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INDY'S PAGE

The Health of Cooncerto cats and kittens is my first priority!

The Maine Coon cat, like many breeds of cat, was line bred to concentrate desirable features to set the look. Line breeding (breeding with closely related cats) can sometimes focus  undesirable traits as well as the desirable ones.

 

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) HCM is prevalent in many breeds of cat including the domestic cat. It is a heart disease which in a mild case can take the form of a heart murmur, shortness of breath or general malaise. It can also be quite deadly. HCM is a dominant genetic trait which means that if one parent carries the disease, there is a fifty percent chance that any offspring will be affected. Theoretically it should be possible to completely eradicate the disease, however mother nature as usual can be contrary. Sometimes, even though parents are screened, the disease does not show up until they are past their optimum breeding age. Screening is done by a specialist cardiologist using echocardiographic equipment to view the heart and the passage of blood though the heart. Research is ongoing to develop a DNA test which we hope will help to eliminate HCM from our beautiful cats. In humans there are over 400 genetic mutations which have been identified in conjunction with HCM. Katherine Meurs of Washington University has discovered a mutation on the cardiac myosin binding protein C (MyBP-C) in Maine Coons. This mutation correlates with a similar mutation in people which causes late onset HCM. Research is ongoing in Maine Coons. To date, over 35% of Maine Coons tested carry this gene but according to statistics, only 3-5% of Maine Coons will go on to develop clinical signs of the disease. It seems that even the geneticists are unable to predict the correlation between the test and those cats who will eventually develop clinical signs of HCM. I have tested my cats for this genetic mutation, and we are working to remove from the breeding pool those cats who carry this mutation. At the moment however, I believe that the best predictive tool we have is still the echocardiograph testing carried out by veterinary cardiologists. Family history is also very important and one of the reasons I choose to work with only a small group of like minded breeders.

Hip Dysplasia (HD) HD is another health issue which can sometimes be found in Maine Coons. Although this problem does not seem to affect cats to the same degree as it does dogs, many breeders screen to remove from their breeding programme any cats which show clinical evidence of osteo-arthritic development in the hip joints. The genetic inheritance of this disease is not as straightforward as HCM, and sometimes, for all the care that is taken is choosing parents, it can show up in a kitten bred from two parents with apparently perfect hips. Removal of cats with DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease) from our breeding programmes and the use of common sense and good breeding practice is currently the only method available to the breeder to try to reduce the incidence of HD in Maine Coon cats. HD has been the subject of recent studies by Veterinary specialists. Although there is a reasonably high proportion of cats who fall below the Fair to Excellent range (as assessed by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals), it has been shown that only a very small percentage of these cats will develop clinical evidence of the disease.

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a disease most prevalent in the persian breeds. PKD has not been an issue to date in the Maine Coon, however screening is a simple scan which is done by the radiologist at the same time as the heart screening.

 

 

 

All our  breeding cats are screened for both Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and PKD.  Please ask to see original test certificates when you visit me. Preliminary HD testing is carried out by my own vet using x-rays. General bloodworks testing is also carried out and used as an aid in monitoring the general health of our cats. All cats are tested for Feline Leukemia (FELV), Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).   While we cannot absolutely guarantee that the kitten you may purchase is going to live to be 20 years old, we do guarantee to give our kittens their best chance to achieve that milestone by screening the parents and by maintaining our cats in optimum health. Cooncerto kittens come with a guarantee for peace of mind.

 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the my opinions based on my research and experience. I am not a veterinarian, nor do I claim to have any medical training or to be an expert in feline health issues. However, I do promise you that I will use all means reasonably available to me in my endeavour to breed healthy kittens.  And I hope that in return for my promise to you, you will provide my kittens with loving homes where they will be spoilt and pampered for their whole lives! :-)

    

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Website by Anne Harvey Jan 2007 - All text and photographs are copyright