MyCatDNA is an easy-to-use DNA testing service for cats that helps you see what your cat is carrying in its DNA. Testing can be performed to all cats of all breeds, as well as mixed-breed cats, regardless the age or size of the cat.
The MyCatDNA analysis provides:
- Results for over 40 genetic diseases, reported in terms of known relevance to the specific breed evaluated.
- Testing for 20+ traits including blood type, coat colors, coat types, and morphology.
- Genetic diversity information for the tested cat, the overall breed population, and related breed groups.
MyCatDNA test also provides:
- A customizable profile for each cat on the international online breeder portal that can be shared, transferred to a new owner, or kept private.
- Tools to connect breeders with other fanciers of their breed worldwide that may expand their breeding options.
- Continuously updated research and breed information based on the discoveries from the database of genetic submissions.
- A Breeder Tool to help breeders identify potential mates, using cutting-edge analysis looking at diversity and health results.
MyCatDNA DNA service for cats is a genome-wide genetic analysis that gives information on several inherited characteristics. All received DNA test results are reported online to your user account in the secured MyCatDNA database.
Why genetic diversity? Genetic diversity is essential for survival of a species, and can be thought of as the breed’s “tool kit” for this purpose. Breeding for genetic diversity may help to:
- Decrease the incidence of kittens affected with recessively inherited diseases and diseases influenced by multiple genes.
- Increased litter sizes.
- Provide defense against diseases of unknown or complex genetic basis that cannot be otherwise addressed, until research finds the genetic cause.
Breeding for genetic diversity is an investment in the future health of the breed.
MyCatDNA provides information on the diversity in three ways:
- Diversity of the individual cat tested.
- Diversity of the overall breed population.
- Diversity of the overall breed population compared to the diversity of other related breed populations.
Breeder Tool™
To help breeders navigate the complexities of breeding for type, health, and diversity, MyCatDNA offers breeders the world’s first matchmaking tool. The Breeder Tool distills all the results information on the health, traits, and diversity of the cats from each breed population in the MyCatDNA database and provides a scientifically-calculated compatibility score for possible mates. The score helps to identify the breeding pairs that are most likely to produce the healthiest, most diverse kittens.
Breeders can use this information, in addition to criteria like temperament, conformation of the cat, etc. in making mating decisions. Unlike pedigree analysis or coefficient of inbreeding analysis, the Breeder Tool considers each cat as an individual, evaluating more than 7,815 data points to generate the compatibility scores. The markers were carefully selected to measure genome-wide variation and represent each chromosome equally which may have advantages over traditional techniques like pedigree analysis.
