Ragdoll Cat Forums

What a great idea, I was hoping someone would do this. I would also add how long their health guarantee is for. If I think of anything else I will post it here.

Do not assume a longer "guarantee" is better. What one wants is a guarantee that will be honored. ; )

JanH Wrote:

blueragdoll Wrote:HCM is getting to be a big problem from what I have heard with results coming back as carriers from breeders with some of the best lines in the world. Lines that would be absolutely criminal to desex, lines from Patriarca , Doromas , Rosauris and Dreamcats.

One does not desex lines. One desex's individual cats. The Ragdoll and Maine Coon HCM mutations are DOMINANT. They are not carried. Not all cats who have a mutation will develop HCM, but this is not because it is recessive. Cats with one copy of the mutation can and do get HCM at young ages and die at young ages. The development and progression of HCM in cats with the mutation is extremely variable - and there are older cats with one copy of the mutation who have not developed HCM and may never develop HCM. This does not change the fact that many pos/hets DO develop HCM and die from it.

HCM positive breeding cats for whom there are many relatives being bred, do not need to be bred to obtain a negative kitten for future breeding. The loss of such cats means their genetics are still well represented in the gene pool in their close relatives already being bred. It is the HCM cats of superior quality for whom there are not close relatives that are negative and still breeding who may need to produce kittens for breeding with the risk of also creating kittens with the mutation. Those breedings should have been done by now and there will be very few cases now and in the future where DNA positive cats should be bred at all - regardless of the "lines."

Sorry Jan, I just assumed Hcm was like Mpsm and recessive. What I said was almost a quote of what I read regarding those lines because as I said, I don't know much about these health problems. Maybe you could start a thread on Hcm for us all ?

Deb, I added your question.

All pet owners need to know is that the parents of any kitten in which they are interested should have been DNA tested to be free of the mutation.

Great idea Cloe ,
Here are a few I came up with.
Do they have a breeders contract?
And what is in it?Are they welling to take back a kitten if things don't work out. I would think this would be a hard one to ask.
Have any of the kittens in the litter been sick? If so, what were the signs, the diagnosis and treatment?

And what should one do if a kitten in the litter (or the kitten one wants) had soft stool or a weepy eye? (The point is that these kinds of questions may sometimes help, but do not assume there is a "right" answer. You may just collect a bunch of irrelevant information that will be misleading rather than helpful - assuming that a "bad" breeder, who are rare, would have any compunction about just telling you what you seemed to want to hear. We do not have lists of questions for prospective owners because it is so obvious what the "right" answer would be. We much prefer just to have a more general discussion about cats and experiences with cats and derive from that what we need to know.)

Thanks guys, I have added those questions

JanH Wrote:All pet owners need to know is that the parents of any kitten in which they are interested should have been DNA tested to be free of the mutation.

If the parents aren't tested, what are signs of the kitten/cat having hcm and what can happen if the cat does have hcm, is it curable?

HCM is progressive, deadly and there is no cure. Cats can only be diagnosed by ultrasound and that the cat does not have HCM at the time of the ultrasound does not mean it will not develop in the future. The signs are throwing a blood clot to the back legs, which is very painful and results in paralysis of the back legs and then usually death or the symptoms of congestive heart failure - labored breathing, rapid breathing, lethargy, unsteadiness, etc.

Better to make sure the parents have been tested and cannot have passed the known mutations to the kitten.

HCM I would just like to comment on this one, ultrasound is a old method hugely expensive and required annually, with no conclusive guarantee that the cat will not develop HCM, however with the DNA testing by swab this is as accurate as you are ever going to get.
I strongly believe that all good breeders would want to know that their foundation cats are clear, you can also do the same DNA for PKD so you would be mad not to do it.
I love this new technology for testing our cats, we can DNA our cats for the choc carriers where as previously it was a hit an miss with the one you kept for your breeding.
You can alway test the kitten but there is no need when the parents have already been tested and shown they are clear.
If anyone wants a link to the DNA laboratory in Aust or the USA please let me know.
Theres probably heaps now in other parts of the world, these are just the two I am familar with, tried and tested!
Best Regards
Margaret

IMG]http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/kiwimagic/KiwimagicBanner.jpg[/IMG]