Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Oral or injection B12 helps cats with gut or pancreas disease
By Chee‐Hoon Chang et al.·Published in Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine·2024·Gastrointestinal Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Texas A&M University College Station Texas USA, GB·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Effect of oral or subcutaneous administration of cyanocobalamin in hypocobalaminemic cats with chronic gastrointestinal disease or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats suffering from low vitamin B12 levels (hypocobalaminemia) due to chronic gastrointestinal disease or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency was treated with either oral or subcutaneous (under the skin) vitamin B12 supplements. After several weeks of treatment, all the cats showed normal vitamin B12 levels, and many also had improved levels of a related substance called methylmalonic acid. This means that both methods of giving the vitamin were effective in helping these cats feel better. If your cat has similar issues, discussing vitamin B12 supplementation with your vet could be beneficial.
People also search for: cat low vitamin B12 treatment · cat gastrointestinal disease symptoms · cat exocrine pancreatic insufficiency care
Abstract
Abstract Background No prospective study has evaluated the efficacy of oral supplementation with cobalamin in hypocobalaminemic cats. Objectives To investigate the efficacy of oral or SC supplementation with cyanocobalamin in normalizing serum cobalamin and methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations in hypocobalaminemic cats with chronic gastrointestinal disease (CGID) or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Animals Forty‐eight client‐owned hypocobalaminemic (<290 ng/L) cats with normal or abnormally high serum MMA concentrations. Methods This study was conducted based on the prospective randomized clinical trial method. Cats with CGID or EPI were randomly assigned to 2 groups that received either oral or SC supplementation with cobalamin (250 μg/cat) for 12 and 10 weeks, respectively, in addition to other medical and dietary interventions. Each cat was evaluated 3 times (baseline, 6‐week postsupplementation, and 1‐week postcompletion) by measuring serum cobalamin and MMA concentrations. Results In cats with CGID or EPI, cobalamin concentrations were normalized in all cats that received either oral or SC supplementation (mean 100% [95% CI: 80.6%‐100%] in both groups in cats with CGID and 100% [67.6%‐100%] in both groups in cats with EPI). Among 37 cats with elevated MMA concentrations at baseline (21 cats with CGID and 16 cats with EPI), MMA concentrations were normalized in most cats with CGID (70% in oral and 82% in SC group) or EPI (88% in both groups). Conclusions and Clinical Importance In hypocobalaminemic cats with CGID or EPI, in conjunction with other medical and dietary interventions, both oral and SC supplementation are effective at normalizing serum cobalamin and MMA concentrations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.17195