Oral cobalamin supplementation in cats with hypocobalaminaemia: a retrospective study

Objectives The objective of the study was to evaluate whether oral cobalamin supplementation can restore normocobal-aminaemia in cats with hypocobalaminaemia and clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease. Methods This was a retrospective study based on a computerised database search for client-owned cats treated at Evidensia Specialist Animal Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden, during the period December 2013 to August 2016. Inclusion criteria were cats with clinical signs of chronic enteropathy, an initial serum cobalamin concentration ⩽250 pmol/l (reference interval 214-738 pmol/l) and oral treatment with cobalamin tablets. Results Twenty-five cats met the inclusion criteria. The cats were treated with 0.25 mg cyanocobalamin tablets once daily. Serum cobalamin concentration was rechecked 27-94 days after continuous oral cobalamin supplementation. All cats had serum cobalamin concentrations above the reference interval after oral cobalamin supplementation. Median (range) serum cobalamin concentration was 128 pmol/l (111-250 pmol/l) prior to treatment and 2701 pmol/l (738-16,359 pmol/l) after supplementation. This difference was statistically significant ( P <0.0001). Conclusions and relevance Our results suggest that oral cobalamin supplementation is effective in increasing serum cobalamin to supranormal concentrations in cats with hypocobalaminaemia. Thus, oral cobalamin supplementation is a promising alternative to parenteral administration. Prospective comparative studies in cats being treated with parenteral vs oral cobalamin supplementation in a larger number of patients are warranted before oral supplementation can be recommended for routine use.