The Story of Keddy

My partner and I took in a stray kitten a few years ago. At about a year and a half of age, he started acting "out of it," and too quiet for a kitten so we took him in to the vet. Sure enough he tested positive for feline leukemia. His hematocrit count, which measures the percentage of red blood cells in the blood, was 6-8%. The normal hematocrit for a cat is 30-45%, so he was critically anemic. We didn't have the heart to put him down, so we tried what treatments were available. Here are the treatments we used:

1. A blood transfusion, to get him out of the woods. Our vet used an "in house" donor and only charged us $100 for a unit of kitty blood. We never thought we'd get a cat a blood transfusion, but we did and it got him back to the world of the living.

2. A low dose of prednisone (5 mg) everyday. The vet calls this the "feel good" pill. It helps the cat to feel better and thus keep eating. This is very important because when cats give up, they stop eating, and then it's hard to do anything for them. Also, because it's a steriod, it keeps the spleen from re-uptaking the old red blood cells in the bloodstream. That means they keep circulating longer, which is good, because old red blood cells are better than fewer red blood cells.

3. Pet-Tinic. It's a vitamin B complex with iron available at some pet stores. We bought a bottle at Pet-Co for around $10 and it lasts for months. It's given via a dropper twice a day and it helps the cat make red blood cells, which is important to fight the anemia that comes with feline leukemia.

4. Interferon. It's an anti-viral that's given via a dropper once a day for 7 days on, 7 days off. This was rather inexpensive. I think it was around $10 for a 3 month supply.

5. Coenzyme Q-10. We bought the 30 mg liquid-filled capsules. We punctured one a day and squeezed it into his mouth. This was to improve his circulation. We figured since he was anemic, then it would help to get the few blood cells he had to the cells in his body.

6. Procrit. This is a subcutaneous injection that is kind of pricey. We paid $51 for 1 ml, which is about 3 weeks worth of injections (0.1 ml 3x per week). One out of three cats have a bad reaction to this because it is a human derived product, but our cat was one of the lucky ones and it helped boost his red blood cell production.

Ok, that's all for the treatments. Now, here are the warning signs of severe anemia in a cat:

1. White gums/pale tongue.

2. Cat forgets about or doesn't have the energy to use the litterbox. He started going outside the box, so I would literally pick my cat up and put him in the box a couple times a day and he would use it.

3. Cat forgets to eat or doesn't have the energy to walk to the food dish. I would pick him up and put him in front of his food (high calorie kitten food) and sure enough he'd start eating.

4. Black coat turns reddish. This can also be caused by worms because they deplete the body of vitamins.

5. Cat acts "out of it" or just too quiet.

6. Rapid heartbeat. Greater than 170 beats a minute. This is because there are few red blood cells so the heart has to work very hard to get them to the cells that need them.

The treatments listed above helped Keddy to last another 4 months. Eventually the blood cells from his blood transfusion wore out. His condition declined sharply about a month before Justin was due. We decided to buy him some more time, literally, with 2 units of packed red blood cells. After that transfusion, he was jumping around like a new kitten, full of energy.  I remember savoring every moment of his newfound energy, knowing that it probably wouldn't last while still hoping that it would.

Justin came 2 weeks later (2 weeks early) and Keddy started going downhill again. His health declined to the point where we had to make a decision. All I could think about was how I felt when I lost a lot of blood delivering Justin. When I was still in the hospital I asked the nurse for a copy of my lab report and my hematocrit was low, but not as low as Keddy's. I was light-headed and queasy and my heart was beating so fast that it felt like a flutter. I felt like crap and it was just a taste of what Keddy was probably feeling. The clincher was when my partner, in tears, said, "We tried and tried, honey, but this thing has just got us beat. The blood transfusions and treatments are helping him less and less and we can't help him anymore." Well, we *could* have helped him with another blood transfusion, but the 2 units of packed red cells were over $500, and it only extended his life another 3 weeks. The virus was very aggressive by then and there was nothing we could do to stop it or even put it in check. We called our vet and asked if she would come to come to our house and put him down.  It was only a week after Justin was born, and I was right in the peak of post-partum depression.  While we waited for the vet to arrive, I put some tuna in a bowl on the floor from him, knowing it would be his last meal.  He lunged for it, but even though he was only 10 feet away from it, he had to stop half-way and catch his breath.  I picked up the bowl and carried it the rest of the way to him.

I was comforted greatly by the compassion in which our vet treated Keddy. She came over in the late evening and gave him some drops in his mouth that made him very tired. He laid on the ottoman with the three of us surrounding him. My partner and I petted him and told him how much we loved him and that we were sorry he had this disease and that we were sorry we couldn't beat it. After about half an hour of saying goodbye, she gave him the lethal injection. His heart stopped within seconds because he was so anemic. If you ever have to put a cat down, I highly recommend this humane and compassionate way of doing it. Keddy was at home and surrounded by people who loved him very much when he died and if a cat could comprehend such things, I'm sure it meant a lot.

When it was all over, I cried for 3 days. I was emotionally drained from the loss of a pet we struggled so hard to help get well. I was numb from hoping and working for him to go into remission and then losing the struggle. It was all over, and he was all gone.

The name "Keddy" comes from the root word "Kedar", which means powerful, and Keddy had a powerful impact on our lives for sure. For me, I learned that there definitely comes a time when it's time to say goodbye. We have Keddy's ashes around in a heart-shaped container to remind us of how important the quality of life is and to cherish every minute with the ones we love.