- Polycythemia vera has been reported as a known condition in cats as early as 1966. This condition manifests as an increased mass in red blood cells and elevated hematocrit and is defined as an idiopathic chronic myeloproliferative disorder. The patient described in this paper presented with ...
- Your veterinarian will likely recommend rechecking your cats bloodwork once a week for the first month, monthly for the next three months, and every three months thereafter to check the bone marrows response to treatment. Some pets can be weaned off hydroxyurea after a year or two, but others must remain on medication for life. There are no known measures to prevent primary polycythemia in cats.
Hence, polycythemia would be more appropriately called erythrocytosis and clinically refers to an increase to an above-normal red blood cell count, hematocrit or packed cell volume (PCV), and hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. Polycythemic animals will not show clinical signs until the PCV reaches >60% with some of the highest PCVs exceeding 85%. Because of an underappreciation of the normal upper limit of the PCV in cats (48%) versus dogs (56%), polycythemia is generally underdiagnosed in cats.
As we can see from the illustration, Life Expectancy Of Cats With Idiopathic Polycythemia has many fascinating aspects to explore.
- Cats who have erythrocytosis, also known as polycythemia, have abnormal red blood cells produced by their bodies. We discuss this in detail in this article.
- The authors state their results suggest feline PE has a good prognosis for survival. Cats can maintain a good quality of life with survival times of up to, and possibly beyond, 5 years.
- Long-term management of absolute polycythemia may involve periodic phlebotomies, radioactive phosphorus, and/or chemotherapy. There is limited data regarding longevity in cats. In humans with P. vera, no treatment has shown better survival rates than repeated phlebotomies.
- Vets monitor the cat weekly, then monthly for 3 months, then every 3 months. Some pets are weaned after 1-2 years, but other need the medication for life. If polycythemia is secondary, the preexisting condition (ex.
