Negative screening for HCM in Maine Coon kittens does not rule out the disease

-

In layperson's terms, we know that it's possible to screen Maine Coon breeding cats, foundation cats and the parents of kittens plus the kittens created at cat breeders for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in order to prevent the creation of Maine Coon cats who are predisposed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and therefore to reassure purchasers of purebred Maine Coon cats that their purchase will not show signs of the disease quite soon after purchase and have a shortened lifespan as a consequence.

By 'screening' I mean testing for a mutant gene that causes the disease.

When a Maine Coon breeder says that they screen their cats and kittens for the disease that they sell to clients, should a negative test result totally reassure the client that their purchased kitten will not develop HCM? That is the $64,000 question.

The answer to that question is clearly NO, sadly. My research clearly indicates that a Maine Coon cat screened as negative for HCM may still develop this heart disease because there are other currently undiscovered genetic mutations that can cause the disease. The information comes from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.

And the same information comes from a veterinary clinic/facility with a big online presence for carrying out screening for HCM. They are called Langford Vets in the UK and they say this about screens HCM in Maine Coon cats:

The Molecular Diagnostic Unit can now offer genetic testing for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Maine Coon and Ragdoll cats. We have developed PCR assays to quickly and accurately identify the two MYBPC3 gene mutations currently linked with HCM in Maine Coon (A31P) and Ragdoll (R820W) cats. 

Comment on the above: they are saying that they have a molecular diagnostic test to detect two genetic mutations linked to HCM. If those mutations are not present then the cat is not predisposed HCM. That's the argument.

But they go on to state that, "[There maybe] as yet unidentified, genetic mutations [which can) also cause HCM or modify the risk".

They further add that, "A normal result on the Maine Coon HCM genetic test means that the cat does not have the genetic mutation [referred to above]. It is possible that some cats may go on to develop cardiac disease due to other, as yet unidentified genetic mutations."

Comment: It seems to me that the fact of the matter is that researchers are still identifying the genetic mutations causing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Maine Coon cats and other cats. This is the most common heart disease in domestic cats generally including non-purebred cats.

This is work in progress. They have identified some genes which cause it as mentioned above again. But this, clearly, is not the complete story which is why the answer to the question in the highlighted sentence above is that a purchaser cannot be certain that their kitten/cat will not develop HCM despite being screened by the breeder and the result coming back negative. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Please share your Maine Coon experiences.

Popular posts from this blog

The extreme Maine Coon face

-
Image
This is an example of extreme breeding. This is a Maine Coon but this cat is an extreme and rare example of this breed. This is not the way they look normally. This face is almost like an aggressive robot with the piercing eyes and the huge muzzle.  Or like a lion's head. The head looks enormous and very heavy. It looks unreal. But it also looks very impressive.  And purchasers like impressive-looking domestic cats. But this not the face of a Maine Coon that wins cat show competitions as it does not fit the breed standard as accurately as the more moderate winners (see below).  In fact, the CFA standard is clear in that the cat should have a balanced appearance although this cat was not bred under the CFA breed standard as I understand it (see below).  Click here for more on the kind of MC which wins at shows . Maine Coon selectively breed to have an extreme face. Image in the public domain. And the Maine Coon is meant to be a large cat, the largest domestic cat breed and there
Read more

Eerie picture of a Maine Coon sitting like a human on a chest of drawers

-
Image
This is a slightly scary picture according to those who've seen it. One social media user said it was the devil and "If I walked into a room and saw that, I would assume some shit is about to go down". There is a ghostly stillness and sinister feeling about the image. 'Eerie' is a better description. This attractive cat appears to be completely at ease and comfortable sitting on top of a chest of bedroom drawers. The lighting from below (deliberate?) enhances the eerie effect. It seems possible that this is a photo-edited image but if so, it has been done with great skill. However, I don't think this is Photoshopped. Rethink: to be honest, the more I look at the picture, the more I feel that this is a photo-edited image. It is just too unnatural to be real. Although some domestic cats get themselves into some very strange positions. Maine Coon calmly sitting just like a human on a chest of drawers. Picture source unclear. Image deemed to be in the public d
Read more

No part of a Maine Coon cat should be exaggerated

-
Image
It is interesting to read that the premier cat association, the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) - the cat association which really dictates (with TICA) how Maine Coons should look - makes it clear that no part of the cat should be exaggerated, and the cat should be "well-proportioned and balanced".  In other words, any form of extreme appearance such as a particularly heavy muzzle or particularly large ears with extra-long lynx tips are not going to be seen as advantageous in terms of winning cat shows or in terms of having an ideal appearance. As soon as I read that no part of a Maine Coon should be exaggerated, I immediately thought of the extremely large, extreme-bred Maine Coon cats that often come from Russia. These cats have very heavy muzzles.  Lion-faced Maine Coon with exaggerated features. Image in public domain now. In fact, their heads look like the heads of lions. I get the impression that breeders have selectively bred their cats over years to look like male
Read more

Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes

-
Image
Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes. Photo: Instagram. OMG, this is a Maine Coon with an amazing face. His full name is "Richie du Mont d’Even". I think he has a black smoke coat which has created this black face with the assistance of other genes (polygenetic influence?) and ears with piercing, diamond eyes. This is a very special cat. Richie looked very interesting but relatively plain as a kitten. Image: Instagram. His paws are balls of fluff. He has a mane that goes over his head like a halo. He's angelic and other-worldly. The lynx tips on the end of his ears are smoky grey which makes them stand out. They are a bit like the opposite to the black lynx tips of the wild caracal.  He lives in France with his human: Adriana Piraino. He was born on 7th November 2020. He is still very young. They say Maine Coons reach adulthood at around the age of 4. He is going to be enormous as well. Richie with Adriana. Photo: Instagram Richie was bred b
Read more

Parisian Maine Coon 'crème et blanc'

-
Image
PARIS: This is a handsome Parisian Maine Coon described by his human caretaker as: "My little lynx Jiyuu of Roswell Maine Coon crème et blanc 19 mois mâle". The translation is: his name is Jiyuu of Roswell. His coat is cream and white. He is 19 months old. Oh, and his is damned handsome. The photo is by his guardian: Lunatique- girl . Cream and white Maine Coon living in Paris, France. Photo: Lunatique Girl. It is a really nice Maine Coon photo of a really nice Maine Coon with an interesting coat colour. I think the main colour is more milk chocolate, cappuccino or fawn! Anyway, super-looking cat. Is he a cream tabby? I think so.
Read more

Maine Coon size versus dog size?

-
Image
People want to know how the size of the Maine Coon compares to the size of a dog. You probably realise that it is impossible to answer this question because dog size varies enormously. This is due to selective breeding over about 20 years or more. And, it has to be said, the size of the Maine Coon also varies considerably.  A Beagle versus a large Maine Coon comparing size. Image: MikeB based on images in the public domain. Here is another image comparing a Beagle and a standard Maine Coon from a YouTube video: Standard Maine Coon versus a Beagle comparing size. Screenshot. Small-to-medium-sized dog compared to a Maine Coon size. Image in public domain. This looks like a small Maine Coon. And here is a Golden Retriever and Maine Coon playing. This dog breed is quite large: People get the impression that all Maine Coons are always huge but they are not. Maine Coons can be a little larger than standard domestic cats (small female for instance) but in general they are considerably larg
Read more

Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6 weeks and 6-years-of-age

-
Image
This is a cross-post as the image is so damned good. It is amazing because the cat is amazing. To put the same cat at different stages of their life in the same photograph is a nice idea especially with this Maine Coon (MC) who has an amazingly heavy face. It is so mightily masculine to be almost unbelievable. He has a priceless expression on his face too. Very serious compared to the innocence of his face when he was 6 weeks old. He looks a bit coy when 6 weeks old and a slightly grumpy middle-aged man when 6 years old. Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6-weeks and 6-years-of-age. Image in pubic domain. No doubt he is huge too. You get a clear sense of that in the image. There is a serious and less impressive side to this image. It's the backstory that people don't really want to read about and discuss or in fact do anything about: heart ( HCM ) and joint disease. The bigger and heavier the MCs are the more predisposed to heart disease they are. Here is the posts on
Read more

5 Maine Coon transformations from kitten to adult (video)

-
Image
Maine Coon kitten and his adult self. Photo: Robert Silka. This is a series of photographs by the very famous Maine Coon photographer: robert_sijka. I think he presents his photographs too dark as there is not enough information in the photographs for my liking but he takes great photographs of great Maine Coon cats. In this series he photographs a kitten and their adult version. Each individual cat is a wonderful example of the Maine Coon breed. I can count five examples. In my experience, these Google Blogger videos only work if you click the centre play button and then, immediately afterwards, the play button bottom-left! It sounds bad but the short video is worth watching.
Read more

2 top Russian Maine Coon cat breeders which ship internationally

-
Image
I am writing this from the West; specifically, near London, UK. There will be quite a few people living in the West who'd like to adopt a Maine Coon cat and they would like to adopt one from a Russian breeder because they do have a certain style.  I sense, although I don't have hard evidence to support this feeling, that the top Russian breeders of Maine Coon cats might be superior to breeders from other countries.  I am putting aside Putin's invasion of Ukraine when writing this article. Some people might object to dealing in anyway with a Russian business on account of that barbaric and illegal invasion. We should remember that Russia has quite a strong cat fancy. They like their cats and they love their purebred cats particularly the Maine Coon. It is in fact a cat breed which is quite naturally suited to the Russian way of life and climate. There's lots of space in Russia with a relatively low population and therefore there are going to be houses with large grounds
Read more

Dwarf Maine Coon cat?

-
Image
No, you won't get a dwarf Maine Coon cat. There is no formal cat breed which is a dwarf Maine Coon (MC) although there are about a dozen dwarf cat breeds which is strange because most people haven't heard of them. It would be a travesty of the distinguished Maine Coon cat breed to create a dwarf version. But is there is someone online discussing a Maine Coon x Munchkin mix. Well, I hardly read it because I can't see the point. Note : One study on Google Scholar reports on a Maine Coon kitten in Germany born with inherited dwarfism called metaphyseal chondrodysplasia. This is very rare as I understand it. This individual cat was a dwarf Maine Coon. The cat also suffered from rickets and other health issues. This was unplanned and unwanted. Fairly normal-sized Maine Coon. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick. Think about it. The MC is known to have a large and distinguished bearing. They are meant to be outstanding in that way. It is their raison d'etre. To cut them down to a s
Read more