Abstract
AIM OF STUDY: To investigate serum vitamin C and D concentrations of cats suffering from gingivostomatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum concentrations of vitamins C and D were evaluated in 30 cats of various breeds, including 15 healthy cats and 15 with gingivostomatitis. RESULTS: Serum vitamin D concentration in the healthy cats (35.36 ± 15.39 ng/mL) was significantly higher than that of the cats with gingivostomatitis (17.54 ± 10.50 ng/mL) (p < 0.05). There was no difference in serum vitamin C concentration between the healthy cats (3.7 ± 0.74 mg/100 mL) and those with gingivostomatitis (3.1 ± 0.72 mg/100 mL) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that cats with gingivostomatitis are predisposed to vitamin D deficiency. Further studies are required to confirm this finding in a larger study sample and to investigate the potential utility of vitamin D supplementation.