so, since his kidney values are normal. It does happen occasionally that we see a cat that is obviously experiencing symptoms of a severe infection or inflammatory response, but we are unable to locate the source of the infection. If abdominal radiographs and ultrasound were not done, this is something additional that could potentially help discover the source of the infection. At this point, make sure he is eating, get the antibiotics into him, ask for pain medication like an nsaid (metacam, onsiar, etc.) or an opiate (buprenorphine) if they didn't send you with one, and give him time. Best of luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would agree with the veterinarian that the blood work does not look concerning at this time. If his appetite has decreased with antibiotics, I would recommend discontinuing the antibiotics and seeing how his appetite improves. If he continues to be inappetant or is lethargic, I would have the veterinarian recheck him to ensure everything is ok. If he continues to be itchy, I would recommend using a topical shampoo such as Douxo PS shampoo which can be found online quite easily and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I would also recommend using Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent, which can also be found online. If he continues to be itchy, it may be time to consider switching to a different food or even consider seeing a veterinary dermatologist. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach, Antibiotics are required when the white blood cells are affected or if your vet is worried that Choti could be septic. I am very concerned with the bloodwork, the kidney value is very high, the liver values are high as well. The x-ray image is not good enough to really make any definitive calls. I recommend a consult with a medicine specialist if available. I would suggest a full abdominal ultrasound as well. I would get your vet to check the white blood cells to see if Choti is septic. It sounds like she is very very sick and needs intensive care. You can also get the lactate and the glucose checked to look for sepsis as well. If sepsis is present antibiotics are required ASAP, and imaging to tell if surgery is required. I hope Choti feels better soon!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Leo is having this problem. Many antibiotics cause gastrointestinal issues in cats so you will need to call your vet and let them know what is going on. Most likely they will have you stop one or both of the antibiotics and prescribe something different. I would also suggest that you put him on a pre/probiotic while he is taking antibiotics and then continue for at least one week after the antibiotics have been stopped. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Without seeing Z in person, I can't say what is the best course of treatment for him. I'd trust your vet's decision, but if you do have questions, you can always take him into another vet for a second opinion.