Any British Shorthairs breeders who are genuinely interested in the new test for Bsh and a known Hcm causing gene please feel free to contact me.

The test is indeed new and i know their has been some talk of it on here. The test and the test results that myself and some other breeders are getting are being reported back to the appropriate places. Gccf and FAB.
If anyone would like any info in confidence please feel free to contact me.

I am a small breeder with a keen and realistic interest in health and genetics and work closely with like minded breeders and welcome anyone who may be interested.

I'd be interested in knowing more about this test. As I understand it from the discussion on Novice Breeders Advice, there is only one lab providing it and it cannot actually confirm whether or not the cat has HCM or whether or not that gene it locates causes HCM in British Shorthairs?

Could you provide a link to more information about the test and its reliability? I would be interested in this as my breed uses British Shorthair as an outcross

This is true hun, which is why it would be great if more BSH breeders tested. The more results they have the better they can work to find some accurate answers.

I think it would be great if the lab offered this particular test at a reduced rate to invite more BSH breeders to take it.

It's a very nice offer Becbec

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Hi soupie,

There is going to be more imfomation out there soon but as yet has not been published.

As with any genetic test the lab will not confirm the chances of any carrier actually developing hcm. This is because it is impossible to say so. However what it can tell us is that any cat who is carrying this gene has the potential to develop this and has a higher risk of doing so. Working closely with my head vet he has read up and spoken with cardio specialist and they hve both confirmed this test is worth doing and that any cat who is homozygous will at some point develop a problem howver the severity of the problem is unknown. A cat could develop hcm and live a full long life or it could develop it young and die young. What we do know for sure is that any cat who is hetro (carrying one gene) will pass this on to 50% of its offspring and a homozygous (carrying two copies of the mutant gene) will pass it to all of its offsrping. So if you imagine we are producing many carriers and in a mating you out two affected cats together (totally innocently in most cases) all the offspring will be affected in the worst way as their would be no clear gene to dilute the mutant copy.

As in ragdolls and maine coons the test is open to criticism but you only have to see the percentages of the cats tested that are affected in these breeds to see why now it is becoming standard for all breeding ragdolls to be tested.

But have they proven the gene it detects does cause HCM in BSH? I'd like to know before committing my hard earned cash .....

Before anyone jumps on me I am very committed to good genetic health in our cats but I find it strange none of the bigger well known labs are offering this test? Why is this? Is the test still in research stages?

It wont be taken the wrong way as i have said i can tell you of my own personal experience. I have lost one of beloved cats to this disease and the parents have tested positive for this gene and so have her litter mates. I am lucky her breeder was willing to accept their may be a problem and now it is all being dealt with. She was only 2years old and 5months and just dropped dead. I had a very expensive post mortem done to find out what had happened to her.

As i have already said their is much more out there yet to be published.

This gene has been proven to cause HCM in main coons by the lab offering the test but as it has only been offered for around 6months and has been brought over from Europe it is hard to give a defiinitive answer so early on as was the case originally with ragdolls and maine coons.

My own experience is enough that I am testing any cats I bring in now and have had some clear results, for me this makes me feel better in knowing I am doing all i can for the moment and am working with other breeders and official bodies this is why some of the info cannot be given out in the way of a public internet forum as it is not my infomation to publish.

I don't really want to get into this, because to say is shakey ground for me is putting it mildly... but if you can read German... you will find some VERY "enlightening" artices out there about the labs offering these tests. Suffice to say they don't come off very well.

because I live on the continent, when I research this on google, I get Dutch and German artciles before I get English language ones.

Hiya

I am very interested in reading the paper when it is published - there have been instances of HCM in Selkirks when they first came to the country although I am not personally aware of any recent cases. I know some British Shorthair lines have been badly affected and it is a devastating illness. I am definitely interested in doing this test but would like to see more about it first if that makes sense?

My cats are all PKD negative (testing is required by our registration policy) - if this test can give us real indications about HCM then it will be a godsend to us breeders as we can then reassure ourselves we are doing the very best by our cats and by way of the new breeding policies being created in conjunction with the GCCF then if the test proves reliable it could be written into those policies? I know the GCCF is seriously committed to the genetic health.

Please do update when the research is published?

Soupie

Hi,

I agree it is shakey ground still and I am honestly not here to tell anyone they are worng in their opinions. These are simply mine which i have founded with the advice of my own personal vet and a cardio specialist.

As for the accuracy of the test I obviosuly cannot gurantee that all I can say is my own experience.