Cat Blood Diseases

Cat blood diseases usually are caused by an underlying medical condition, such as a parasitic invasion, feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus or chronic renal failure. Felines stricken with blood disorders lack normal blood consistency. VetInfo.com explains that this abnormal thinness or thickness of the blood prohibits normal blood flow throughout the cat's body, causing serious, if not fatal, health risks.

  1. Acidosis

    • A feline with kidney disease risks development of metabolic acidosis of the blood, which means there is too much acid in the cat's blood. Failing kidneys cannot cleanse the cat's body of the acids the cat consumes in its daily diet. Consequently, ionized hydrogen increases to abnormal levels in the blood. As the ionized hydrogen levels rise, the bicarbonate levels fall resulting in an unhealthy imbalance of blood acids and gases.

    Anemia

    • Feline anemia decreases the red blood cell count and inhibits the blood's ability to clot. Anemia thins out the blood because it reduces the normal amount of blood platelets needed for adequate consistency. Also, hemoglobin travels through the cat's body on the red blood cells, carrying oxygen to the organs. Consequently, the red-cell-compromised blood in the anemic cat does not distribute enough oxygen.

    Thrombocytopenia

    • A cat with thrombocytopenia does not produce enough platelets in the blood, and they will suffer some of the same complications as an anemic cat. Their blood is unable to clot because of the lack of platelets. Should the feline be injured or have an internal blood vessel rupture, the cat may bleed to death. Due these clotting failures, the cat also may suffer hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or thickening of the heart muscle.

    Thrombocytopathy

    • Thrombocytopathy is an equally dangerous blood disease in cats in which there are too many platelets in the cat's blood. According to VetInfo.com, this condition might actually cause the feline to bleed to death as well. Although there are increased blood platelets, they essentially go haywire and do not clot as they normally would. As with thrombocytopenia, felines with thrombocytopathy also risk the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.