Question: A Devon Rex kitten bred by me has been diagnosed with vitamin K deficiency coagulopathy. I can find very little information about this condition, either online or in my books. Am I right in thinking that this gene is recessive, therefore both parents need to carry it? Also is there a test for it? Any advice or information would be very welcome. – Anne
Answer: A coagulopathy is a condition that means when a cat gets injured, the wound will not stop bleeding. You may be familiar with the condition of hemophilia. Hemophilia is a congenital condition where a certain clotting factor is missing and the blood cannot clot properly. It can be life threatening when large injuries occur.
Humans and animals alike can have blood-clotting disorders. They are diagnosed by blood tests. Congenital blood clotting disorders are more common in purebred dogs and cats, but can occur in mixed breeds.
Vitamin K is very important in blood clotting. Most rat poison contains Warfarin or similar products that cause internal bleeding when the rat eats the poison. The ?antidote? for Warfarin is vitamin K injections and tablets.
Many people have to take small doses of Coumadin to help ?thin their blood? and prevent blood clots from forming. Coumadin works in a similar way to Warfarin. It must be closely monitored to keep the anticoagulant level safe.
Vitamin K deficiencies can also occur from eating a deficient diet. Most vitamin K comes in green leafy vegetables. Bacteria in the intestines also make vitamin K.
The most common causes of vitamin K deficiency coagulopathy are ingestion of, rat poison, Coumadin, or eating a rat that has recently ingested large amounts of rat poison.
The best preventative is to make sure your cat is eating a healthy diet and does not have access to your medications. Make sure that you do not use rat poison and don?t allow your cat to hunt and ingest rats.
Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2011/09/30/devon-rex-kitten-has-vitamin-k-deficiency/
No comments:
Post a Comment