We have recently seen a number of cases of iron deficiency anaemia, both in cats and dogs.In iron deficiency, red cells do not develop the normal complement of ironcontaining haemoglobin and the cells that form in the bone marrow are small (microcytic, low MCV) and hypochromic (low MCH and MCHC). The process of red cell maturation becomes prolonged so young red cells no longer contain large amounts of RNA and therefore do not appear polychromatic. As a result the anaemia is non- regenerative, with inappropropriately low reticulocyte counts. There is often a marked increase in variation in red cell shape
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