U.S. domestic cats as sentinels for perfluoroalkyl substances: Possible linkages with housing, obesity, and disease

- PFAS serum concentrations were measured in healthy and diseased U. S. domestic cats.
- Most abundant were PFOS (range < LOQ to 121) and PFHxS (< LOQ to 235 ng/mL).
- PFAS geometric means were very similar to that reported in U.S. human sera by NHANES.
- Higher ΣPFAS levels were positively associated with living indoors and with obesity.
- Associations with lung, liver, thyroid, or kidney disease may guide future studies.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are persistent, globally distributed, anthropogenic compounds. The primary source(s) for human exposure are not well understood although within home exposure is likely important since many consumer products have been treated with different PFAS, and people spend much of their lives indoors. Herein, domestic cats were used as sentinels to investigate potential exposure and health linkages. PFAS in serum samples of 72 pet and feral cats, including 11 healthy and 61 with one or more primary disease diagnoses, were quantitated using high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. All but one sample had detectable PFAS, with PFOS and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) ranging from