HCM CARRIERS – THE HCM GAME CHANGER
March 12, 2016
by
Susan Youngman
Owner, Victorian Gardens Cattery
Updated: November 13, 2017
Victorian Gardens Cattery - Black Persian and Black and White Bicolor Persian
Since January 2012, Victorian Gardens Cattery has been faithfully providing Cardiac Ultrasounds on all their Persian and Himalayan breeders on a regular basis for HCM. All our retired breeders are alive and well and living out their retirement in well-loved homes. Our oldest retired breeder, Petunia Lilymae, was 11years old on April 6, 2016. We have felt blessed by our good fortune.
It was with great sadness and discouragement that I found out on February 27, 2016, that one of our sweet 3 year adopted cats named, Joe Maxwell, had been diagnosed with HCM by Dr. Williams at The Sound Cat in Wilmington, NC. I requested that the family have his blood pressure checked to rule out high blood pressure. I also requested that the family have a T4 Blood Test drawn on him to see if he had Hyperthyroidism. Both of these medical problems can cause an enlarged heart that is not genetic. In many cases, a correcting of these two health problems can correct the problem. Well, in the case of Max, his blood pressure was normal and he did not have hyperthyroidism. I had to come to face that I had the first verified diagnosed of genetic HCM in my Cattery. But how could that be? All my breeders have been ultra-sounded negative for HCM as of that date. I have four generations that have been scanned negative. That brought me to the conclusion that there was more to HCM then just visual HCM or cats who had HCM or had the signs of HCM. It meant there were HCM Carriers. That changed everything in the Persian and Himalayan breeder world, at least for me it did.
There is no way to find these Persian and Himalayan HCM carriers because there is no DNA test for Persian and Himalayan cats or kittens. At the high rate of 40% of all Persian and Himalayan cats now having HCM, if we have to wait another 8 years to find out who will have HCM and who will carry the gene to their offspring … well … will the Persian and Himalayan breed even be around by then?
It is still so sad that the majority of Persian and Himalayan breeders do not want to perform HCM ultrasounds on all their breeding cats on a regular basis. If they did, they could eliminate at least the 50% to 100% of all kittens having HCM. For us, the few breeders that are performing regular HCM ultrasounds and only breeding cats that are HCM negative on regular ultrasounds, then the rate drops to 25% or less. It is my opinion, that a Non-HCM is rare now, if it even exists. If 40% of all Persian and Himalayans now have HCM, I believe the rate of HCM carriers far exceeds that rate. You can see how I come to that conclusion by reviewing the Mendelian Inheritance HCM charts I have provided below. These charts helped me with the understanding of the rate of HCM in kittens. There was only one of two ways that I could explain why Joe Maxwell got HCM from what at the time were, HCM ultra sounded negative parents. Either one of his parents has HCM and is not currently showing signs or they are both Carriers. In fact, Max’s grandmother, grandfather and great grandmother had all scanned negative for HCM. It also shows why Joe Maxwell’s HCM was a HCM game changer. Before Joe Maxwell’s HCM diagnosis, I, like so many others, only thought of HCM as in visuals or those who had it or would get it genetically and show it. Little did I realize that there was such a thing as a HCM Carrier or that two Carriers together, would pass down this horrible gene to some of their offspring. According to Dr. Williams, the determination of if a kitten or cat will get HCM is determined when each egg and sperm meet up in the womb. I am forever grateful, and the Persian community should be grateful, to Max’s parents for having provided the other additional tests, High Blood Pressure and T4 Tests to ensure that Max’s HCM was truly genetic. It is what brought the hard reality home to me. I could not deny the HCM.
It was with great sadness and discouragement that I found out on February 27, 2016, that one of our sweet 3 year adopted cats named, Joe Maxwell, had been diagnosed with HCM by Dr. Williams at The Sound Cat in Wilmington, NC. I requested that the family have his blood pressure checked to rule out high blood pressure. I also requested that the family have a T4 Blood Test drawn on him to see if he had Hyperthyroidism. Both of these medical problems can cause an enlarged heart that is not genetic. In many cases, a correcting of these two health problems can correct the problem. Well, in the case of Max, his blood pressure was normal and he did not have hyperthyroidism. I had to come to face that I had the first verified diagnosed of genetic HCM in my Cattery. But how could that be? All my breeders have been ultra-sounded negative for HCM as of that date. I have four generations that have been scanned negative. That brought me to the conclusion that there was more to HCM then just visual HCM or cats who had HCM or had the signs of HCM. It meant there were HCM Carriers. That changed everything in the Persian and Himalayan breeder world, at least for me it did.
There is no way to find these Persian and Himalayan HCM carriers because there is no DNA test for Persian and Himalayan cats or kittens. At the high rate of 40% of all Persian and Himalayan cats now having HCM, if we have to wait another 8 years to find out who will have HCM and who will carry the gene to their offspring … well … will the Persian and Himalayan breed even be around by then?
