The most common blood disorder in the cat is anemia. If the number of red blood cells is an impairment – anemia happens. It could progress from loss, lysis, or liability of production of red blood cells.  

Symptoms 

  • Most commonly, cats with anemia report feelings of debility or tiredness, and sometimes poor concentration (it does not have any reaction to noise) and activity. 
  • You can also notice shortness of breath on exertion.  
  • The cat with anemia does not want to play and sleep more than usual. 
  • The cat does not have an appetite and refuses  food or eats little 
  • Pallor (pale skin for Egyptian cat, lining mucosa, conjunctiva and nail beds) 
  • In very severe anemia, the body may compensate for the lack of oxygen-carrying capability of the blood by increasing cardiac output. The cat may have symptoms related to this, such as palpitations, intermittent claudication of the legs, and symptoms of heart failure. 

 

Anemia in Cats: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

A cat, suffering from anemia, quickly gets tired and lies almost all the time.

 Anemia is arranged as regenerative or nonregenerative.   

  •  regenerative anemia, the cat’s organism responds consistently to the subsidence number of red blood cells by enlargement red blood cell production.   
  •  nonregenerative anemia, the cat’s organism responds one-sided to the enlargement need for red blood cells.  

Regenerative anemias  

Causes 

  1. Immune system dysfunction  
  2. Diseases of the small blood vessels  
  3. Metabolic disorders  
  4. Toxins could be in much different stuff such as food, plants, chemicals.   
  5. Infections. It could be many occasions. Bacteria, viruses, or other organisms can conduce to cat’s anemia. All of these could injure cats organism. 
  6. Genetic diseases 
  7. Also, drugs can cause anemia if they are ingested accidentally, for example. It could be drugs such as aspirin penicillin, naproxen, and other antibiotic and antiparasitic agents.  

Feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus can cause anemia in cats. So, you should remember, that it is very important to get the full list of symptoms to your cat’s veterinarian when the disease is suspected!   

 Nonregenerative anemias  

Cause  

  1. Poor diet
  2. Chronic diseases  
  3. Kidney disease 
  4. Disorders of the bone marrow or aplastic anemia. It is the ability of bone marrow to increase new blood cells is reduced. 
  5. Anemia is often classified as nonregenerative and mild to moderate. The most usual form of anemia seen in cats is nonregenerative anemia. It occurs after a long-term inflammation or infection, a tumor, liver disease, or hormonal disorders. 

Diagnostic 

  • Veterinary examine the cat 
  •  It is essential to do blood analysis 
  •  Sometimes, it is necessary to do bone marrow aspiration. 

Treatments 

It is very important to find causes of cat’s illnesses. For all types of anemia, substitution therapy is usually used drugs based on iron, cobalt, copper and B vitamins. Also, the cat should have a good diet, aimed at the restoration of the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin.