By The Pawline veterinary teamVeterinary-reviewed by Alastair Greenway, BVM&S MRCVS · 25 July 2026
Triglycerides are the main fat carried in blood. The commonest reason for a high result is simply a recent meal, so a fasted sample is essential — but a genuinely high fasted triglyceride is worth taking seriously, because it is linked to pancreatitis and points towards hormonal and metabolic conditions.
Triglycerides are the body's principal storage and transport fat, carried through the bloodstream in lipoprotein particles. Measured on a chemistry panel, they sit alongside cholesterol as the two headline lipids — and, like cholesterol, they are read in pets quite differently from people: not primarily as a cardiovascular risk score, but as a clue to metabolic and hormonal conditions, and as a risk factor for one specific, important disease.
Triglycerides are the main fat carried in blood. A recent meal is the commonest cause of a high result — which is why a fasted sample matters.
The fasting caveat comes first
The single most important thing about a triglyceride result is whether the pet was fasted. Fat surges into the blood after eating and can stay elevated for many hours, so a non-fasted sample very commonly shows high triglycerides that mean nothing at all. Markedly raised triglycerides also make the sample visibly cloudy (lipaemia), which interferes with several other tests on the panel and can distort them. So before any high triglyceride is interpreted, the question is always: how long since the last meal? A properly fasted (ideally 12-hour) sample is what makes the number meaningful.
Reading a genuinely high fasted result
A high triglyceride on a fasted sample (hypertriglyceridaemia) is worth pursuing, for two reasons:
Pancreatitis risk. Persistently high triglycerides are associated with pancreatitis — a painful, potentially serious inflammation of the pancreas. This is the most clinically consequential link, and it is why marked, persistent elevation is actively managed rather than observed.
A pointer to underlying disease. Secondary causes are common: hypothyroidism (dogs), Cushing's disease, diabetes mellitus, cholestatic liver disease, and protein-losing kidney disease can all raise triglycerides. So a high fasted result prompts a look at the endocrine and metabolic systems, much as cholesterol does.
Some breeds — the Miniature Schnauzer above all — have a well-recognised primary (inherited) hypertriglyceridaemia, and are both more prone to very high levels and to the pancreatitis that can follow.
Reading a low result
A low triglyceride is not a clinical concern in its own right and needs no action.
In chronic disease
Where high triglycerides are being managed — through a low-fat diet and treatment of any underlying endocrine condition — the fasted triglyceride is the number tracked to judge whether that management is working. In a predisposed breed, or a pet with a history of pancreatitis, keeping fasted triglycerides controlled over time is a genuine preventive goal rather than a cosmetic one.
Cat vs dog
Both species can develop hypertriglyceridaemia, with the same fasting caveat and the same endocrine differential. The inherited form is a notably canine story (Miniature Schnauzers especially), while in cats a high triglyceride more often reflects diabetes or another secondary cause. In both, the pancreatitis association is what gives a persistent elevation its clinical weight.
About the reference range
This page shows no range strip: Pawline draws a band only where it holds a verified reference interval, and triglyceride intervals are laboratory- and method-specific (and heavily dependent on fasting status). Read your result against the range printed on your own report, noting how long the pet had fasted.
For orientation only, one published example: Cornell University's veterinary laboratory (Cobas 501 analyser, serum) reports fasted triglycerides of roughly 23–102 mg/dL (≈0.26–1.15 mmol/L) in dogs and 30–106 mg/dL (≈0.34–1.20 mmol/L) in cats. Those are that one laboratory's figures on that one analyser — not a universal range — so your own report's interval, and the fasting status, are what actually count.
What to do next
If triglycerides are high, the first step with your vet is to confirm on a properly fasted sample. If they remain high, the useful next moves are to screen for the endocrine causes (thyroid, adrenal, glucose), to consider breed predisposition, and — where levels are markedly raised — to manage them with a low-fat diet because of the pancreatitis link. A high non-fasted triglyceride, by contrast, usually means only that your pet had breakfast.
This page is educational and is not a diagnosis. Lab results are interpreted in the full clinical context by your veterinary surgeon; a single value rarely tells the whole story.
