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mrtksntoday at 6:56 AM0 repliesview on HN

Not the same thing of course but when our cat got sick with blood parasite, her blood turned to very diluted cranberry juice color and the body temperature dropped to almost room temperature(38C is the normal for cats) and the vet was double and triple checking the readings because it didn't make sense still being alive. After a few hours we were able to arrange a blood infusion and intensive care and by the morning she was "fine".

By "fine" I mean alive, for months her character was much different. It took almost a year to return to its true behavior and enjoy the things she used to enjoy before. Even then she has much lower tolerance to unsolicited cuddling than before.

The vet speculated that the low temperature was what kept her brain alive since the blood almost completely lost the ability to carry oxygen as a result of parasite attacking the blood cells(her initial symptoms were shortness of breath).