Laboratory changes consistent with feline infectious peritonitis in cats from multicat environments

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Immunology
• Hematology

Background:

• Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) diagnosis can be challenging due to overlapping clinical signs with other feline diseases.
• Multicat environments present unique health management complexities, influencing disease prevalence and diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of haematological and electrophoretic changes in cats without FIP across diverse multicat environments.
• To determine if these changes are indicative of FIP or influenced by other health and management factors.
• To evaluate the utility of internal reference ranges for accurate FIP diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of haematological and electrophoretic profiles in cats from six multicat environments with varying FIP prevalence.
• Comparison of results with established reference ranges and newly developed internal ranges from non-symptomatic cats.
• Assessment of diagnostic accuracy for FIP in symptomatic cats using both reference range types.

Main Results:

• Haematological and electrophoretic profiles varied significantly between groups, correlating more with management and overall health status than FIP prevalence.
• Cats in colonies with open management and other infectious diseases frequently exhibited changes mimicking FIP.
• Internal reference ranges improved diagnostic accuracy by reducing misinterpretation of non-specific changes in cats without FIP.

Conclusions:

• Haematological and electrophoretic changes in cats are influenced by environmental and health factors beyond FIP.
• Internal reference ranges are essential for accurate FIP diagnosis, preventing misdiagnosis and unnecessary euthanasia.
• Implementing internal ranges enhances diagnostic specificity in complex feline populations.