Cats giving blood?

I'm curious about how the pet-lovers out there feel about the idea of cats giving blood donations.

A few years ago, I was brought a kitten who was thoroughly infested with fleas. I combed out 400? 500? fleas; it was an enormous amount. I cared for him overnight but he was so listless in the AM that I rushed him back to Valley Vet, from whence he had come. They transfused him and he rebounded. Hauscat took him and nursed him back to health and he ultimately found a family with Hauscat's sister. He would have been a goner without the transfusion but by all accounts he's living la vida loca now.

I give blood myself, and I would be happy to have one of my pets give blood if needed.

I read somewhere that a lot of vets own big dogs that they can use as emergency blood donors for injured patients.

You want me to do WHAT today?

Do you feel it's unfair to the animal, as they cannot consent? Or is this a "for the greater good" situation?

annemarie said:
Do you feel it's unfair to the animal, as they cannot consent? Or is this a "for the greater good" situation?

Cats can't consent to any veterinary care. All house cats benefit from an available supply of cat blood.

Pumpkin is alive today because of a transfusion (this is the cat Bigben saved.)

My favorite shot

Our dear cat Pilchard was a blood donor to her brother Pax...

Not that unusual, and Pilchard seemed no worse for it

I like the idea in theory. How do they do it? Is the donor cat sedated? Just wondering about the mechanics.

Very interesting. Never thought about this. I guess cats/dogs don't have blood types like we do

PeggyC said:
I like the idea in theory. How do they do it? Is the donor cat sedated? Just wondering about the mechanics.

My dog has never given blood, but she's had plenty of blood drawn and other unpleasant medical procedures and I'm confident she would sit quietly while giving blood and not require sedation.

I guess it would depend on the cat. I'm sure some are more placid than others.

They pick well-tempered cats and sedate them.

Thanks for your feedback!

Cats and dogs do have blood types. They still have to be typed and matched.Some breeds of dogs are universal donors, like human type Os. I know cats have blood types because allergies in humans are aggravated by a specific blood protein in a cat's saliva. You can be allergic to some cats , and not others because their blood types are different.

Yes, absolutely, on the cat blood types. I have had horrible reactions to some cats that nearly sent me to the hospital, but am fine with others (including my own four!). There was one young cat I fell in love with at a shelter, and I adopted him and took him home. I had to take him back the next day because my allergic reactions to him were so strong it scared me silly. Full-blown asthma attack -- thank goodness I had a rescue inhaler at the time. When I returned him, the vet at the shelter gave me such a lecture that I left in tears. I could not get him to understand that it was breaking my heart to bring that cat back and that keeping it was going to kill me. He suggested I just leave my windows open. In February. *sigh*

http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-health-facts-blood-types-donor-month

Well, Mischa would qualify, but none of my others. But I'm not comfortable with the idea of having to sedate him for it. Isn't that a bit risky?