Frequency of blood typing in domestic cats treated at a veterinary clinic in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of blood types of domestic cats treated at the Veterinary Clinic of the University Center of Grande Dourados (UNIGRAN), in the city of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul. Felines have blood types similar to the ABO system of humans, but without the existence of the Rh factor. The blood groups of the felines consist of type A (more frequent), type B (present in some pure races) or type AB (rare). For this research, we selected 50 male and female animals, aged from two months to thirteen years, regardless of weight and race. Blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture and blood typing was performed using the RapidVet-H commercial kit Feline Immuno-Chromatographic (DMS Laboratories, Flemington, NJ, USA). The present study obtained a frequency of 100% of domestic felines with type A. No type B and AB cats were found. The results found in this study indicate that in the region of Dourados, there is a higher frequency of crossbred cats of the blood group A. The blood typing is a primordial examination before performing any type of hemotherapy procedure, since it avoids the occurrence of transfusional reaction with sanguine type incompatible (both for donor and recipient), since the animals can die in a situation of blood incompatibility.