Accepted Answer

Hi,
I'm sorry your cat is so sick. If she is only 6 y.o., I wouldn't expect her to be slowing down yet.

My main concerns would be feline leukemia or feline AIDS, which can come from being bitten by infected cats. Either of these viruses can suppress the immune system, making it harder to fight infection. They can also cause some cancers that could affect a younger cat. Hopefully your vet added these 2 tests to the bloodwork; if not it should be easy to call the lab and have them run.

I would also worry about hemobartonella (which is now called something else, I believe), which is a blood-borne parasite. It is transmitted by fleas and ticks and can be in a cat's system for a long time without causing problems. Stress (say, from a cat bite abscess) can cause the organisms to multiply and cause problems. These cats are very lethargic, anemic, and can have weight loss. Your vet will likely have a suspicion of this after seeing the complete bloodwork (if it shows anemia).

The fact that it was hard to get blood doesn't really indicate anything. Even healthy cats tend to have small, rolling veins and don't bleed very quickly!

Hope this helps a little. Please let me know what they find out.

Expert:	Dr. Scarlett
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:	8/5/2009

Cat Veterinarian

I am a practicing small animal veterinarian with 13 years experience.