BACKGROUND: Venous blood gas and acid-base analysis is often performed in cats and requires appropriate reference intervals (RIs) for interpretation. The currently available RIs were created from small numbers of cats, while current guidelines suggest that a minimum number of 40 samples is required for the creation of an accurate/appropriate RI. KEY FINDINGS: In 41 healthy awake cats, pH, P SIGNIFICANCE: RIs for venous blood gas and traditional acid-base analysis from a relatively large population of healthy cats are now available for clinical use and standardized for future research studies.