We do full panel of genetic and trait testing of all parents, even cats we have bred just as a double check and to add on any new testing that has come out over the years. PKD is the first test breeders who are working their way up the ethical/reputable ladder do. It was prevalent in Persians do to extreme inbreeding. When the test was made pubic, 70% of Persians had it. It’s a dominant gene so any cat that has one gene will have it. There were so many Persians with it they had to allow them 2-3 generations to breed it out to preserve the gene pool. Persians were used to develop Exotics and British shorthairs, both of which were used to develop the Scottish folds. PKD is present by 1 year of age and will cause a painful death due to kidney failure by 2-8 years old.

 

We also test for HCM, which can cause cats to have heart failure by 8 years of age. See also HCM ultrasound screening which is more important than genetic test since over 50 forms are thought to exist. If cats die of sudden heart problems by 8, HCM is probably the cause. We’ve had many families describe this from cats they got from somewhere else. One family told me their Sphynx died at 8 years old because the breeder said they only live that long. This is NOT true. Sphynxes are one of the breeds with rampant HCM. Reputable breeders are desperately trying to find the genes but until then they must diligently ultrasound and retest the heart and they have opened up allowable outcrosses with some haired breeds to improve the heart gene pool, but which produces more pet quality cats.

 

We also test for blood type. B blood type is bad for breeding but not bad for adopters once a cat goes home. Brits have about 40% B blood type which can kill an entire litter of kittens when mixed with A blood type or if they are lucky enough to survive, cause their tails to rot off. This resulted from massive inbreeding until a test was developed. Now Brit breeders have to decide if they want to hand nurse entire litters of kittens to breed it out, or continue to just breed B blood type. Brits were used when developing the folds and are still an allowable outcross.

 

We test for recessive traits so we know when we are able to get colors and hair lengths that tests exist for. Many desirable colors are double recessive genes. We test for every disease and trait the company we use has and the report is printed here to view. If you go with someone who does not genetic test, you are playing roulette and may get a cat that will die a horrible, painful death by 2-8 years of age.

 

Showing a genetic test of one fold gene and one straight gene does NOT mean that cat is free from arthritis. Cats with one fold gene can still get arthritis. The reason we do not breed fold to fold is to reduce the chance of arthritis and to not double up on the gene and increase the severity of arthritis. See “How long have you been breeding” and “How do you improve your bloodlines over the years and monitor arthritis in your folds?”

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Here's an article about PKD in cat: https://icatcare.org/advice/polycystic-kidney-disease