My cat's red blood cell count is high. Should I be concerned?

Well, a high white blood cell count in the absence of anything else is not always significant. Often times, particularly at a veterinary office, the white blood cell count (the neutrophils in particular) can increase above normal from stress. Also, there is some variation from cat to cat, where small elevations above normal may not always have any significance. If the white blood cell elevation is real and significant, it is an indication of some type of inflammation occurring somewhere inside of the body. This is usually due to some type of bacterial/viral/fungal/parasitic infection or bodily injury. In other cases, we can also see it with certain toxins and even cancers. Without more information regarding your cat, it would be hard to say if this is a significant finding. If your cat is completely healthy and your vet has determined this, the white blood cell count is probably insignificant at this time.

Much more information would be required in order to make any sense or use of blood results, a summary of what has been concerning you, her signs and symptoms and response to any previous treatment i would be required at a minimum. It is unusual to have a high RBC/HCT (more than normal red blood cells )and low MCH/MCHC (usually found when recovering from anaemia). This may indicate the red blood cell production process is gone wrong and an examination of the cells under a microscope by a specialist pathologist and possible bone marrow biopsy may be required. Occasionally accidental exposure to human medications used to promote blood production can produce similar results

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, the basophils can be slightly high and not be a real concern. In his case, they are just very mildly elevated and not really something concerning. That could be due to some degree or inflammation that may resolve on its own. Best of luck!

If Pudding has been normal and the veterinarian did not find any abnormalities on her physical exam, then try not to stress. The blood cells are cyclic in nature and sometimes we catch them at a low point. Stress can also impact the counts. Retesting in 3 weeks is the best route to go so that you can see what the trend is and then make an appropriate assessment. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It's difficult to interpret lab work without some information on what symptoms the pet is having, why the test was run, etc. Without more information, all I can really say is that this CBC shows an elevated red blood cell count, which may indicate that the pet is dehydrated or can be a variation of normal in some pets. The white blood cell counts are mildly decreased, which can indicate some type of infection or, again, may not have any particular clinical significance. Feel free to post again with more information about what your pet is doing that concerns you, if you wish.

My concerns are that Kim has a high white blood count (indicating possible infection or immune mediated infection) and REALLY low hematocrit of 12%. The hematocrit is the percentage of red blood cells in the body. Usually when it is that low, the animal needs a blood transfusion. Granted I didn't do the exam on him so I would call your vet to discuss if this is needed, as well as additional diagnostics or medicines. I would also talk to them about whethe he needs to be hospitalized in a 24 hour care until he is more stable as he sounds very sick. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better really soon.

Sure thing. All values appear to be within normal limits. There are some suspected nucleated rbc's, but this doesn't really mean much since all over values are normal. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and If you have further questions or would like to go over your pets case more in detail feel free to repost with additional information (i.e. symptoms) about your pet Bubble. Best wishes and take care.