I Love Cats - Forum & Chat Board | FIV Cat Whose White Blood Cells are Low

 Dear All,

Our beautiful, 8 yr-old FIV positive cat Babu was recently diagnosed with very low white blood cells.  We just switched him to a liquid antibiotic because he would not take a pill pocket.  He's not doing well.  Very tired.  Only eating a little.  The vet says the prognosis is not good.  Has any one experienced this with your FIV kitty?  What did it mean and what happened?  Did anyone's kitty get well?  The vet really made it sound like Babu is at the end of his life; I am so incredibly sad.  I love this cat so very much.  Thanks for your thoughts & insights.  Best, Beth

 Hang in there Beth.

I have a 14 year with FIV.

On Christmas Eve 2002, he became very ill. Because it was Xmas, I couldn't have him put down. His mouth was ulcerated and he gave up eating. Our little dog cleaned his mouth and looked after him. Dog saliva is an antibiotic. By New Year, he had lost a lot of weight but was on the improve. 

Pussywillow is still with us now Sept 2009, old, but very healthy. I try to keep him on a raw food diet, warm and wormed.

how is Babu doing? WE have an FiV cat who is 5 years old with very low white blood cells and lymphoma.  WE tried a human drug called neupogen, it worked well for 4 weeks raising her whiile blood cell count. It was very expensive and had to be given daily. After 4 weeks her immune system built up antibodies to the human protein in the drug and it stopped working.

Now we are trying a new drug LTCI which was just approved for animal usage.  Other people have written us that it has worked very well in feline aids and according to the company is shown to be very promising in treating FIV cats. We have given her 2 dosages and had great results the first week in raising the white blood cell count to normal. We just got another blood count in today, however and the white blood cell count has gone down.  We have been told by others that they have had mostly good results and on occasion the white blood cell count has tanked and then rebounded again after changing the dosage amount.  We don't know what to expect with our cat and can only hope that things will improve again.  This is a new drug and brings much hope but there still needs to be many more case studies.  I certainly would look into it if your Babu is still with you.  As for appetite, our vet gave us appetite stimulant pills that we give her every 3 days and she eats very well now. 

Dear Beth, my cat was diagnosed with the cat aids and leukemia. The vets thought that she would only live for another three months. She was vomiting and couldn't keep anything in her stomach. Her white blood cells were extremely low. I contacted a natural vet in Fremantle (WA). She gave me some natural remedies including some mushroom extract. My cat is now back to it normal self and it has been over nine months now.  best of luck with you cat.