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Diagnostic approach to anaemia in cats
Author(s) -
Tasker Séverine
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.e4889
Subject(s) - cats , medicine , anemia , physiology , intensive care medicine
Anaemia is commonly encountered in feline patients because cats are particularly prone to developing anaemia due to the shorter lifespan (70 days) of the feline red blood cell and the lower blood volume of cats compared with other species. However, cats have different types of haemoglobin that are thought to enable them to tolerate anaemia with relative ease, particularly chronic anaemia. Indeed, they may only exhibit clinical signs when anaemia becomes very severe. This article focuses on the diagnostic approach to anaemia in cats, but pertinent points on treatment are described where appropriate.