Okay, in the saga of my old kitties...

As many of you know, I lost Alex to lymphoma in August after a two-
year, mostly successful battle. Well, Jacob, who is my oldest cat
(15.5), was diagnosed with CRF right around the time that Alex was
diagnosed with lymphoma. His CRF was caught very early because I
noticed the symptoms and immediately took him in and requested a
workup, and two years later, he has just now started fluid therapy
and Pepcid. Up until now, it has just been K/D and lots of water
around the house.

So, Jake had his every-four-months bloodwork last week. His BUN is
up, but his creatinine is actually down. His amylase was high, but
that's not the number that's freaking me out just yet. Here's what
is- his lymphocytes are very low, and while I know that this can be a
sign of stress such as that caused by chronic illness, it's also a
hallmark of FeLV or even FIV.

The lab still has enough of his blood left that they can run an FeLV
test without me having to bring Jacob back in for another draw. The
reason I'm freaked is that I can't remember when he was actually
tested for FeLV. I called my last three vets, and while I vaccinated
the beasties for FeLV up until a few years ago when the vaccination
risk outweighed the benefit (closed household, indoor-only cats),
none of the vets have records of having ever actually tested the
cats. I know that this is because I assured them that the cats had
been tested in the past, but I _can't_remember_now_ how long ago it
was! What if I never actually did have them tested? It's been fifteen
years, so I just can't remember.

If Jacob tests positive for FeLV, I'm going to feel so awful. I still
have two other cats in this household, and what if because of my
stupidity, they're infected, too? They had geriatric workups in
August, but no FeLV tests. Their bloodwork was fine and they're
perfectly healthy, but still...

Alex was tested for FeLV and FIV before his lymphoma diagnosis came
in, and he was negative. However, I don't have the cats' really old
vet records so I don't know anymore if or when they were tested prior
to the past six years or so.

I was actually expecting Jacob's bloodwork to be worse with regards
to the BUN and creatinine. He has lost a bit of weight over the past
six to nine months (which has been slowly happening throughout the
course of the CRF), and he has had nasty breath and been occasionally
grumpy if Oscar plopped his fat butt on Jacob wanting to be bathed.
He seemed like his stomach was touchy. The Pepcid seems to have
cleared that up, but now, of course, I'm looking at weight loss and
tummyache as possible FeLV symptoms.

I searched the archives of the Feline CRF mailing list and saw one or
two cats with similar blood profiles, but I would feel a lot better
if I could find a record of FeLV tests for the beasties. In any case,
here are Jacob's results; if anybody has any input, it's appreciated.
Thanks.

2003-11/12

Test Requested          Results           Reference Range

Glucose                 102               64-170                              
BUN                     54 (HIGH)         14-36                              
Creatinine              3.3 (HIGH)        0.6-2.4                              
Total Protein           7.2               5.2-8.8                              
Albumin                 3.1               2.5-3.9                              
Total Bilirubin         0.1               0.1-0.4                              
Alkaline Phosphatase    31                6-102                              
ALT (SGPT)              52                10-100                              
AST (SGOT)              30                10-100                              
Cholesterol             192               75-220                              
Calcium                 10.9 (HIGH)       8.2-10.8                    
Phosphorus              3.9               2.4-8.2                              
Sodium                  151               145-158                    
Potassium               4.6               3.4-5.6                              
Chloride                113               104-128                    
Albumin/Globulin Ratio  0.8               0.35-1.5                    
BUN/Creatinine Ratio    16                4-33                              
Globulin                4.1               2.3-5.3                              
lipase                  11                0-205                              
Amylase                 1355 (HIGH)       100-1200                    
Triglycerides           42                25-160                              
CPK                     306               56-529                              
GGTP                    <5                1-10                              
Magnesium               1.9               1.5-2.5                              
Calculated Osmolality   314               299-330                    

Complete Blood Count
Hemoglobin              11.6              9.3-15.9                    
Hematocrit              36.3              29-48                              
WBC                     6.6               3.5-16.0                    
RBC                     7.39              5.92-9.93                    
MCV                     49                37-61
MCH                     15.7              11-21
MCHC                    32.0              30-38
Platelet Count          116               200-500                    

-Platelet clumps are detected in this sample. Platelet clumping
prevents precise determination of a platelet count (by any method)
and falsely decreases the platelet number. The reported count
reflects the MINIMUM platelet number. The platelet estimat reflects
the estimated contribution of the platelet counts.

Platelet Estimate            Adequate      Adequate

Differential                 Absolute  %   Reference Range          

Neutrophils                  5346      81  2500-8500
Bands                        0         0   0-150
Lymphocytes                  726 (LOW) 11  1200-8000
Monocytes                    198       3   0-600
Eosinophils                  330       5   0-1000
Basophils                    0         0   0-150

T4
T4                           3.0           0.8-4.0                              

Urinalysis          
Ph                           5.5           5.5-7.0
Specific Gravity             1.022         1.015-1.060
Appearance                   Clear         Clear
Color                        Yellow
Protein                      Neg           Neg
Glucose                      Neg           Neg
Ketone                       Neg           Neg
Bilirubin                    Neg           Neg
Blood                        Neg           Neg
WBC                          0-1           0-1                              
RBC                          0-1           0-3                              
Bacteria                     None          None                              
Epithelia                    None          None-Few                    
Renal Epithelia Cells        None          None-Rare                    
Transitional Epithelia Cells None          None-Rare                    
Triple Phosphate Crystals    None                                                            
Amorphous Phosphates         None                                                            
Calcium Phosphate Crystals   None                                                            
Calcium Carbonate Crystals   None                                                            
Ammonium Biurate Crystals    None                                                            
Amorphous Urate              None                                                            
Calcium Oxalate Crystals     None                                                            
Uric Acid Crystals           None                                                            
Mucous                       None          None-2+                    
Budding Yeast                None          None                              
Sperm                        None                    
Oval Fat Body                None          None-4+                    

Laura