DO YOU KNOW YOUR CAT’S BLOOD TYPE?

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 1. Cats have one of three blood types 2. There is no feline “universal donor” 3. Blood type is determined by genes 4. Cat breeding can influence blood type 5. Blood type clashes can kill kittens 6. There are tests that can determine a cat’s blood type

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 1. Cats have one of three blood types The cat blood type system is simpler than the human system. Instead of having eight possible types like humans do, cats have three -- A, B, and AB. Type A is the most common, occurring in 94 to 99 percent of all domestic cats in the United States, and type AB is by far the rarest. 2.There is no feline “universal donor” If your cat receives a blood transfusion, the donated blood must be the same type as that of your cat. Otherwise, it can create a potentially fatal reaction in which blood cells are destroyed.

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 3. Blood type is determined by genes The gene for type A is dominant. Type B is recessive, and a kitten would need to inherit type B genes from both its parents to have that blood type. Blood type AB is inherited independently; it appears to be dominant to the B gene but recessive to the A gene.

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 4. Cat breeding can influence blood type Blood type A: Siamese Tonkinese Oriental Shorthair The British Shorthair Turkish Van Cornish Rex Turkish Angora Devon Rex Ragdoll Exotic Blood type AB: Abyssinian Birman Bengal British Shorthair Scottish Fold Somali Sphynx.

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 5. Blood type clashes can kill kittens If cats of different blood types are bred, there’s a chance that at least one of the kittens will have a different blood type than its mother. Because the mom-cat transfers antibodies against blood types in her colostrum (newborn kitten milk), the kittens’ blood cells could be destroyed by the mother’s antigens. According to a paper by the Winn Feline Foundation, researchers believe blood type conflicts could be responsible for a large proportion of “fading kittens.”

Six things you should know about your cat’s blood 6. There are tests that can determine a cat’s blood type QuickVet is a quick and reliable instrument to determine Feline Blood Type. In emergency cased, veterinarian can in less than 5 minutes determine the blood type of cat, with QuickVet. Many breeders are recording cats’ blood types on their pedigrees in order to prevent breeding cats of different blood types, and with QuickVet’s results they can have the information which is essential.

Ensuring the safety of the blood donor Collection of blood from a donor cat must be undertaken with care to ensure risks are kept to an absolute minimum. Current recommendations are that the donor cats must be: Healthy, fully vaccinated and ideally living wholly indoors Less than 8 years old Over 4.5 kg lean bodyweight PCV must be over 30% and ideally over 35% Free of FeLV/FIV/Mycoplasma haemofelis Not stressed by the visit to the vet Even when all these criteria are met, donating blood is not without its risks - low blood pressure can occur in the donor after removing a significant amount of blood and occasionally previously undetected heart disease may become apparent after a cat donates blood - the altered blood volume may induce heart failure and death. Although uncommon, an ultrasound scan of the heart may be helpful in identifying such cats before they donate blood. 8 8

Blood type A: Tonkinese Siamese Oriental Shorthair

Blood type B: The British Shorthair Cornish Rex Devon Rex Exotic Turkish Angora Ragdoll Turkish Van

Blood type AB: Abyssinian Birman Bengal Scottish Fold Sphynx Somali Cats with type AB blood are rare.