Why won't my senior Siamese cat eat or poop after a high WBC count?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Precious! I think you should take Precious to the Vet today before the weekend. Three days is a long time to be sick and not be better. We don't like cats going more than 3 days with out eating. I would collect a stool sample to bring with you so the Vet can check for intestinal parasites. Causes of vomiting, diarrhea and not eating in an older cat are: kidney and liver failure, diabetes, overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), intestinal parasites, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. Your Vet, after their exam, will likely do blood work, check her stool for parasites and possibly take an X-ray of her belly. I hope this helps and I wish Precious a speedy recovery!

If she is not eating much, she will not produce as much stool. It could also indicate the problem is in her intestines. You should move onto the next diagnostic. I recommend an abdominal ultrasound to look at the intestines for signs of lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease. It may also show evidence of liver disease or pancreatitis. Discuss these options with your veterinarian. Best of luck.

High white cell counts indicate inflammation or infection and yes, IBD can contribute. IF she seems back to herself you could continue with the new diet and retest in 3-4weeks to see if the white count is returning to normal. Intestinal biopsies are not without risk and if she has stabilised on the new diet I would be include to continue and monitor

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.

Poor Clementine, it is a lot to go through at her age, however I am confident she can get better. I would not worry about the ointment if the abscess has already scabbed over. You can try cleaning the pus away gently with some cotton wool and lukewarm water, if she allows you to do so. As her sense of smell is probably affected, you need to offer her food that smells quite strong such as tuna in water, or boiled cod, or Hill’s recovery wet food. In particular, this last food is in a pate form, and it can be made a bit more watery by adding some water to aid water intake. You could warm it up slightly in the microwave, and offer it afterwards. Always start small with portions, and if eating increase the portion and offer again in 2 hours. If she is still not eating by this afternoon best to have her checked over as she could benefit from being rehydrated and have her temperature rechecked as it could still be up a bit. Hope she makes some progress soon.

This is a medical emergency, and Daisy has to see a vet now. It's very serious when a cat won't eat, and if they don't eat going on 72 hours, they will develop a fatty liver which is fatal without treatment. She's probably not pooping because she isn't eating. She has to see a vet immediately, please take her into one right away. Best of luck.

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.