WBC count question

Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count, or is this likely leukemia? That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

"dgk" wrote in message
...
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil

"dgk" wrote in message
...
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 13:23:31 UTC, dgk
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots



What is the differential on the WBC? FeLeuk works opposite than
leukemia in people -- cats' WBC crashes and they also begin throwing
out nucleated RBC's because the system is overwhelmed and
tries to make up new RBC's faster than they can mature.

The high WBC and sores indicate an infection. The danger here is
sepsis -- which can cause the WBC's to crash.

LT

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 13:23:31 UTC, dgk
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots



What is the differential on the WBC? FeLeuk works opposite than
leukemia in people -- cats' WBC crashes and they also begin throwing
out nucleated RBC's because the system is overwhelmed and
tries to make up new RBC's faster than they can mature.

The high WBC and sores indicate an infection. The danger here is
sepsis -- which can cause the WBC's to crash.

LT

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 16:18:28 GMT, "Linda Terrell"
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 13:23:31 UTC, dgk
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots



What is the differential on the WBC? FeLeuk works opposite than
leukemia in people -- cats' WBC crashes and they also begin throwing
out nucleated RBC's because the system is overwhelmed and
tries to make up new RBC's faster than they can mature.

The high WBC and sores indicate an infection. The danger here is
sepsis -- which can cause the WBC's to crash.

LT


I'll find out about the diff.

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 16:18:28 GMT, "Linda Terrell"
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 13:23:31 UTC, dgk
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.

The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped. She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat. At the
same time I started really giving her food because she had to gain
weight. So it isn't clear just what is causing the diarrhea. It's
possible that it is a combination of things and that all the food she
is eating is overwhelming her system.

Anyway, the only real symptoms are the diarrhea and high WBC, plus her
evident distress when chewing. I still haven't managed to get a good
look at her mouth. She does not like people playing around with it.

I am reassured that you think it unlikely that she has Leukemia
because that would not be good. It is very possible that all of her
problems stem from terrible tooth/gum conditions. The current plan of
attack is to wait another week while she is on Clava (.. whatever
antibiotic) and prednisone and try to get her weight up a bit more.
Then I'm going to take her to the Long Island Veterinary Specialists
(http://www.livs.org), the local pros, and get their diagnosis and
hopefully they feel that she would have a decent chance of surviving
anesthesia. My local vet does not feel confident in doing it at this
point although he was very encouraged by her putting on a pound (now
tipping the scales at 6) since I got her. He thinks that taking her to
LIVS would be a very good idea.

There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots



What is the differential on the WBC? FeLeuk works opposite than
leukemia in people -- cats' WBC crashes and they also begin throwing
out nucleated RBC's because the system is overwhelmed and
tries to make up new RBC's faster than they can mature.

The high WBC and sores indicate an infection. The danger here is
sepsis -- which can cause the WBC's to crash.

LT


I'll find out about the diff.

"dgk" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 02:54:59 -0400, "Phil P."
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
Jackie Cat has a WBC count of 51,000 and normal is up to 16,000. Can
an infection cause such a high count,


and/or inflamation.


or is this likely leukemia?

Possible but not probable.


That
is the only abnormal test. Physically, she has constant diarrhea and
has since I got her about 3 months ago.

Have you had your cat checked for worms and other parasites?

Phil



Yes, O&P was the first test she had after I brought her home. They
couldn't get much blood from her then because she went nuts. That was
three months ago.


Fear, stress, excitement and difficulty drawing a blood sample can raise the
WBC count 20K (physiologic leukocytosis).


The quick history is that I saw her in a local pet store in a fairly
large cage with eight other cats. She was so scrawny and sad looking
that I took her home figuring that she could have a decent last year
since I figured she was going to die if she was left there. She is 12
or 13 and weighed 5 lbs even though she ate everything they gave her.
She has the saddest eyes that I've ever seen.

We guessed maybe thyroid or diabetes or IBD. The first two are pretty
much ruled out by the normal chemistry results. She didn't have
diarrhea when I got her but then she went on antibiotics and it
started and never stopped.

One of the side effects of some anitibiotics - especially Amoxicillin - is
diarrhea.


She was on antibiotics for several weeks
because her mouth is a mess and she has sores down her throat.

My guess is her high WBC is probably due to a combination of stress, fear,
and struggling during the blood draw and an oral/dental infection and the
inflammation caused by infection.

She may need to be sedated for your vet to give her a thorough oral exam.
Its very important to treat oral/dental diseases as soon as possible, not
only to stop the pain but also because the gums are highly vascularized and
contain a huge blood supply. All the bacteria involved in dental/oral
infections can easily enter the blood stream and spread to other organs -
including the heart, lungs and kidneys. So don't wait too long to get it
taken care of.



There are a few pictures of her at
http://sonicechoes.gotdns.org/catshots

She looks like a real sweetie. (Nice enclosure for your cats)

Good luck.

Phil