Our mysteriously Fleurp and her anemia

So several years ago, Fleurp started licking the cement in our basement and eating dirt out of our plants. It was such an odd thing (although sadly not the oddest thing ever to happen in my house - that distinction goes to Ollie who used to eat the pink fiberglass insulation) that I looked it up online. I found that it was a huge red flag that a cat could be anemic.

I made an appointment with the vet as soon as I could, although I am kinda sad to admit how much time had elapsed since I first realized the symptom and the time I got there, and low and behold her blood count was very low.  We put her on prednisolone and doxycycline and took x-rays (lots of x-rays before was all said and done since she had a huge chunk of cement in her belly)

We tested her for felv/fiv (negative) and hemobart (neg), but she responded so nicely to the pred and held her RBC that we let it go.

That fall she seemed to be having problems again so I brought her in for another cbc and she was fine.

The next spring, anemic again.  More tests. More pred.. Still no answers, and she bounces back like a rubber ball we cross our fingers.

Again, spring.. *sigh* went holistic route this time.. we got her through it with just holistic remedies. Didn't even test her that year, but she started losing the fur off her ears.  Vet was so busy that when I asked about it she told me to discontinue the remedy and didn't offer any other solutions.. she did fine off the remedy so we just let it go and crossed our fingers again.

Last year.. more anemia.  More discussions with the vet. Still no answers.

this year on June 12th

This year I spent the whole year preparing her body to do battle with anemia. I gave her regular supplementation of liqui-tinic to keep her body well stocked with b vitamins, amino acids and iron. I gave her semi regular supplementation of her raw food with Fancy Feast classics to keep her weight up (she has weight loss with her anemia) I brushed her regularly in case shedding had anything to do with it. I lavished her with love.

Yeah, love didn't cut it, neither did anything else. Her blood was so sticky that the machine that does the CBC read it as 3% (which is practically dead and needs a blood transfusion now) so they spun it and got 13. It was odd because she was still fairly pink up until that last day, and her weight was holding steady; and while she wasn't lethargic she was less interested in things just staring off at nothing unless we were actively trying to get her attention - which was very easy to do. This time she started licking the mirror.. just one mirror in the bedroom, and she did it every time after I gave her some canned food.

The vet.. I like the vet because she is thorough, but she takes every immediate symptom and runs through all of the scenarios, including the worst case one. Fleurp had a bit of an arrhythmia, and she is talking of blood tests and echo-cardiograms before we even ran her cbc.  When her blood count came back, I asked if that could cause the arrhythmia and she admitted it could, so I said we would worry about that afterwards. Since we have no idea why she becomes anemic every single late spring, she talked about all of the things we could test including a bone biopsy. It has been mentioned a few times that it might be immune mediated hemolytic anemia and that we can test for, with the Coombs test.  So we ran that... and oddly enough it was negative.

I REALLY want to know what this is, but I don't see the point in running tests, especially bone biopsies which has got to hurt, to prove what it might be if the treatment is always going to be a round of steroids when ever she starts having a problem. I need to have another good discussion with the vet about what it could be, what tests there are to prove it, and if it is what ever we are testing for, what is the results of knowing this.  If there is a possibility to fix what ever it is, I'm all over that like white on rice (well on white rice - since forbidden rice is black)

24 hours after starting pred.. she's getting into trouble again

So we tested her again on Monday, and her PCV went from 13% to 23%.  Like a rubber ball my little girl.. (in more ways than one) so we are going to continue her on pred twice a day until the 1st when we test her again (and Muffin and Kit are going in for dental cleanings) and hopefully we will have a stronger game plan, but if not the vet is talking about putting her on pred come the first of June next year and just hoping to keep this from happening again.

Update - Fleurp

Fleurp went back to the vet on Monday.  Her blood work showed marked improvement but she still has a way to go.  One of the results was out of the "normal" range and Dr. R didn't mention it when going over it so I asked and he said that it meant that her blood was 'fluffy' which was quite funny since Fleurp has always been "fluffy" herself and being on pred she became extra fluffy gaining a pound and a half

He said she was not infected with hemobart, that there would have been evidence of that in the blood work.  So he believes her own immune system is causing problems for one reason or another and that she might need to be on pred for the rest of her life to keep it in check.

I'm not a huge fan of that idea* as being on steroids can cause diabetes in cats.  He mentioned that maybe not as it was a year and a half since the last time we went through this.  I tried to do some reading on whole health support for anemia, and there was talk of injectible B12 being helpful.  I so need to do more reading to see what else might help.  I have another appointment on the 7th for another recheck.    *but since anemia can actually be fatal, if it is give pred or face life threatening anemia, I'll give it and deal with diabetes when or if it comes.

I still think Fleurp isn't feeling like her old self.  She has her moments when she is feeling better and comes into the bedroom seeking attention.  It just kills me to see her laying on the floor in the kitchen after coming out of the bedroom having the entire bed covered with kitties except her.

I may be fluffy, but it is all part of my charm

Fleurp

Well I ended back at the vet's office today.  I had been noticing that Fleurp wasn't exactly her Fleurpy self.  She had been sitting near the section of cement in the basement that she prefered to lick the last time she was anemic.  She looked a little pale, but not dramatically so.  I had weighed her recently and she was 10lbs 3 oz, and Sunday she was 9lbs 15.  Not a dramatic weight loss, and could be explained by a trip to the litter box.  But on Sunday I saw her get up from the kitchen and head downstairs.  I followed her and she went right to the cement.  (hence the weighing her again)

And of course I worried like a fool.  Got almost no sleep, called the vet at 7:59 and found they don't open the phone like till 8:00.. that was a freakishly long minute, cause their close is a bit behind ours (and even the Today show, because that started playing and they still weren't picking up). Finally got through and got an appointment at 1:45

Her pack cell was 22% her white cell count was up, she might have had a smidge of fever but that was probably due to the stress of going to the vet.  Sadly she doesn't enjoy going as much as I would like her to.  A smear indicated possible hemobart so he thought it was best to send some blood off to the lab to see exactly what is going on.  Since she has almost exactly the same symptoms and test results as the last time this happened she's on the exact same protocol as last time, prednisolone and doxycycline and we go back in two weeks for a recheck.

OK seriously? stressed out hiding in my coat at the vet and she STILL takes a great photo..