Here you will find information about health programs and:
Checking the health of studs and queens BEFORE purchase.
To obtain nice healthy kitten, the work starts BEFORE its birth. You must check the health of your studs and queens before buying them.
Ask all the tests made made on parents.
Ask questions to the breeders and other breeders involved of the genealogy
Check all available data bases (For example Siberian research, Pawpeds).
Once you bought the cats and it is already in your cattery, isolate the cat for a period of time to effectuate all tests before this cat can join the a group. A 15 days (minimun) isolation period is recommended.
Starting by FIV/ Felv or any other test you find useful according to you sanitary protocol (PCR for Clamydiose, Corona etc).
Testing
The most important tests for Siberians are: PK defciency, HCM and PKD. You also need to know the blood group of your cat. Most Siberians are AA but there are few rare cases of bb cats and this most be know in order to protect the babies the first hours of birth. Some will avoid breeding with a bb cat. You can click on links underlined to get more information on testing and on the matter in general.
Last but not least, your studs and queens should be tested for CP gene. If you own more than one stud, a DNA identity marker is also interesting.
Regarding HCM your cat should be tested at 1 /3 and 5 years and afterwards every 2/3 years.
The first HCM test should be done at the age of 1 and before the cat is used in a breeding program. Test your cats also for PKD and PK deficiency before it begins it’s life as a stud or queen.
We don’t know how HCM works in Siberians but there are a few guiding lines.
HCM detected in its juvenile (1/2 years of age) form is very likely to be hereditary.
There is a possibilities that some cats might be carriers even if they don’t develop the disease themselves and live a happy long life.
A cat that have been tested at 1, 3 and 5 years without any significant change in heart measurements, is a cat that will not pass HCM on even if this develop heart condition later in life (it is a theory at least).
Avoid to have a cat that was confirmed with HCM at death or alive in the genealogy of your cats. In case a cat is valuable because of its genealogy but there is a know HCM case in the lines, try to match the cat with another that doesn’t have any known cases.
Pawpeds is the only neutral institution that has means to do a good work regarding HCM by selecting specialists that have the right equipment and knowledge to test cats. So test your cats ALWAYS with Pawpeds specialists and BE A PART of the program. Give your donations, Pawpeds lives on users donations.
Pawpeds health programs
Observation of kittens
Observe your kittens for a long time. If you sell pets you can ask owners regular news and also to be notified in case of anything goes, wrong, sudden deaths and it is interesting to explains that it is out duty to observe the kittens health in order to improve and keep the breed healthy.
Sames goes for foundation cats: it is VERY important that new cats with short genealogy are matched to older cats because in case of problems, if there are several empty spaces in short pedigrees in a cat’s genealogy , it would be MUCH harder to identify where the problem is coming from and bring new diseases tot he breed or waste years of hard work. Old + New and a consistent work with testing offspring and observing kitten to ensure the quality of new blood brought in.