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. 2022 Jun;24(6):e98-e108.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X221089695. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Haematological and biochemical reference intervals in healthy Ragdoll cats

Riccardo Ferriani  1   2 , Giulia Mangiagalli  2 , Sara Meazzi  3 , Marianna Pantoli  4 , Federico Barbè  1 , Camilla Pastore  1 , Silvia Rossi  1
Affiliations

Haematological and biochemical reference intervals in healthy Ragdoll cats

Riccardo Ferriani et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: Breed-specific reference intervals (RIs) may be necessary to avoid misinterpretation of laboratory results. The main aim of this study was to establish haematobiochemical RIs for Ragdoll cats.

Methods: Forty-two clinically healthy adult (0.8-10 years old) Ragdoll cats (Ragdoll population [RP]) and 60 non-Ragdoll cats as the control population (CP) were prospectively enrolled. Results of haematology, biochemistry and total thyroxine (TT4) were used to determine both Ragdoll-specific and general feline population RIs for each variable using Reference Value Advisor software according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines and the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology guidelines.

Results: For each analyte, RIs of the RP were calculated and compared with those obtained from the CP. Haematocrit, haemoglobin, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin concentration, reticulocyte absolute count, platelet count and lymphocyte absolute number were statistically different from the CP. Biochemistry RIs revealed a statistical difference in creatinine kinase (CK), total protein, urea, creatinine, glucose, total calcium and iron.

Conclusions and relevance: Haematobiochemical RIs of the general feline population must be used with caution in Ragdoll cats when it comes to iron and glucose concentrations, CK activity and absolute lymphocyte number. For these parameters, the use of breed-specific RIs is suggested. The docile and more relaxed nature of this breed may explain these differences and further investigations are necessary to better understand the results. Furthermore, investigations are needed to evaluate the possible benefits of breed-specific urea RIs.

Keywords: Ragdoll cats; Reference intervals; breed-specific; haematology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Haematological statistically different results recorded in the control population (CP) and Ragdoll population (RP). The boxes indicate the interquartile range (IQR), the horizontal lines indicate the median value and whiskers extend to further observation within the first quartile minus 1.5*IQR or to further observation within the third quartile plus 1.5*IQR. The orange ‘+’ indicates near outliers. Hct = haematocrit; Hgb = haemoglobin; MCV = mean cell volume; MCHC = mean cell haemoglobin concentration; RETIC = reticulocyte count; PLT = platelet count; LYM = lymphocyte count
Figure 2
Figure 2
Biochemical statistically different results recorded in the control population (CP) and Ragdoll population (RP). The boxes indicate the interquartile range (IQR), the horizontal lines indicate the median value and whiskers extend to further observation within the first quartile minus 1.5*IQR or to further observation within the third quartile plus 1.5*IQR. The orange ‘+’ indicates near outliers. CK = creatinine kinase; TP = total protein; CREA = creatine; GLU = glucose; tCa = total calcium; Fe = iron
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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