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My kitten has hypoglycemia or anemia need advice please

carolina griego

Savannah Super Cat
I have a 7 week old kitten that lost a lot of weight rapidly and had diarrhea I took her to my vet he said the runt usually drops in weight. He gave her a shot to raise her appetite and high calorie wet food and was told to force feed her.
Three days later she looked even weaker and urinenated on herself, he checked her and said her sugar level were really low, gave her fluids and Nutri-cal oral gel. He also took a blood test and the results were negative he said she was fine and was just anemic to keep giving her the nutrical and feeding her.
Today they called first thing in the morning and said the test was inconclusive and they needed more blood to test again at no cost. I went in and I was happy that she had gained weight but a few hours ago I saw that shes really constipated. I read an article that said the Nutri-cal causes constipation. I dont know what to do any more its saturday night and my vet opens monday morning
 

carolina griego

Savannah Super Cat
The article I read also said to feed her protein that it will normalize blood sugar as protein is digested more slowly and will put solids in the GI tract to prevent constipation. Please any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
How can you tell she is constipated? Can you actually feel the stool in her belly? Or have you just noticed that she hasn't pooped for a few days? Does she seem dehydrated? You can start by giving her extra water, with a syringe if you have it, or even better give it to her subq if you have the setup. If you don't think she's dehydrated you can try giving her 1-2cc olive oil and/or add psyllium (unflavored Metamucil) to her food.

Just a word of caution though - if she was recently having diarrhea and now not passing any stool, that could be an indication of a bowel obstruction, and you don't want to do any of the above if there is an obstruction.

I'm also confused about the blood test(s). First you say it was negative, then you say it showed she was anemic, then it needed to be repeated. What all was your vet testing for, and what is the repeat test specifically looking for?

In either case, if the issue isn't resolved and she appears uncomfortable or in pain you might start looking for an ER vet.
 

carolina griego

Savannah Super Cat
The reason i could tell shes constipated is because around her butt it got really swollen and i could see her struggling, the poop was also visible but wont come out. Im not 100% sure what he tested for he mentioned a few things but the test for her blood sugar was low thats why he said she was anemic..
I just gave her some raw chicken and she was able to poop a little. Thanks for the advice Patti any suggestions incase it is anemia or i read an article that suggest the symptoms can be hypoglycemia
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
Well, anemia and hypoglycemia are two different issues, and a low blood sugar definitely doesn't point to anemia. I've actually never heard of a cat or kitten that was hypoglycemic except in the case of diabetes and medication (over)usage. Did your vet have any ideas on why she is hypoglycemic?

There are a few things that can cause anemia in cats (besides the obvious one of blood loss through trauma): hookworm infestation causing blood loss through the GI tract, mycoplasma infection, PK deficiency, and sometimes even blood loss from a flea or tick infestation. Hopefully your vet is exploring the cause and will be able to treat it.
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
What "blood test" did they do that was negative? I'm hoping that if they are suspecting anemia they are doing a CBC to confirm that?

I can't say that I would be satisfied with a vet that dismisses a kitten as being the runt hence a drop in weight is to be expected? Losing weight with diarrhea to me indicates something is wrong, and possibly the very reason the kitten is the "runt".

Am I remembering correctly, are these the kittens whose father has FIP? Is it possible that this kitten is also affected?

I'd add the psyllium (metamucil) as Patti says and make sure she is getting plenty of fluids. Even chicken baby food can be a good choice, if you add the psyllium to it you can then add more water as well and that way make sure she is getting more fluids...
 
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