Feline Blood Donation

WHY DO WE NEED FELINE BLOOD DONORS?
Cats may require a blood transfusion if they have lost volumes of blood quickly, their body is destroying their blood cells, or if they are not producing enough red blood cells in the first place. We don’t need cat blood that frequently; however, it is important that we have a list of donors that we can call upon when we do need feline blood. In these circumstances, it will be an emergency, and we’ll need it quickly. Your cat must meet certain criteria to become a feline blood donor:

– > 4kgs of LEAN weight
– 1-8 years old
– Healthy, on no medications
– Fully vaccinated and up to date with these
– Up to date with preventative flea & worm treatment
– Calm & relaxed during car journeys & at the practice
– Never have travelled abroad
– If female- must be neutered females who have not had kittens

CAT BLOOD TYPES
Cats have 3 main blood types: A, B and AB.
In the UK, most non-pedigree cats are type A with a smaller percentage of type B and type AB. Type B can be very prevalent (approaching 50%) in some pedigree breeds, especially the British Shorthair, Ragdoll, Birman and Rex breeds. Type B cats are also commonly encountered among Persians, Somalis, Abyssinians and Scottish Folds. Siamese cats are almost invariably type A. At HNVG, we are desperate for all cat blood types to become feline blood donors.

THE DONATION PROCESS
Your cat would need to be calm in the car and calm and relaxed at the vets if you were called upon to bring your cat in to donate blood.

We take a small amount of blood to check that they are fit and healthy themselves before taking a unit of blood from them, which is usually between 40-60 MLS. All feline blood donors will receive a light sedation to enable us to take the blood safely and as quickly as possible, and they will have a clipped patch on their neck to allow us to obtain the blood. The process of taking the blood takes only a few minutes; however, your cat will need to stay in the practice with us for a few hours post-donation to ensure they are fully awake from the sedation and so that we can keep a close eye on them & ensure they have eaten before travelling home. They will need to be kept inside for at least 24 hours post-donation but then can return to normal life afterwards, as blood donation in a healthy cat causes no problems as their body naturally quickly replaces the blood cells.

To become a blood donor, we would need to take a small amount of blood to check their blood type and to check they are also negative for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus.

WHY SHOULD MY CAT GIVE BLOOD?
Besides the enormous satisfaction that your cat has helped save the life of another cat, you will receive a £50 credit to your account every time your cat donates blood in an emergency.
Everyone at HNVG is so grateful for you and your cat’s help.

If you are interested in your cat becoming a blood donor, please fill out our form, and Katy will get back to you between 24-48 hours, regarding booking an appointment for blood typing.

If you'd prefer to fill out a form by hand, please download a version