Old cat anemic and lethargic after antibiotics. What's the prognosis?

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 and thank you for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry Ickle is having these issues- sounds like there is a lot going on with him.. It is hard to say what exactly is causing Ickle's symptoms without examining him first, but these symptoms could point to advanced stage kidney disease which is very common in cats and can cause lethargy, anemia, and inappetence as toxins that should be normally filtered by the kidneys build up in the body. Kidneys make a substance that stimulated red blood cell production so when the kidney function in compromised, this substance is not made as much as can cause anemia. Another possibility may be liver disease or certain cancers. A simple blood test can be determine what organ(s) are not functioning well so the appropriate treatments can be given. Best of luck to you and Ickle!

An RBC of 7 is seriously low. It will take quite some time (around three weeks to get a normal RBC count) for your kitty to make new blood, so it is important that it eats and drinks. I would actually feed it canned food only, and even add some minced beef (hamburger) to it to make sure it has enough iron and moisture to make new blood. He should get a little bit better every day. Such severe anemia weakened your kitty and that is why he is so lethargic.

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!

The amount of time it takes for an animal to recover from anemia depends on the cause. There are multiple types of anemia and many causes of anemia. Infection, decreased production, destruction and hemorrhage. Diagnosis of anemia can sometimes be a bit tricky. However, that being said I would at least check for some of the most common infectious diseases that lead to anemia. There are infectious disease blood panels I can be sent out to the laboratory that test for a multitude of infectious organisms that can potentially cause anemia. If an abdominal ultrasound has not been performed, I would consider having this done as part of a full workup as well as a urinalysis. Without seeing her for an examination and not having the blood work in front of me, it is difficult to guide you in the exact direction that you should go. These are just some suggestions four cases that I commonly see. A reticulocyte count may also help in ruling out causes. A reticulocyte count tells us if the anemia is regenerative or non regenerative which helps us rule out certain causes of the anemia. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns that you may have. If you would like to talk more in detail about her case so that I may look at blood work and other lab results I am available via text or phone console if needed.

Poor Ramsey! Of course, without doing an exam myself and seeing the results of the testing it is difficult for me to give a thorough opinion about what is going on. My concern with his age and being on 4 pounds is that this could be a chronic issue preventing weight gain or could have caused rapid weight loss. I definitely think the antibiotics are a good idea. Some antibiotics like metronidazole actually also act as an anti-inflammatory on the GI tract. I would make sure they have ruled out giardia and campylobacter which may or may not be a problem in your area. If he isn't improving, I would also talk to your vet about running a GI panel which checks his vitamin B12, folate and 2 pancreatic enzymes (PLI, TLI) to help rule out some other GI issues. Finally, you may consider putting him on a strict prescription hypoallergenic diet for 8-12 weeks to rule out any food allergies/sensitivities. I hope this helps! If you would like to discuss different possibilities and results of tests, please feel free to set up a consult with me. Thank you! I hope he starts to feel better!

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.