My anemic cat's belly is bloated. Is it FIP or something else?

Sorry to hear that Stella Rose has a low blood count. A red blood cell count of 21 means that she is anemic. This could be because she isn't making RBC's or it could mean that she's losing them (from bleeding somewhere or her body destroying them). If she also has a bloated stomach one of my first concerns would be intestinal parasites. Other things to consider would be diseases such as FIP or other blood borne diseases. Hopefully she gets better soon!

Hi there. The spleen is a lymphatic organ, somewhat similar to lymphnodes. It can enlarge with many different types of problems such as feline leukemia virus, FIV, FIP, and even cancers like lymphoma. If blood work has not been done yet then I would recommend blood work and an ultrasound of the abdomen. I would encourage you to discuss doing an ultrasound guided needle aspirate of the spleen with your veterinarian. This may help determine what the underlying problem is. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the X-rays, I can see that Mara's abdomen appears to be filled with fluid. It is obscuring his liver and intestines from being seen and there may even be a small amount in his lungs. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell what the fluid is from the x-ray alone. His blood work shows some abnormalities with his electrolytes, which may be if he is not eating or from fluid in the abdomen. Mara also has a high white blood cell count, these are the cells that are responsible for fighting off infections and increase if there is one present. Your vet can run some additional diagnostics, and perform a tap and remove the fluid as well as a blood test to determine if Mara is infected with FIP, a mutated form of a common virus that cats are exposed to. I hope this helps!

If his stomach seems significantly bloated it could be a sign of ascites or fluid in the abdomen. I think it would be best to see a vetas soon as you can and an emergency visit might be the best option. They may recommend blood work and x-rays after a physical exam.

I’m very sorry to hear that Olive isn’t doing well. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough information here for a diagnosis. Some follow up questions I have based on this information would be: -did the vet look at a blood smear to confirm lack of platelets? Nearly absent platelets would make me worry about immune mediated destruction. -what was the composition of the abdominal fluid? -has the heart been evaluated? -was there normal blood protein/albumin/globulins? I’m sorry I can’t provide a specific answer for you but this bloodwork points me to more questions. It sounds like Olive needs additional testing, and you may want to consider referring to a specialty hospital. But I’d start by checking the abdominal fluid and blood protein composition. Based on the age and breed, I’d be a bit worried about FIP. Hope this helps. All the best to you and Olive.

These are very concerning symptoms, and could fit several serious issues, such as GI obstruction, internal bleeding, infection, cancer, etc. I would recommend having Lily examined by a vet. After physical examination, the vet may recommend diagnostics such as blood work or x-rays to determine the best possible treatment.

More clinical signs and details are needed to determine the underlying cause, including details of the tests your vet have performed. When there is a suspcion of FIP, the underlying cause of the bloat (fluid, organ enlargement and so on) should be determine first, then if there is fluid inside her abdomen this should be ideally sampled and tested. Gastrointestinal worms should be rule out as they are commonly a possible cause of bloat in young kittens. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!