Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Low and high vitamin B12 levels in UK referral cats and what it means
By Borgonovi, Simona & Bayton, Will·Published in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery·2025·Department of Internal Medicine, DWR Veterinary Specialists, Six Mile Bottom, part of Linnaeus Veterinary Limited, Cambridgeshire, UK, United Kingdom·View original on Crossref →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Prevalence of hypocobalaminaemia and hypercobalaminaemia in a referral population of cats in the UK and its relevance to clinical presentation, diagnosis and prognosis
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats in the UK were found to have low or high levels of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in their blood, which can be linked to various health issues. Many of these cats showed symptoms like chronic vomiting, decreased appetite, and diarrhea. The most common underlying problems were chronic enteropathy (a long-term gut issue) and lymphoma (a type of cancer). Cats with low B12 levels had a shorter survival time compared to those with high levels, suggesting that early treatment with vitamin B12 could be beneficial for those affected.
People also search for: cat vomiting and diarrhea · cat low vitamin B12 symptoms · chronic enteropathy treatment in cats
Abstract
Objectives This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hypocobalaminaemia (B12 <400 pg/ml) and hypercobalaminaemia (B12 >1000 pg/ml), describe the clinicopathological abnormalities and the diagnostic imaging findings in a referral population of cats in the UK, and identify the underlying disease processes associated with both conditions. Methods A retrospective study of cats that had their serum cobalamin concentration assessed between December 2016 and December 2023 at a single referral hospital; 216 cats were included. Patient outcome was established from the clinical records. Results A total of 76 (35%) cats had hypocobalaminaemia and 67 (31%) cats had hypercobalaminaemia. The most common diagnoses were chronic enteropathy (CE) in 39/76 (51%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 39/67 (58%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P = 0.001), and high-grade lymphoma in 14/76 (18%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 11/67 (16%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P = 0.438). The most common clinical signs were chronic vomiting in 36/76 (47%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 24/67 (36%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P = 0.005), hyporexia in 40/76 (53%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 21/67 (31%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P <0.001), and chronic diarrhoea in 12/76 (16%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 21/67 (31%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P = 0.001). The most common abnormalities identified on abdominal ultrasound were lymphadenomegaly and thickened intestines in 49/76 (64%) hypocobalaminaemic cats and 28/67 (42%) hypercobalaminaemic cats ( P = 0.0025). Median survival time was 274 days in the hypocobalaminaemic group and 711 days in the hypercobalaminaemic group ( P = 0.001). The hypocobalaminaemic cats exhibited significantly reduced survival time compared with hypercobalaminaemic cats (odds ratio 2.4 vs 0.4, respectively) ( P <0.001). Conclusions and relevance This study suggests that cobalamin has limited diagnostic utility in differentiating between underlying disease processes; chronic diarrhoea and CE are more common in hypercobalaminaemic cats in contrast with the previous literature. Hypocobalaminaemia is associated with reduced survival in this cohort of cats; therefore, early cobalamin supplementation is recommended.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x251341539