Volume 72 (2022) Issue: 2022 No#4

Clinicopathological findings in cats tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)

Author(s): Mara Battilani, Elisa Kaehler, Alessandro Tirolo, Andrea Balboni, Francesco Dondi

Keywords:clinicopathological findings; feline immunodeficiency virus; feline leukaemia virus; iron; UPC ratio; urinalysis

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological changes in a population of cats tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), in an Italian Veterinary University Hospital, in the period between January 2002 and May 2016. During the period of 14 years, 1834 cats were tested, and of these 241/1834 (13.1%) were positive for FIV antibodies and 92/1834 (5%) cats were positive for FeLV antigen. These data confirm the presence of a high prevalence of these viruses on Italian territory. To the authors’ knowledge, this study describes findings that have never been evaluated before, such as iron status in retrovirus-infected cats and urinalysis in FeLV-positive cats. In this study, FIV-positive cats were more likely to have higher serum protein concentration and lower albumin-globulin ratio than other groups of cats. Lower urine specific gravity and higher urine protein to creatinine ratio were also detected for FIV-positive cats when compared with negative and healthy cats. FeLV-positive cats were more likely to have cytopenia, decreased haemoglobin, haematocrit and RBC compared with other groups of cats. The data obtained underline the importance of considering retroviral infections in the presence of a broad spectrum of risk factors and laboratory anomalies.