The correct term is Haemobartonella felis. H felis is a blood parasite. Many apparently normal cats carry the parasite for indefinite periods of time with no apparent ill effects. Sometimes stress, concurrent infection with felineleukemia virus, or treatment with corticosteroids will cause the disease to flair up. The parasite, H felis, infects red blood cells and causes them to bedestroyed in the body.
Anemia is common in many cat diseases.
H felis should always be suspected, and appropriate laboratory tests done to determine the type of anemia, and if it is consistent with H felis, verify the presence of the organisms on freshly made blood smears. H felis infections can usually be successfully treated with an antibiotic, usually tetracycline, and treatment should continue for 10 to 20 days. However, itis also most important to look for some underlying cause - like feline leukemia, or other disease, medication, or something causing stress. No one knows for sure how H felis is spread from cat to cat, but bite wounds are suspected.