Haematological and biochemical reference intervals of four feline breeds

Many feline breeds have been generated from a small number of ancestors. Thus, breed-specific peculiarities can be expected, which could include haematological and biochemical measurements. Despite this, there are only a few reports on breed-specific reference intervals (RI). This information is essential in routine practice where results from individual patients are usually compared with an RI. The aim was to compare haematological and biochemical data from clinically healthy Abyssinian, Holy Birman, Norwegian Forest and Siberian cats with published RIs to assess whether the published RIs are acceptable in these breeds. Comparison with established RIs using guidelines from the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards and the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, revealed a number of breed-related clinicopathological differences. New RIs were established, but in most cases the new RIs overlapped with published RIs, and the use of the breed-specific data would minimally affect the clinical interpretation of laboratory results. Important differences that could result in misinterpretation of laboratory results were as follows: microcytosis and high α2-globulin concentrations in Abyssinian cats; high serum creatinine, α2-globulin and glucose concentrations in Holy Birman cats; high serum alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium and phosphate concentration in Norwegian Forest cats; low β2-globulin and γ-globulin concentrations in Norwegian Forest and Siberian cats. Breed-specific RIs should be used for these analytes. In addition, care should be taken in interpreting clinicopathological data in purebred cats for which specific RIs have not been established.