Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) in cats, part 2: case report

A two-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was referred to the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Biology at the Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Merelbeke, Belgium because of lethargy and anorexia The cat had severe non-regenerative anemia and marked lymphocytosis Primary non-regenerative immune-mediated hemolytic anemia was diagnosed on the basis of severe hemolytic anemia in combination with a positive osmotic fragility test, a positive Coombs test and the exclusion of underlying causes A bone marrow core biopsy revealed erythroid maturation arrest with mild myelodysplasia The cat responded quickly to treatment with a blood transfusion and immunosuppressive dosages of prednisolone The prednisolone was tapered down and stopped after 5 months Two years after the initial diagnosis, there were no signs of clinical relapse