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Feline PKD Disease Test
From £44
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Are you concerned about the health of your cat and any future litters? Do you want to ensure a healthy litter that is free of feline PKD disease? Then take the steps to eliminating a debilitating feline disease from the gene pool with our feline PKD disease test. Our PKD DNA Test starts from £44 and result are ready in 10 working days.
About Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) in cats is a genetically inherited kidney disease. The disease is characterized by liquid-filled sacs develop in the tissue of the feline kidney. One copy of the gene from either one of the cat’s parents will drastically increase the chance that the cat in question may develop PKD. Being a dominant disease, the kitten is likely to inherit PKD even if just one of its two parents was affected.
The disease affects 4 in 10 Persian cats, but occurs in other breeds, particularly those related to Persians as well as Himalayans and British Shorthairs. Below is a table that lists a number of feline species and the vulnerability of the breed to PKD.
| High risk | Moderate risk | Low risk |
| Persians | Ragdoll | Russian Blue |
| Exotic Shorthairs | Snowshoe | Siamese |
| British Shorthairs | Cornish & Devon Rex | Burmese |
| Bombay | Bengal | |
| Burmilla | Maine Coon |
Science behind the test
In the early days of the disease’s recognition one could only trace it by ultrasound scanning the possibly affected cat’s kidneys. Often, by the time an ultrasound is carried out, the disease may be in a very advanced state and breeders may have already used that cat for mating which means that kittens parented by the infected can may also be affected. However, nowadays a simple cheek swab or blood sample produces accurate and sound results. With our easy to use and quick PKD DNA Test, ensuring your litter’s clean bill of health has never been easier.
The only way to combat PKD is to diagnose it and seek help from a veterinarian in order to keep your cat’s kidneys as stable as possible. If you would like to breed your cat, you must ensure that the cats to be used for mating do not have a copy of the gene. This can be achieved through selective breeding with the help of our PKD DNA test.
Sample Collection
Our PKD DNA testing kit will arrive at your home fully equipped with the swabs, forms and instruction you need to successfully collect your cat’s DNA without the assistance of a veterinary surgeon and without any pressure or pain. Cats of any age can be tested for PKD, however in the case that kittens are still being breast-fed, blood samples are to be collected, as DNA from the mother will be present in the kitten’s mouth.
Collect a sample from your cat by following the simple steps below.
- Make sure that the cat has not consumed any food or drink for at least 15 minutes.
- Using a buccal swab (provided in our kit) collect saliva from your cat’s cheek.
- Repeat 3 times for each individual cat being tested and make sure not to mix samples.
- Mail us samples and give us 10 working days to test and process results.
FAQs
What are the symptoms and prognosis of PKD?
This disease affects the cat’s kidneys in a polycystic manner, meaning that it produces cysts filled with liquid on the kidneys. PKD manifests itself in much the same way that most kidney diseases generally do. Symptoms include weight loss, lack of energy, increased thirst and urination, as well as vomiting and nausea. The prognosis of the disease may lead to death due to fatal kidney failure, because of the constant enlargement and multiplication of the cysts that wear down kidney tissue. Draining of the cysts by a veterinary surgeon is an option; however this is an arduous task due to the multitude of cysts that characterize PKD. Additionally, draining might be in vain, as it is highly likely that the cysts will fill up with liquid again.
What will the PKD feline test results show?
A copy of your cat’s DNA report will be emailed to you and will contain one of the following 3 genotypes, to be understood as follows.
- NN – Two copies of normal allele
Your cat does not have PKD, and neither will its litter, if mated with another non-affected cat.
- NP Heterozygote – 1 normal copy and 1 copy of PKD mutation
Your cat’s litter might inherit the mutation, despite being mated with a non-affected cat.
- PP – 2 copies of PKD mutation
A virtually impossible result, as these cats often die in utero.
