My kitten has neutropenia. Is it serious if she's asymptomatic?

Well, a high white blood cell count in the absence of anything else is not always significant. Often times, particularly at a veterinary office, the white blood cell count (the neutrophils in particular) can increase above normal from stress. Also, there is some variation from cat to cat, where small elevations above normal may not always have any significance. If the white blood cell elevation is real and significant, it is an indication of some type of inflammation occurring somewhere inside of the body. This is usually due to some type of bacterial/viral/fungal/parasitic infection or bodily injury. In other cases, we can also see it with certain toxins and even cancers. Without more information regarding your cat, it would be hard to say if this is a significant finding. If your cat is completely healthy and your vet has determined this, the white blood cell count is probably insignificant at this time.

A lower wbc in the aftermath of panleuc infection would not be uncommon but it would be expected to rise over 4-6weeks as he recovers, as should the hgb. I recommend keeping him isolated as far as possible from other cats as he recuperates as he would be prone to catching infections

Poor Jasper! In addition to antibiotics, I would start Jasper on an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) to help with the fever, if they have not already done so, since his kidney values are normal. It does happen occasionally that we see a cat that is obviously experiencing symptoms of a severe infection or inflammatory response, but we are unable to locate the source of the infection. If abdominal radiographs and ultrasound were not done, this is something additional that could potentially help discover the source of the infection. At this point, make sure he is eating, get the antibiotics into him, ask for pain medication like an nsaid (metacam, onsiar, etc.) or an opiate (buprenorphine) if they didn't send you with one, and give him time. Best of luck!

It can be indicative of an immune problem, but can occur for various other reasons. I would have it checked again in a few weeks in case it was just transient, also confirming a low wbc count on a microscope is a good idea as machines can get it wrong. Maybe your vet already did this though.

This is only a CBC test result. The white count is low and it is mostly low from not enough lymphocytes. My suspicion would be a virus or cancer. Viral infections are the most common cause of a low white blood cell count in cats. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) are two such viruses. These viruses invade the white blood cells and use them to make copies of themselves, increasing the virus’ strength and reducing the number of white blood cells. Other possibilities include: * Bacterial infections. These infections can range from abscesses to respiratory infections to sepsis. Essentially, any infection or inflammation causes a drop in white blood cells, particularly neutrophils. HER DROP IS LYMPHOCYTES, not neutrophils so I think this is less likely. * Bone marrow diseases, or the panleukopenia virus, which destroys the marrow where white blood cells are produced. * Pancreatitis. The inflammation of the pancreas will draw white blood cells from the bloodstream, lowering their count. * Certain medications. Corticosteroids can actually suppress the production of white blood cells. THIS IS WHY I DON'T AGREE WITH THE STEROID ADMINISTRATION AT THIS TIME. Antibiotics, yes. Steroids, no. Just my opinion though. I can't really say your vet is wrong. This is just not what I would do especially since she is not responding. More testing needs to be done: * repeat the CBC to see where the white count is now * chemistry panel to check liver, kidneys, etc * FeLV/FIV testing * FIP (corona virus) testing * pancreatitis test Hope this helps. Best wishes.

If Pudding has been normal and the veterinarian did not find any abnormalities on her physical exam, then try not to stress. The blood cells are cyclic in nature and sometimes we catch them at a low point. Stress can also impact the counts. Retesting in 3 weeks is the best route to go so that you can see what the trend is and then make an appropriate assessment. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I am so sorry for your loss. I don’t see your kitty’s age, but if he/she was older, I would be most suspicious that he/she had cancer somewhere. Even though FeLV negative, it’s still possible that cancer developed in her bone marrow due to an unknown cause. (Which unfortunately is usually the case with cancer). When all of the blood cells are low, primary bone marrow disease (cancer, immune mediated disease) may be to blame. It’s also possible that there was cancer elsewhere and the bone marrow stopped working due to either spread of the disease or because of what we call a “paraneoplastic syndrome”, which is just a fancy way to say that unfortunately cancer sometimes does whatever it wants. I am so sorry again for your heartache. It sounds like you did everything you could have for your cat. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Please let us know if we can help you further.