Cat with Anemia

Question
QUESTION: I have a kitten who is about seven months old. When she was tiny (one pound) I found her in a parking lot. I took her right  to my vet to be checked out and she gave her a cocktail of "kitten vaccines".  She almost died that night, but after spending the night in an emergency hospital, has recovered completely. The vet at the emergency hospital said it was probably a combination of a lot of things, including stress.  

Anyway, I have been very protective of her and have kept her inside her entire life. I know that I have to have her spayed, but have been putting it off due to her previous bad experience. I had her tested  for all of the viruses (at about 2-1/2 to 3 months of age) and they all came back negative. My vet sends the tests away and they run about $65.00 so I am assuming they are thorough and accurate.

I took her in last week to do blood work before having her spayed on Monday (the 30th). The vet called me and said she is anemic, he said her count is 17.3, but should be 24.5.  He mentioned something about being "pyometra"(?) and asked if she had recently been in heat. I told him that she was in heat a few weeks ago. (To tell the truth, she seemed to be in heat off and on now for a month or more, and seems to be so today--howling and rolling all over the floor). He said that there is probably something going on with her uterus and it is necessary to have her spayed to correct it. I am now scared to death to have her spayed, I am so afraid of losing her.

We have it scheduled for first thing this Monday morning. I have tried to find a connection online with anemia and being in heat, but am unable to find anything. Although she is strictly inside, she did have flea problems (she scratched her neck almost raw), so I put Advantage on her last week. She shows absolutely no signs of being ill or weak, she eats normally-(mostly dry Purina kitten chow and pro plan canned kitten food) and at times plays like a mad cat, running and jumping all over the place.  I have several other cats and they are all spayed, so I know that it is the right and responsible thing to do.  

I am just wondering if her count of 17.3 is cause for concern or very mild, and should I go ahead with the spaying day after tomorrow , or put it off until she is better? Will it be any more dangerous with the anemia problem? And if she is in heat, should I wait or is it safe to go ahead and do it?  Again, she acts perfectly normal and well in every way.  The vet did start her on Clavamox twice a day in anticipation of the surgery.

Thanks for any help you can offer me.

ANSWER: Hi Debbie, sorry to be so slow getting back to you. I had a pipe burst in my walls over the weekend and everything was torn apart to get to it.. including my internet connection so I am just back online today. I suppose by the time you are reading this you have had her spayed ?! I like the sound of your vet if he is putting her on clavamox and getting blood panels done before spaying her. It sounds like he/she is really taking many precautions to do the best thing possible for your cat. Anemia is a concern but at her level it is not going to put her at high risk for surgery. It will affect her in other ways like stress on her organs over time , problems breathing, weakness etc. A spay surgery is typically 15 minutes so it is going to be short and relatively safe and may alleviate this anemia problem for her!  With a cat like yours the vet will have to pay close attention to the anesthetic and it sounds like your vet is prepared to do that. I hope you write me back with the news that she has had her surgery and is recovering with lots of bed rest and good movies :)
Teresa

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QUESTION: I just wanted to thank you for getting back to me. I did put off the spaying as I received several responses online recommending that I wait until the anemia is under control. And hopefully find the cause of the anemia. You stated that 17.5 is mild?  That is good news to me.  I am hoping it is fleas that she has had that is the root of the problem.  I did use Advantage on her a week or so ago. Most agreed that at 7 months of age it is probably not pyomera, and also in the fact that she is acting normal...no other signs of being ill. I did contact my vet on Monday and cancelled the surgery and asked the vet to call me back when she had a chance to further discuss the anemia. (The vet who was to do the surgery is the one who took the blood sample, but the other vet (her husband) is the one who suggested pyometra, and urged me to have her spayed on Monday.  Since she had not been examined by either of them and not even seen by the one suggesting the surgery, I was somewhat hesitant to do it.)  I do know that at some point I will have her spayed, as I know that it is the right thing to do. Again...thanks for your help.  And if you have any other opinions on this I greatly appreciate any help I can get. Hope your house is all back to normal after the pipe burst....what a mess.

Answer
Hi Debbie, thanks for getting back to me. I didn't really mean that 17.5 was mild but what I was trying to say is that it is not low enough to delay a surgery. When a cat is really anemic they have problems breathing and are not processing their oxygen properly and if that was her situation I would delay surgery... but at 17.5 she is probably not showing these problems. HOWEVER it does need to be addressed !
AND>>. I disagree about the pyometra not happening in young cats. It can be seen at any age, although it is certainly more common or classic, in a cat that has been in heat and in heat and in heat for more than 3 or 4 times without being bred. If your cat was doing that, then she is certainly at risk for pyo... but you normally see other symptoms like listlessness, depression, raise in temperature etc. There is also a "closed pyometra" that can really sneak up on even the best of us ! You do not see any discharge or any outwards symptoms until the infection is quite entrenched. NOW>.. I would not have guessed pyometra to cause anemia...? but I am not a vet ! Anemia can be caused by ANY internal bleeding. In people it can be a sign of ulcers for example !! or a woman with heavy periods or unfortunately various cancers will cause anemia. It can also be a sign of a body that is unable to replace the blood cells at the correct rate.. or a body that is producing small irregular blood cells. I encourage you to defer to your vets good advice on this one and see if she could be left for another month to see if there are any changes. You may also want to opt for an ultrasound which should give you some firm answers as to what if anything is going on with her uterus. Your kitten has been ill since day one... I certainly hope she has nothing seriously wrong with her, but catching these things and looking for ways to correct them asap is very important... Good luck with her ! Teresa