Abstract

Cats more than 2 months of age have alloantibodies against the blood type antigen that they do not possess. Maternal antibodies, including alloantibodies against blood groups, are transferred to the kittens' systemic circulation when they suckle colostrum during the first 12-16 h after birth. If kittens with blood group A or AB nurse from a mother with blood group B they may develop neonatal isoerythrolysis (NI). Breeders can prevent kittens at risk of NI from nursing during the first 16-24 h; after this period it is safe to let them nurse. Kittens depend, however, on the passive transfer of antibodies from the colostrum for early protection against infections. Although it is known that kittens deprived of colostrum will also be deprived of passive systemic immunity, it is not known if this will affect their health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate kitten mortality in litters with B-mothers and A-fathers compared to litters with A-mothers. In addition, the aim was to evaluate the effects of colostrum deprivation on the health of the mothers, and the breeders' opinions and experiences of these combinations of breedings. A web-based questionnaire was constructed and distributed to breeders. The results indicate that there is no difference in mortality between planned litters that have mothers with blood group A and litters with mothers that have blood group B and fathers that have blood group A. When managing blood group incompatibility in cats, all factors affecting the health of the cats, including genetic variation, should be considered.

Published in

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery
2014, Volume: 16, number: 10, pages: 781-787
Publisher: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD

SLU Authors

• Axner, Eva

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Other Biological Topics


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X13518937

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/64545