Background Finding compatible feline blood donors can be challenging. Canine blood has been occasionally used when compatible feline blood was not available in emergency situations. Objectives The study goals were to describe the effects of xenotransfusion in two anemic cats receiving canine blood because of discordant blood types and acute transfusion reaction, respectively, and to report in vitro heterotyping and – crossmatching results between canine and feline blood samples. Material and Methods Blood samples from patients and other cats and dogs were typed, crossmatched, and assessed for alloantibodies using gel, card, and immunochromatographic strip techniques. Results Cat 1 was found to have type AB blood. Cat 2, which experienced an acute transfusion reaction, had type A blood. Neither had detectable alloantibodies against feline RBC. Both cats transiently improved after transfusion with canine blood, however, acute intravascular hemolysis occurred and the PCV rapidly declined. Blood typing post xenotransfusion with DEA 1 strips revealed a positive control band that was absent in feline blood, thus allowing for the identification of transfused canine RBC. Longitudinal assessment revealed that canine RBC could no longer be detected 4 days after xenotransfusion. Major crossmatching (feline plasma with canine RBC) resulted in both positive and negative reactions, depending on the cat. Minor crossmatching results showed mostly incompatibility. Conclusion While both cats survived xenotransfusion, the positive control band on the DEA 1 strip revealed that transfused canine RBC were short-lived, and intravascular hemolysis occurred. Crossmatch results between cats and dogs showed varied incompatibilities, and may not predict transfusion reactions.

The objectives of this retrospective study were to identify the most common clinicopathologic abnormalities in starved dogs, assess the time required for those abnormalities to resolve, and determine whether clinicopathologic abnormalities recorded at time of intake to the hospital influenced time to regain weight. Records of 152 very underweight or emaciated dogs seized by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) division were reviewed. Dogs were classified as emaciated if the admission body weight was estimated to be ≥ 30% below the anticipated ideal body weight and classified as very underweight if the admission weight was estimated to be 20-29% below the anticipated ideal body weight. An initial minimum database was obtained on each animal, and when possible, clinicopathologic abnormalities were serially assessed. The most common initial abnormalities, present in ≥ 25% of dogs, were hypoalbuminemia, thrombocytosis, anemia, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN), elevated BUN/creatinine ratio, and hypocalcemia. Mean time to gain 20% of admission body weight was similar for the abnormalities studied. Although there was some evidence that dogs with anemia and/or hypoalbuminemia required more days to gain weight, future studies are required for confirmation.

An adult, intact male domestic shorthair presented for preputial swelling and urinary incontinence. A caudal abdominal mass was palpated. A transabdominal ultrasound examination showed severe prostatomegaly with abnormal tissue extending along the urethra. The cat was euthanized due to the owner's financial constraints and the veterinarians' suspicion of a poor long-term prognosis. Biopsies showed chronic active inflammation of the prostate, bladder, kidneys, ureters, penis, and prepuce most consistent with a chronic infectious process. Reports of feline prostatic disease of any kind are rare. Chronic prostatitis may have a more favorable prognosis than feline prostatic adenocarcinoma, currently the most commonly reported disease of the feline prostate.

Dear Editors,We read with interest the paper by Estruch et al "Utility of the combined use of 3 serologic markers in the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic enteropathies in dogs," 1 the results section of the abstract of which would suggest that an assay based on combined measurements of OmpC (ACA), canine calprotectin (ACNA), and gliadinderived peptide (AGA) is useful to differentiate chronic enteropathy/ inflammatory bowel disease (CE/IBD) and non-IBD gastrointestinal disorders. 1 However, in the materials and methods section, the differentiation of dogs with primary gastrointestinal disease from those with some forms of secondary gastrointestinal disease is described,

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