Anemia in Feline Critical Illness

Anemia is common in critically ill cats. The origin may be either acute or chronic. The diagnostic workup for cats with acute anemia should include the following: evaluation of blood smear, slide agglutination test, complete blood count, new methylene blue stain for Heinz bodies, Coomb’s test, blood typing, FeLV/FIV testing, chemistry panel, coagulation testing (if evidence of bleeding) and PCR for hemotropic mycoplasmas.