Our Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital Braveheart for February 2019 is Minnie Scott – a beautiful white Persian cat.
Minnie came in as an emergency due to haemorrhage around her rear end. After being triaged by one of the nurses who took a quick history from her owner, Minnie was seen by a veterinary surgeon. Minnie’s owner explained she had been urinating more frequently than normal. Cystitis was suspected, so she was sent home after being cleaned up with some anti-inflammatory’s and cystaid (a nutritional supplement for lower urinary tract infections).
Minnie returned a month later and sadly she had not improved as we would have liked. She had become very lethargic, was hiding away a lot and did not want to eat or drink. A blood test was taken from Minnie, normally after taking a blood sample, applying a small amount of pressure onto the jugular for around 20-30 seconds will prevent any bleeding, this was not the case for Minnie. Due to the large amount of immediate bruising and haemorrhage post blood sample, a blood disorder was suspected.
Minnie was placed on a drip, supplemented with oxygen therapy, a radiograph was taken and also a urine sample. All of Minnie’s tests at this point were run in house, but we did send of a blood smear to the laboratory who confirmed she had anaemia and thrombocytopenia (low platelets in the blood).
Minnie was hospitalized for a couple of days where steroid medication was started as well as Doxyclycline (an antibiotic) and Famotidine (to help protect her stomach as she still did not want to eat).
Minnie was discharged with an appetite stimulant including all of her other medications to continue at home. As soon as she returned home, her owners updated us that she had started eating again! Sometimes the stress of being away from home can unfortunately cause cats to become inappetant, so we were all very pleased to here she was continuing to do well at home.
Minnie has been diagnosed with a condition called IMHA (Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia) which means her immune system makes antibodies that attack their own red bloods cells. She also has a condition called IMTP (Immune medicated thrombocytopenia) where her body attacks her platelets. After being on different medications and her owners monitoring her symptoms very well at home, Minnie is doing very well! She comes in regularly for blood tests but she is back to the happy little Persian cat we all know and love here at Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital.
