# The use of selected electrophoretic techniques to assess the health of domestic cats (Felis catus)

## TL;DR

This study shows that electrophoretic techniques can detect hidden health issues in cats, even when they appear healthy.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of native serum protein electrophoresis and comet assay in identifying latent health conditions in cats.

## Key findings

- Electrophoresis identified latent diseases in cats with normal clinical exams.
- Comet assay revealed genetic instability in cats with electropherogram abnormalities.
- Some healthy-looking cats were found to carry FIV, FeLV, or FIP.

## Abstract

Electrophoretic analytical techniques provide extremely important information about an animal’s clinical condition. They are recommended in every case, including in screening tests of animals showing no concerning clinical symptoms. Such tests can detect subclinical conditions, such as inflammation, antigen stimulation or certain forms of cancer. The aim of the study was to determine the suitability of native serum protein electrophoresis and the comet assay for assessing the health status of cats.

Electrophoresis was performed on serum samples from 125 cats. On sera with abnormalities in electropherograms (25 individuals), the following additional analyses were performed: haematological analysis, microscopic examination of a blood smear, plate tests detecting antibodies against feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a plate test detecting feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) surface antigen and a comet assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Native protein electrophoresis enabled the identification of latent disease conditions in individuals assessed as good for overall condition on the basis of clinical examination. Some cats thus assessed had an abnormal electropherogram and were carriers of FIV, FeLV or FIP. In addition, the comet assay identified increased instability in the genetic material of cats with electropherogram abnormalities.

Electrophoretic techniques can be successfully used as a tools for identifying latent conditions and evaluating the overall health status of cats.