Cat Just Not Feeling Well

Question
My 7 year old Cat just doesn't seem to be feeling well.  4 weeks ago we noticed that she just wasn't playing as much and not eating like she used to.  We ran a blood workup and found that her WBC was a bit low and her BUN was 66 and creatinine also elevated over 2, which has been holding pretty steady for the last year.  Also, we had her blood pressure checked and it was at 250 so we started her on amlodipine.  We had a specialist do a cardiac ultrasound and found that she may have some very minor leaks in her valves, but he suggested nothing medically at this time.  2 weeks later her blood pressure was down to 220, but not low enough so we increased the dose from qd to bid.  We also started feeding her more Fancy Feast wet food (just to get her eating more) and got her back to eating a good amount.  She gained most of the weight that she lost, but she still isn't feeling that great.  She won't eat any of the renal dietary foods.  She plays a little bit and then goes to her kitty perch and doesn't want to be bothered.  She squints her eyes like cats do when they just aren't feeling great.  Last week her BP was up again to 240 so we increased the bid dose.  Our vet suggested an abdominal ultrasound by a specialist if she doesn't get better and/or a bone marrow biopsy due to the low WBC, which was 3.5  We also had her thyroid checked just in case and that was normal.  Can you suggest anything else to look for?  We're really very scared that something may be wrong that we're missing.


Answer
Donna -

The bone marrow biopsy sounds like a logical step. Her WBC count is low, and the bone marrow biopsy can help to rule out certain bloodborne diseases.  Have you had radiographs done of the abdomen?  Sometimes we do not see the forest for the trees and an abdominal radiograph may give some indication of how the GI tract and the bladder looks.   Is she defecating okay?  Is the urinating okay?
Your veterinarian can help you to rule out other diseases.  

Good Luck -

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM