Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 17;15(1):17160.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-02369-1.

Effects of overweight on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D macro and microelements and hematological parameters in healthy adult client-owned cats

Elham Valavi  1 , Mehrdad Mohri  2
Affiliations

Effects of overweight on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D macro and microelements and hematological parameters in healthy adult client-owned cats

Elham Valavi et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Minerals and trace elements are crucial for maintaining normal body metabolism, but limited knowledge exists about their connection to being overweight in cats. This study was conducted to evaluate potential changes in hematological factors and the levels of minerals or trace elements in the serum of overweight cats. A cross-sectional study was carried out, and seventy-two client-owned, healthy adult cats were randomly selected from those visiting veterinary clinics in Mashhad. The cats were divided into two groups on the basis of their Body Condition Score (BCS): the ideal weight group (BCS = 5) and the overweight group (BCS ≥ 6). Serum concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, and 25(OH) vitamin D and hematological parameters, including red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and red cell distribution width (RDW), were measured. Correlations between the variables were also determined. Overweight cats had significantly higher levels of iron, hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, and MCHC. Conversely, the levels of phosphorus, RDW, WBC, neutrophils, and monocytes were significantly lower in overweight cats than in those with ideal body weights. There were no significant differences in the other parameters measured between overweight and ideal-weight cats. Additionally, in the entire population and the normal-weight group, 25(OH) vitamin D showed a positive correlation with calcium and a negative correlation with magnesium. In conclusion, being overweight in cats causes changes in their hematological parameters and the concentrations of certain elements in blood serum, specifically iron and phosphorus. These changes were in reference interval thus, the clinical significance of these alterations requires further investigation especially in obese cats.

Keywords: 25(OH)vitamin D; Body condition score (BCS); Cats; Hematology; Overweight; Trace elements.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This manuscript reports on a study involving domestic cats and adheres to the ethical standards set forth in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All animal studies were approved by the appropriate ethics committee of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (IR.UM.REC.1401.028, 30.10.2021), ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines for the treatment of animals in research. The involvement of each cat was approved by its owner. Cat owners provided informed consent for participation and filled out a questionnaire about their cats.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Vieira, A. B. et al. Mild to moderate overweight in dogs: is there an impact on routine hematological and biochemical profiles, echocardiographic parameters and cardiac autonomic modulation? Vet Res. Commun. 1–9 (2022). - PubMed
    1. Osto, M. & Lutz, T. A. Translational value of animal models of obesity—Focus on dogs and cats. Eur. J. Pharmacol.759, 240–252 (2015). - PubMed
    1. de Martins, T. Feline obesity causes hematological and biochemical changes and oxidative stress – a pilot study. Vet. Res. Commun.47, 167–177 (2023). - PubMed
    1. Zafalon, R. V. A. et al. Vitamin D metabolism in dogs and cats and its relation to diseases not associated with bone metabolism. J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr. (Berl). 104, 322–342 (2020). - PubMed
    1. Hookey, T. J., Backus, R. C. & Wara, A. M. Effects of body fat mass and therapeutic weight loss on vitamin D status in privately owned adult dogs. J. Nutr. Sci.7, e17 (2018). - PMC - PubMed