Blood Types

Cats have three blood types: A, B, and AB. Most cats are type A, but the incidence of types varies geographically.

In the United States, almost 100 percent of cats are type A in New England, but this falls to 95 percent on the West Coast.

Virtually all random-bred cats in Switzerland are type A, but this drops to 97 percent in Britain, Austria, and Holland, 94 percent in Germany, 89 percent in Italy, and 85 percent in France.

Many pedigreed breeds are almost exclusively type A, but others show varying levels of type B, most notably the Exotic Shorthair and Cornish Rex with up to 25 percent.

The British Shorthair and Devon Rex at nearly 50 percent. Type AB is extremely rare and not linked to breed.