My cat has kidney disease and anemia. How to boost red blood cells?

Using EPO is definitely an option since your cat is so anemic. Over time, some cats will develop resistance but I have had good success with using EPO. Talk to your vet about the exact protocol and if he/she thinks it is an appropriate option for your cat. I am not sure of his kidney values but it definitely might be the best option to improve his anemia and increase his quality of life.

The best diet for a cat with chronic renal failure is a canned-only, low-protein diet - this won't help with the anemia, specifically, but is the best option to help slow the progression of her kidney disease in general. You can try supplementing her with an iron supplement designed for cats such as Pet-Tinic - this can be ordered online without a prescription, and has dosing instructions on the label based on your kitty's weight.

Unfortunately anemia related to lymphoma is usually not due to iron deficiency so eating iron rich foods may not make much difference. As long as your cat does not have any food sensitivities I do think it would be okay to feed him small amounts of cooked chicken liver. It can be rich, so if you notice any vomiting or diarrhea I would discontinue.

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!

The pale gums do signify anemia that could be related to kidney disease, cancer, bone marrow disease and other significant issues as well. I think your ideas are good and could be beneficial although they do not address the underlying problem. However good nutrition is always a good thing. Cats that are hard to handle are challenging and diagnostics are the only way to know what is the cause of the anemia. Certainly it is concerning that she did not do well with sedation. You may contact her vet and ask about an option of an oral light sedative called Gabapentin that tends to work well for aggressive cats without the side effects of stronger sedatives. It doesn’t work for every cat but I find it to be effective more often than not. Your vet will decide if this is an option based upon your pet’s overall health and previous medical history. I hope this helps!

These two diseases are very frustrating to manage as the kidneys need fluid to help "flush" them but the heart cannot handle any additional fluid. Additionally many drugs used to treat CHF cause harm to the kidneys. With anemia and kidney disease there are synthetic hormone injections that stimulate red blood cell production. Your veterinarian has to administer these injections. Sometimes even a blood transfusion is given but this has to be balanced with the heart failure. I recommend discussing with your veterinarian which disease process is most critical right now and start treating that as aggressively as possible. This would likely mean hospitalization for Anthony.

If he won't eat the Royal Canin renal diet then you should try a different brand like Hill's k/d. The Hill's diet has an appetite stimulant in it which helps with palatability. If he won't eat that either then all you can do is feed him what he will eat. It may shorten his life span but you cannot let him starve to death. If he is anemic that is called anemia of chronic disease. The only thing to help that is injections of EPO (erythropoeitin). Feeding organ meet is not going to help. ( https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/cardiovascular/c_ct_anemia_chronic_kidney_disease )