Health Testing - HCM & PK-def......
About HCM......
and why we decided to screen.
We have made the decision to screen all our breeding cats yearly for the condition of HCM. HCM is a genetic condition sometimes found in humans and cats HCM or Hypertrophic cardiologist (HCM) is a condition characterized by the inward thickening of the heart muscle, resulting in a reduction of chamber volume, thereby reducing the volume of blood that the heart can pump with each contraction.
HCM Screening is recommended to be done on a yearly basis to attempt to have a better idea of whether or not the breeding cat/s is positive, Negative or Equivocal. A Negative scan does not guarantee that the cat will not develop the condition in later life, neither does it guarantee that the condition will not be passed or come out in any offspring - but what is does do is help to eliminate cats who are positive or Equivocal being used in breeding programmes.
The screening is done by a qualified cardiologist and in our case we chose one on the FAB (Feline advisory Bureau) list and personal recommendations from other breeders. The process is a relatively short but comprehensive one. Cats may often need a sedation or may be happy to allow the screening to be done without this. The Cardiologist will shave two patches on the cat normally under the front legs, place the cat on each side in turn and perform an ultra sound. You can find more information of the procedure by visiting the FAB Website yourself
As we are a new breeder we have however come across one hurdle and that is we do not as yet have our own stud cat. Trying to find another breeder that not only has a suitable stud for our girls, a healthy pedigree, HCM screens AND will allow their males to be used by outside girls is not the easiest task. Until we have our own stud here we will be doing our best to choose wisely in the studs we do use with our girls. We will study ALL pedigree's and cross reference with the HCM positive list; which contains those that have received a positive scan result, and also those that have sadly lost their lives to HCM. In knowing this information we can then work to eliminate any of these 'high risk' lines from our own breeding programme & attempt to minimize any risk of our offspring being affected. The cost of HCM screening at the moment is high but it is obtainable, the prices of our kittens however are on the whole no different to other breeders prices (regardless of whether they screen or not). So please bear this in mind when we ask £450-£500 for one of our kittens - we absorb the screening cost ourselves. Most pedigree registered bengals will sell upwards of £450 to £650 for a pet.
Please note that both studs we have used Champion Typhast Meteorstrike & ImGrCh Typhast Greatballsoffire were over 5years old at the time of mating. We purposely chose strong healthy established cats with many offspring and no reported issues to reduce our risk of producing HCM. All of Benezhar's breeding behind Poppy (upto her Great Great Grandmother)still reside at Benezhar going strong. Her Uncle & One of her daughters reside here with us. Again there is a strong family tree in our female lines.
We hope you found this page of interest.
Latest list of HCM positive & Equivocal Cats can be found here
HCM Screening is recommended to be done on a yearly basis to attempt to have a better idea of whether or not the breeding cat/s is positive, Negative or Equivocal. A Negative scan does not guarantee that the cat will not develop the condition in later life, neither does it guarantee that the condition will not be passed or come out in any offspring - but what is does do is help to eliminate cats who are positive or Equivocal being used in breeding programmes.
The screening is done by a qualified cardiologist and in our case we chose one on the FAB (Feline advisory Bureau) list and personal recommendations from other breeders. The process is a relatively short but comprehensive one. Cats may often need a sedation or may be happy to allow the screening to be done without this. The Cardiologist will shave two patches on the cat normally under the front legs, place the cat on each side in turn and perform an ultra sound. You can find more information of the procedure by visiting the FAB Website yourself
As we are a new breeder we have however come across one hurdle and that is we do not as yet have our own stud cat. Trying to find another breeder that not only has a suitable stud for our girls, a healthy pedigree, HCM screens AND will allow their males to be used by outside girls is not the easiest task. Until we have our own stud here we will be doing our best to choose wisely in the studs we do use with our girls. We will study ALL pedigree's and cross reference with the HCM positive list; which contains those that have received a positive scan result, and also those that have sadly lost their lives to HCM. In knowing this information we can then work to eliminate any of these 'high risk' lines from our own breeding programme & attempt to minimize any risk of our offspring being affected. The cost of HCM screening at the moment is high but it is obtainable, the prices of our kittens however are on the whole no different to other breeders prices (regardless of whether they screen or not). So please bear this in mind when we ask £450-£500 for one of our kittens - we absorb the screening cost ourselves. Most pedigree registered bengals will sell upwards of £450 to £650 for a pet.
Please note that both studs we have used Champion Typhast Meteorstrike & ImGrCh Typhast Greatballsoffire were over 5years old at the time of mating. We purposely chose strong healthy established cats with many offspring and no reported issues to reduce our risk of producing HCM. All of Benezhar's breeding behind Poppy (upto her Great Great Grandmother)still reside at Benezhar going strong. Her Uncle & One of her daughters reside here with us. Again there is a strong family tree in our female lines.
We hope you found this page of interest.
Latest list of HCM positive & Equivocal Cats can be found here
About PK-Def.....
We also screen for Pk-def here is an excerpt from the fab cats website that explain's this abit more - you can find the whole article here :- http://www.fabcats.org/owners/pk_deficiency/info.html
"Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is an inherited disease occasionally encountered in Abyssinian and Somali cats, and also reported in the domestic shorthair cat. Pyruvate kinase is an enzyme found within red blood cells which enables them to produce energy to survive. If this enzyme is lacking, the lifespan of the red blood cells is significantly reduced, resulting in a reduction in the number of red blood cells in the circulation (anaemia).
What signs does it cause?
The main consequence of the disease is the development of anaemia. However, since the body can quickly manufacture new red blood cells, the anaemia is usually only intermittently detectable. Most of the time the anaemia is either only mild, or occurs gradually, enabling the cat to adapt to the anaemia and not show any obvious signs. Anaemia often results in only vague signs such as lethargy and lack of appetite. However, a rapid severe life-threatening anaemia can also develop. Although PK deficiency is hereditary, the anaemia is usually mild and clinical signs may not be obvious, and thus may not be noticed until the cat is quite old"
"Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is an inherited disease occasionally encountered in Abyssinian and Somali cats, and also reported in the domestic shorthair cat. Pyruvate kinase is an enzyme found within red blood cells which enables them to produce energy to survive. If this enzyme is lacking, the lifespan of the red blood cells is significantly reduced, resulting in a reduction in the number of red blood cells in the circulation (anaemia).
What signs does it cause?
The main consequence of the disease is the development of anaemia. However, since the body can quickly manufacture new red blood cells, the anaemia is usually only intermittently detectable. Most of the time the anaemia is either only mild, or occurs gradually, enabling the cat to adapt to the anaemia and not show any obvious signs. Anaemia often results in only vague signs such as lethargy and lack of appetite. However, a rapid severe life-threatening anaemia can also develop. Although PK deficiency is hereditary, the anaemia is usually mild and clinical signs may not be obvious, and thus may not be noticed until the cat is quite old"
