Genetic health testing

[kai bengals]

Originally Posted by baelfire

Hi guys sorry to interrupt the flow of the conversation, but how do you guys find a board certified feline cardiologist? I'm just wondering is there a website that has a directory and list of all of them?

For reference, I live in Los Angeles, if that helps narrow it down.

Thank you

Feline or Canine makes little difference.

Here you go:

http://www.americanboxerclub.org/boa...iologists.html

 

[kittieshasme]

Thank you all for the great information.

Could someone explain blood typing and why it's important? Does it vary from breed to breed?

 

[ferriscat]

Depending on your breed, it is essential to know your cat's blood type before breeding. This is due to the fact that a blood type B mother can develop antibodies against her blood type A kittens. These antibodies are present in the colostral milk and will kill the kittens when they nurse--so breeders must know if they are breeding a blood type B female to a blood type A male. This incompatibility is easily resolved by not allowing the kittens to nurse for the first 16 hours after birth--after this, the antibodies are no longer present in the colostral milk.

Blood type B is recessive and A is dominant. The vast majority of cats in the US domestic population are bloodtype A, though this is not the case throughout the rest of the world. Blood type AB is the most rare and a cat of that blood type is not the same as a cat who is blood type A and carries B.

 

[marsch21]

Here is a list I have found.

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/Cardiologists.htm#Ontario

 

[epona]

Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

This is the first I have ever heard about a cat being sedated for an ultrasound of the heart. I have had this done for over 6 years, with many cats, and sedation has never ever been mentioned.
I do agree, I wouldn't put my cats though a yearly sedation, that would be a risk I wouldn't take.

I should also mention that in the TICA SC region, we have a tech that scans all of the different cat breeds at the show, and then sends the scans off to be read by a board certified cardiologist. Again, the sedation is not something I would have ever thought would happen. We lay the cat on the table, and the scanner is placed over the top of the heart, and a hole is under the table, to place the scanner below, so he gets different views of the heart.

Is there other vets that you trust, that doesn't use sedation? Even the vet I called about years ago, for a price, which was $300 at the time, also didn't use a sedation. That is about as strange as a vet who wanted to put a cat under for a simple microchipping.


I thought Mimosa made a great point, having regular scanning allows for continuous measuring of the heart, to account for any changes. I also agree, about necropsy of a breeding cat, as well as the offspring. I have a 4 year genetic guarantee in my contracts, if a kitten/cat did pass, we do ask for a necropsy to be done. We do understand that it would be hard on a family of that loved pet, but it is so important for the breeder to know.

I also want to say regarding the DNA testing, for certain diseases, doesn't mean I can say I have an HCM free cattery, that would be false. I can only say my cats are found normal/negative for the current found mutations in MY breed. If your breed has a breed specific DNA test, then one should use it, I am not saying everyone should go and have their cats HCM DNA tested, as these found mutations are only applicable for the Ragdoll and Maine Coon breed. There is also a PKD test, but that isn't applicable to my Ragdolls, unless there is Persian/Himi in the background. There is place in TX, called www.catgenes.org that has many DNA tests for one price, however, not all tests will be accurate for all breeds. I used PKD as an example, even though my tests were negative, doesn't mean anything, except my cats do not carry that PKD marker, because I have no Persians in my line. As I said in a previous post there are over 200 found mutations of HCM in humans, so it would be assumed there are mutations that have not beed discovered in cats. That is why having my cats still scanned is so important. I still can't say I have an HCM free cattery, as I could always have a cat with an undiscovered mutation, but I can say I have done everything I can to ensure the health of my cats/kittens.

Right now, the places I know to get my cats blood typed, are saying now that the blood tests are not accurate for my breed. I don't know of a lab I can use that would be accurate, so I assume more research will be done, so that we can know for future breedings, what blood type we are working with.

Sincerely,
Stormi

It's absolutely fantastic that you have access to these services! I wish it were the same for everyone, but unfortunately it's not.

What breed are you into? Because (I don't breed, but judging by my own cats and how they behave) I have Oriental Shorthairs and a Cornish Rex cross, and they are not going to stay still long enough for an ultrasound without sedation - this is not because they have bad temperament, in fact far from it they are wonderful (they are very very good cats - gentle and easy enought to handle even under stressful circumstances, they won't bite or scratch), but just due to their energy and high activity levels and very muscular physique, and the fact that if wriggling were an Olympic sport, they would get gold every time. I have described before that holding an Oriental can be like "holding onto a sack of eels", something which I know other families with Oriental or Rex cats and breeders will relate to!

Besides, in the UK, we do not have these services on tap and readily available, and they are hugely expensive, our vet fees are much higher than in the US. Doing an annual test on a cat that has never had any problems, where there are no problems in any of the cats in the pedigree, and where no offspring have ever had any problems, is just not feasible.

Yes of course investigations and necroscopy should absolutely be done in the case of sudden fatality, but I don't view annual testing as being necessary where there is absolutely no history, or even any suggestion of a history, of HCM in lines. We have plenty of breeding lines of Oriental (for example) with absolutely zero known problems with HCM or sudden fatality. Testing all breeding cats on an annual basis is not only clinically unnecessary, but overly stressful and not in the best clinical interest of the cats concerned.

Yes by all means if there are good grounds in the breed or the lines you are using to suspect there may be a genetic problem that can be tested for, then test for it. Absolutely. But if there has been no problem for 10 generations in your lines, if there is no DNA test for your breed, and if you have an active breed that may need sedation in order for useful, non-blurry, ultrasound scan to be done with the associated stress and risk that comes from that, then I don't deem it as necessary for every individual.