HCM in Cats

[Todd L]

I didn't c a message. And I dont know hpw tp start a pm in tapatalk

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[ALizzlyBear]

Todd: can you email me at eliz.kelley@gmail.com ? I don't think I am able to PM you for some reason.

 

[admin]

I didn't c a message. And I dont know hpw tp start a pm in tapatalk

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Todd, in tapatalk, you just go to convo...

 

[Kiangagirl]

Hi Trish; Hopefully there will someday be more effective testing for this syndrome but in the meantime I think the most important thing we can do is test for it and be vigilant. If I can get on my soapbox here---I raised and showed Bengals for several years before a divorce forced me to stop. I think Bengals are absolutely beautiful but the health problems I saw were appalling. Unfortunately a lot of those health problems are directly attributable to inbreeding. I know this is a touchy subject but I for one refuse to inbreed or "line-breed" because in my mind the damage done to the breed outweighs any benefits in the long run. I sincerely hope that, with this beautiful new breed, we as breeders will prevent a lot of those health problems and not ruin this wonderful breed by inbreeding.

Hear, hear. I agree with you 100%. I too raised and showed Bengals until a divorce forced me to stop and yes, the health problems were appalling. Cleft palate was a problem I dealt with (among many others) in spite of having bought my breeding stock from some of the best-known breeders in the country. I also refuse to "line-breed" or inbreed because of those reasons.

 

[admin]

I urge all breeders to scan for HCM. That is the only way to reduce the occurrence in the breed, if it is indeed genetic. The fact that it is more prevalent in purebreds than mixed breeds strongly suggests it is genetic. Finding her in my bedroom was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, second only to seeing my grandmother die of leukemia.

I think the data is too new to see if the Savannahs have a distinctive predisposition to HCM, but I expect to see that connection made in the next few years and the next several generations of Savannahs. The Bengal breed has been linked to HCM. Savannahs are a little newer than the Bengals and a little less main-stream. To me, I believe that there are less generations of Savannahs, so there has been less mixing of the same isolated gene pool of the available breeders. As the gene pool continues to mix, I believe we will see a higher occurrence of HCM and other cardiac illnesses. I also acknowledge the role microcardia had in her death. She had little hope with the compounded problems, even if there would have been a sign to bring her to the vet before it happened.

Do not discount the number of deaths that go undiagnosed. The average pet owner is not going to spend the $120.00 to have a necropsy done. I'm need even sure if the average vet will offer to do one. I told my vet that I need to know what happened. If it was a poison, I need to know. I have 6 other animals in my house. I just needed to know what happened. It was the best $120.00 I could have spent though. I received so much closure knowing that there was little I could have done.

Firstly, I am so sorry for your loss...it must have been devastating to find your baby that way...

I also agree in screening for HCM...my breeding female was scanned and she will continue to be scanned as will ,y future queens and studs...

And yes...a necropsy is invaluable, as terrible as it sounds, in determining causes of death...

 

[Todd L]

Email me. Todd.Lancaster@syrbrand.com.

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[Lori Greer]

If your contracts have a congenital defect clause/guarantee in there that provides for a replacement in the event of some unforeseen congenital defect withing xx amount of time then you are owed a replacement. As Patti noted there is NO DNAtest for HCM in Savannahs, and if it were me, I would want to see the HCM test results on the parents. I don't know who the breeder is, but since there is no such test, then there are no valid results.

Your necropsy clearly denotes HCM as one of the causes of death or possible causes. Even if it wasn't the primary cause right now, it would have taken your cats life in a short time. My guarantee, and many other breeders do indeed guarantee against congenital defects for a stated time period. Certainly being less than a year old would warrant a replacement with the necropsy results you have.

So sad you are having to go through this...

 

[Trish Allearz]

If your contracts have a congenital defect clause/guarantee in there that provides for a replacement in the event of some unforeseen congenital defect withing xx amount of time then you are owed a replacement. As Patti noted there is NO DNAtest for HCM in Savannahs, and if it were me, I would want to see the HCM test results on the parents. I don't know who the breeder is, but since there is no such test, then there are no valid results.

Your necropsy clearly denotes HCM as one of the causes of death or possible causes. Even if it wasn't the primary cause right now, it would have taken your cats life in a short time. My guarantee, and many other breeders do indeed guarantee against congenital defects for a stated time period. Certainly being less than a year old would warrant a replacement with the necropsy results you have.

So sad you are having to go through this...

Scans are valid results- if the breeder has them.

The DNA test isn't infallible either in the Bengal or MC breeds.

 

[Todd L]

Ok,

I talked with Alizzlybear and we both got our babies from the same state but different breeders..
However my breeder said he worked with other breeders in the area. SO... As Im sure you all would agree an ALARM went off in our heads.

Alizzlybear explained to me that TICA has medators that will work Neutrally between breeders and owners. So I am going to pursue this.

Why??? you ask.. Well in my situation my Breeder wont answer or even return a phone call or email.

This alone goes against how our savannah community goes. I haven't other than this breeder EVER heard of a breeder being so heartless.. Our Savannah community breeders are some of the best in the world.

With that said my breeder is TICA certified and on Savannahcat.com

Im not so concerned about monetary reasons I just don't want future owners to deal with our heartache.

Worst part is my F5 male "Pharaoh" howls for him all the time at night its almost unbearable. He lost his big brother and doesn't understand.

Anyways ive said what I wanted to say. God bless you all and before long I will find a new brother for my baby. It just never will be the same.

Love you "King Tut" Will see you in heaven in the future. Enjoy endless catnip baby. *cry*

 

[Per Lausund]

Read and enjoy! Put the title in the search field in scholar.google.com and be aware that to the right of the proposed article there is a link that will get you a pdf of the whole thing. Happy reading!

Analysis of 8 sarcomeric candidate genes for feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
KM Meurs, MM Norgard, M Kuan… - Journal of Veterinary …, 2009 - Wiley Online Library

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease in cats.
Causative mutations have been identified in the Maine Coon (MC) and Ragdoll breed in the
cardiac myosin binding protein C gene (MYBPC3). HCM is thought to be inherited in other ...
[PDF] fra nih.gov

Magnesium status and the effect of magnesium supplementation in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

LM Freeman, DJ Brown, FW Smith… - Canadian journal of …, 1997 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Abstract Magnesium deficiency has been associated with the development of cardiovascular
disease in several species. Cats may be predisposed to alterations in magnesium status
because of recent changes in the composition of commercial feline diets. The purposes of ...