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Health Concerns In The
Maine Coon Cat
At Hollishill Maine Coon Cats, we
place health as our top priority when raising and breeding Maine Coon
Cats. The first step in prioritizing good health is knowledge of the
most common diseases known to exist in the Maine Coon Cat gene pool and
methods of prevention. Breeders of the Maine Coon Cat are constantly
sharing information about health problems they may have experienced and
both new and old methods for cure and prevention. Despite our best
efforts, it is not always possible to prevent genetic defects or
hereditary diseases or viral infections in our Maine Coon Cats. The
quest for the perfect combination of genes is our goal for ensuring good
health but it is also an ongoing process. This is important for
potential owners to know when dealing with any breeder of the Maine Coon
Cat. We have outlined the most common diseases, viruses and defects in
the Maine Coon Cat for your careful review. It is not possible to
vaccinate to prevent occurrence of these conditions. Please read the
information and links carefully before you acquire a Maine Coon Cat from
Hollishill or any other breeder of the Maine Coon Cat.
Hypertrophic
Cardiomyopathy (HCM) -
HCM is the most
common cause of sudden death in Maine Coon Cats as well as other feline
regardless of breed or age. HCM is hereditary and can be detected by
performing an ultrasound or echo cardiogram of the heart. If detected
early and treated with medication, a cat with HCM can survive, but will
likely have a shorter than expected life span. At Hollishill Maine Coon
Cats we do not breed any cat that has tested positive for HCM or any
other heart condition which would also be detected by ultrasound. We
screen our breeding stock every year until they are retired from
breeding. Screening does not prevent HCM but gives us a means of
preventing more incidents of the disease in the gene pool. Since it is
impossible to predict which cat and at what age HCM may appear, it is
possible to continue to breed HCM into the gene pool. A breeding cat
that tested clear until age six would have already produced a number of
kittens that may or may not have developed HCM in their lifetime. We
guarantee cats we have placed who have perished due to HCM and we inform
our kitten clients by choice of the discovery of HCM in our breeding
stock. There is now a DNA test available as a result of a study that has
isolated one gene mutation that carries HCM in the Maine Coon Cat
specifically. We will be testing our breeding cats for this gene
mutation and will inform our kitten clients accordingly. This is only
one of what could be several gene mutations that exist in the Maine Coon
Cat (in humans there are 12 gene mutations that carry HCM). The
discovery of this gene helps us get one step further in preventing the
existence of HCM in the Maine Coon cat. See
link
for further details.
- Link for
DNA testing
for HCM gene in Maine Coons
- Link to Dr. Kittleson and Dr. Meurs work on the
MyBPC3
mutation
Feline Infectious
Peritonitis (FIP) -
FIP is a deadly viral infection
that every breeder fears. FIP is not exclusive to the Maine Coon Cat but
can be passed from feline to feline. FIP is the name for a sickness that
develops from a corona virus that many cats carry and/or could come in
contact with. The problem with FIP is that cats that carry the corona
virus that causes FIP may never become sick with FIP. FIP is most
dangerous to kittens and young cats up to 17 months old. There is no
testing available for FIP except for post mortem. FIP is frequently
misdiagnosed and creates fear and controversy among breeders because
susceptibility to becoming sick with FIP is largely hereditary and often
is fatal to only one kitten in a litter. Breeders who trade cats with
other breeders often blame one another for the sudden existence of FIP
in their catteries when it is possible that their own cats were carriers
of the corona virus that causes FIP but never became sick.
Unfortunately, the most common forum for the spreading of the corona
virus that causes FIP is in catteries and shelters. This means that
breeders have to be diligent about cleanliness and the management of
cats in small groups to prevent corona virus exposure throughout their
catteries. The most common method of spreading the corona virus is from
nose or mouth to fecal matter. At Hollishill Maine Coon Cats, our cats
rarely share litter boxes and we scoop our litter boxes daily and change
and disinfect them weekly. We also disinfect our entire cattery
bi-weekly and before any new cats come into our cattery. Our cattery has
a powerful air circulation system that we run daily to clear out stale
air and bring in fresh air. Our methods of prevention do not mean that
we will never have FIP at Hollishill Maine Coon Cats. We can only
guarantee that we have no knowledge of FIP being present in our cattery
at the time you get a kitten from us. If we do discover that FIP is a
problem here at Hollishill, we will discontinue placement of kittens
until we can identify the carrier(s) of the corona virus that exist in
our breeding program. Note: We do not use
or recommend the vaccine for FIP as it has not been proven effective and
has reportedly increased the risk of cats contracting the virus. Our
guarantee does not cover kittens or cats that have received this
vaccine.
Read these links for more info on FIP.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/FIP.html
http://www.dr-addie.com/
Entropian -
Entropian is a
hereditary condition of the eye in cats and dogs, where the eyelid is
inverted and causes the eyelashes to grow into the eye creating constant
redness and irritation. Surgery is usually needed to correct Entropian.
Luckily for breeders, it seems that Entropian is consistently passed
from one generation to the next which alerts breeders to the condition
being present in their gene pool. Entropian is not a fatal condition but
the surgery to correct it can be costly. It is a condition that
infrequently effects all of the offspring from the parent that carries
the Entropian gene. Entropian may not show up at all in some litters.
The best way for us to detect Entropian in our gene pool is by first
hand knowledge, if the condition exists in one of our breeding cats. We
also rely on communication with people who have acquired our cats and
have reported the condition. If we encounter the Entropian gene in our
breeding stock we will retire that cat from breeding. If we have placed
kittens that may be at risk for Entropian we will inform the new owners.
These preventative steps do not guarantee that Entropian will not appear
in one of our cats, but we are more confident about detection of
Entropian than we are other hereditary diseases or conditions. We do not
guarantee cats we have placed who develop Entropian simply because it is
not fatal and is a curable condition.
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