There is always common health issues related to any type of animal. For Maine Coon Cats, one of those health problems is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, which is usually shortened to Cardiomyopathy, and abbreviated as HCM.

HCM can be inherited, but it could also be developed without inheritance, though most reported cases are thru inheritance. HCM is a disease that causes the left ventricle of the heart to thicken and stiffen. This eventually leads to heart failure, and might also cause aortic thrombeoembolism.

In most cases, your breeder will give you a health guarantee or statement. Ideally, they will have had the fogeys tested to ensure that they don’t have a mutation of the gene that decides the presence or development of this illness.

If they tell you the twelve week old kitten has been tested, and tested negative, don’t believe it. HCM can only be detected with cardiac ultrasound, and can’t be detected in a pussy younger than one year. Testing is suggested between the ages of one and 7 years.

How enormous is the HCM problem? It’s reasonably big, but is now being bred out by responsible breeders. Of all of the Maine Coons tested for HCM, about one third of them tested positive. Responsible breeders have their studs and dams tested, before breeding, and it is suggested that any Maine Coon that tests positive for the mutated gene not be used for breeding purposes.

As discussed earlier, genetics isn’t the sole way that a Maine Coon can develop HCM. It could also be caused by a deficiency in taurine, which is an organic acid that makes up the majority of stomach bile. It is the only known sulfonic acid that happens naturally in the body.

Once this was found pet food makers started adding taurine to pussy food, that has made non-genetically inherited HCM quite rare. In the event that a Maine Coon does develop taurine related HCM, it is cured by adding taurine rich food to the diet. However, HCM that is genetically inherited can’t be cured. This is why responsible breeders have their animals tested, and do not breed those that have the mutated gene.

When you get your Maine Coon kitten, make sure that you ask your breeder about HCM. They should be terribly open in debating this with you, and may be well informed about the illness. Ask them whether or not their own animals have been tested, and ask to see documentation of that testing. If for some reason they don’t want to show you documentation, the chances are good that the animals either tested positive, or were never tested at all.

The presence of the mutated gene does not mean that a cat should be destroyed, or that it will not make a good pet or be shown. It basically means that you and your vet need to be advised that it is there, and that you should be looking out for eventual heart failure. It also means that you shouldn’t breed the Maine Coon.

Pet Insurance Maine Coon Cats Cardiomyopathy

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