My older cat won't eat, has low white blood cells. What's wrong?

This is only a CBC test result. The white count is low and it is mostly low from not enough lymphocytes. My suspicion would be a virus or cancer. Viral infections are the most common cause of a low white blood cell count in cats. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) are two such viruses. These viruses invade the white blood cells and use them to make copies of themselves, increasing the virus’ strength and reducing the number of white blood cells. Other possibilities include: * Bacterial infections. These infections can range from abscesses to respiratory infections to sepsis. Essentially, any infection or inflammation causes a drop in white blood cells, particularly neutrophils. HER DROP IS LYMPHOCYTES, not neutrophils so I think this is less likely. * Bone marrow diseases, or the panleukopenia virus, which destroys the marrow where white blood cells are produced. * Pancreatitis. The inflammation of the pancreas will draw white blood cells from the bloodstream, lowering their count. * Certain medications. Corticosteroids can actually suppress the production of white blood cells. THIS IS WHY I DON'T AGREE WITH THE STEROID ADMINISTRATION AT THIS TIME. Antibiotics, yes. Steroids, no. Just my opinion though. I can't really say your vet is wrong. This is just not what I would do especially since she is not responding. More testing needs to be done: * repeat the CBC to see where the white count is now * chemistry panel to check liver, kidneys, etc * FeLV/FIV testing * FIP (corona virus) testing * pancreatitis test Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

Hello and thank you for your post! I am sorry to hear that Dinky may have leukemia. Some changes on blood work that you can see include anemia, low white blood cell count and low platelets to name a few common changes we see. I am unsure whether or not you mean leukemia or lymphoma? Leukemia can be typically diagnosed with a snap test that your vet's clinic should have on hand that would help confirm the diagnosis. If lymphoma, abdominal ultrasound would help but to get closer to a definitive diagnosis for lymphoma, you would need intestinal biopsies. Unfortunately with both diseases, they tend to progress and worsen. You can talk to your vet about appetite stimulant drugs and see if you can get a prescription for this. I would be careful with the steroids as they can cause further immunosuppression and could make things worse. Offer lots of tasty foods and see if it is a matter of palatability as well. Anti-nausea drugs such as Cerenia (from your vet's clinic) may also prove useful in getting the appetite back. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Kitty is not feeling very well. With the description and blood results, I worry about a condition known as hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) or triaditis (inflammation of the pancreas, liver and small intestines). For fatty liver disease, a feeding tube is generally recommended to help bring cats out of this condition as nutritional support is key and extremely important in these cases. I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound as the next diagnostic step to help better determine what the cause could be. If Kitty is still not wanting to eat, you need to consider hospitalization and feeding tube placement to help her get through this. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am so sorry for your loss. I don’t see your kitty’s age, but if he/she was older, I would be most suspicious that he/she had cancer somewhere. Even though FeLV negative, it’s still possible that cancer developed in her bone marrow due to an unknown cause. (Which unfortunately is usually the case with cancer). When all of the blood cells are low, primary bone marrow disease (cancer, immune mediated disease) may be to blame. It’s also possible that there was cancer elsewhere and the bone marrow stopped working due to either spread of the disease or because of what we call a “paraneoplastic syndrome”, which is just a fancy way to say that unfortunately cancer sometimes does whatever it wants. I am so sorry again for your heartache. It sounds like you did everything you could have for your cat. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Please let us know if we can help you further.

Poor Sachi! Significant weight loss and inappetence are certainly a major concern. I'm glad to hear that his blood work (I assume a CBC, chemistry and T4?) was unremarkable. However, foreign body intestinal obstruction/blockages, intestinal malabsorption issues that can cause inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), chronic pancreatitis, or cancerous processes, do not necessarily cause changes on screening blood tests. If Sachi has not yet had abdominal x-rays or an ultrasound, consider talking to your vet about these tests as his next diagnostic step. If he has a foreign body obstructing his intestines, this is a surgical emergency, and these tests would be helpful in obtaining a diagnosis. If pancreatitis, IBD or EPI are more highly suspected, consider talking to your vet about testing for vitamins B12 and folate, as well as TLI and fPLI. I hope this helps!

I'm sorry Bibich isn't feeling well. If he seems like he wants to eat and can't, then I get suspicious that maybe something is painful in his mouth. Also, then lighter color of his nose and paws concern me that maybe his is anemic. Anemia can be caused by infections, blood loss, and even the immune system attacking the red blood cells. I know you are worried about taking him to the veterinarian, but there is a chance they could find out what is wrong and help him. Otherwise there is a chance he could just become more sick and not improve. Best of luck and I hope he improves quickly. Thank you for using Pet Coach.