Any cats with immune mediated hemolytic anemia?

My cat was very lethargic and not eating, we took him to the vet and his RBC's were extremely low. The Vet said that he had a form of anemia, and that his body was attacking his RBC's. Anyone with this disorder and survival rates??

You can go to the yahoogroups list called handicats and ask there, they have all sorts of people who are living with cats with unusual things or medical situations.

My cat has IMHA. He was diagnosed in April 2006 when, like your cat, he was very lethargic and his RBC's were dangerously low. While this disease cannot be "cured", it can be managed with medication. My cat takes Prednisolone daily, and this year started Chlorambucil (a chemo agent). While it is more commonly seen in dog's, there are cases of cats having this disease. When searching for info on the internet, some refer to it as "AIHA" (auto immune hemolytic anemia), whereas others refer to it is IMHA. Some sites spell hemolytic "haemolytic".There is an IMHA forum for cats online that I am a member of, but unfortunately it is currently down. My cat's story of IMHA, along with 2 other people's cats are explained in detail on the website. (http://forum.lasercannon.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl).The main aspect that affects survival rates is whether or not your cat responds well to medication. Hopefully, your vet has started your cat on Prednisolone already. It can take a few days, but then your cat's immune system should be suppressed, he should start regenerating reticulocytes (baby RBC's), and his Hematocrit should rise. Your vet will probably also be checking other things beside a CBC such as looking for Hemobartonella and other infections of the blood. There is SO much information I wish I could share with you. IMHA is a very scary disease, especially since it is so rare. Feel free to contact me if you'd like.***EDIT*** It looks like the IMHA forum is back up. Here is the link: http://forum.lasercannon.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.plIf that doesn't work for some reason, try this link: http://www.lasercannon.com/Personal/Aeryn.htmI hope your kitty is doing better Hang in there!