Veterinary Case Studies D-9
D.3 Cats
An important characteristic of cat blood is that the RBCs are much smaller than those of dogs, poten-
tially causing the RBC and PLT histograms to overlap slightly.
Cats also commonly demonstrate both platelet aggregation and giant platelets. The analyzer minimizes
these effects with a proprietary technology and dynamic discriminator approach to maximize accuracy.
Some clinics have minimized stress-induced platelet aggregation by collection from the saphenous
vein. Analyzing the sample as close to the time of draw as possible also minimizes PLT clumping.
Pre-analytical vortex mixing (up to 30 seconds) also helps disaggregate platelets, with no deleterious
effects.
D.3.1 Cat: Optimal Sample
The following shows an optimal normal cat sample.
These histograms indicate the following:
WBC — Normal. Well-defined and well-separated LYM and GRA (granulocyte) peaks.
RBC — Normal.
PLT — Optimal: the PLT is well separated from the RBC in a well-defined peak.
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