It is still so sad that the majority of Persian and Himalayan breeders do not want to perform HCM ultrasounds on all their breeding cats on a regular basis. If they did, they could eliminate at least the 50% to 100% of all kittens having HCM. For us, the few breeders that are performing regular HCM ultrasounds and only breeding cats that are HCM negative on regular ultrasounds, then the rate drops to 25% or less. It is my opinion, that a Non-HCM is rare now, if it even exists. If 40% of all Persian and Himalayans now have HCM, I believe the rate of HCM carriers far exceeds that rate. You can see how I come to that conclusion by reviewing the Mendelian Inheritance HCM charts I have provided below. These charts helped me with the understanding of the rate of HCM in kittens. There was only one of two ways that I could explain why Joe Maxwell got HCM from what at the time were, HCM ultra sounded negative parents. Either one of his parents has HCM and is not currently showing signs or they are both Carriers. In fact, Max’s grandmother, grandfather and great grandmother had all scanned negative for HCM. It also shows why Joe Maxwell’s HCM was a HCM game changer. Before Joe Maxwell’s HCM diagnosis, I, like so many others, only thought of HCM as in visuals or those who had it or would get it genetically and show it. Little did I realize that there was such a thing as a HCM Carrier or that two Carriers together, would pass down this horrible gene to some of their offspring. According to Dr. Williams, the determination of if a kitten or cat will get HCM is determined when each egg and sperm meet up in the womb. I am forever grateful, and the Persian community should be grateful, to Max’s parents for having provided the other additional tests, High Blood Pressure and T4 Tests to ensure that Max’s HCM was truly genetic. It is what brought the hard reality home to me. I could not deny the HCM.
The charts below are a listing of Mendelian Inheritance for Persian & Himalayan HCM as well as the outcomes. They were created by Susan Youngman, Owner of Victorian Gardens Cattery based on information and years of experience in providing HCM Ultrasounds to all my Persian and Himalayan breeder cats. These charts were run by my Veterinarian and in consultation with her. They were formed through years of research on HCM in cats. According to my Vet, Dr. Williams, HCM in Persians and Himalayan cats may be more complicated than just these charts. According to Dr. Karen Becker, a well known Holistic Veterinarian, diet and stress could play a key and important part in the severity of HCM in those inflected with this horrible disease. Dr. Karen Becker's HCM video, available on this website, talks about HCM and how genetics, diet and stress play key roles.
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So where do we all go from here? Well first off, there is no way to determine Persian and Himalayan HCM Carriers without that DNA test. If there is a verified HCM diagnosis in an offspring, you know that either the parents are Carriers or worst … one or both parents have HCM. As in the case of Max’s parents who were both negative at that time, they were both deemed by me to be Carriers, unless some time in the future one or both show signs of this disease. In the case of Willie Wonka, a Cardiac Ultrasound on November 11, 2017 at 8 1/2 years old performed by Dr. Kate Meurs, Cardiologist at NC State Veterinary School and Hospital showed he was unaffected by HCM at that time. Two known Carriers should never be bred together. But since we don’t have a DNA test to tell us who is a Carrier or not, you must scan all your breeders and make wise decisions in your breedings/matings. If you are scanning and have unaffected breeders who you don’t know the carrier status on, you can breed them to a known Carrier. Only time will tell if a breeder is a Carrier. You will know like I did, when an offspring is diagnosed with verified genetic HCM. Some of the HCM Carriers will probably be our only hope of saving this breed. So care must be taken in the decision of whether to spay or neuter them. We do not want to spay or neuter known HCM Carriers if non-HCM Persian and Himalayan cats are rare or non-existent. By doing so, we could eliminate the Persian and Himalayan breed by accident. So until a DNA test is available, caution and care must be taken. When a DNA test is finally available, we hopefully will have a much better tool to determine if we should spay or neuter HCM Carriers.
So what does that mean for people looking to adopt one of these gorgeous and loving Persian and Himalayan kittens or cats? It means you have to get knowledgeable about HCM. You can not put your head in the sand and pretend it does not exist. A week does not go by here at the Cattery when I do not receive a call from someone I don’t know crying and grieving because they just lost their beloved cat to HCM. I can and do empathize and feel their pain and yes, I get upset at other Breeders for not scanning. If you rush in to adopt because you just have to have a kitten right now and don’t take the time to research HCM and the Cattery you will be adopting from, you may have heartbreak down the road. Even with researching, there are no guarantees at this time because there is no DNA test for HCM in Persians and Himalayans. It also means you have to be dedicated enough to get your Persian and Himalayan cat HCM ultra sounded. It means committing to adopt from Persian and Himalayan breeders who are trying to do the right and are committed to regularly providing HCM ultrasounds on their breeders. If and when the HCM DNA test is available, it means only buying a kitten from a Cattery that can prove they have had DNA HCM tests done on all their breeders and are a HCM negative Cattery. If you think it is fine to adopt a kitten from a non-scanning or non-DNA-testing Breeder, please realize you could be increasing your new kitten’s chances of having HCM by 50% to 100%. It also encourages that Persian and Himalayan Breeder not to provide Cardiac Ultrasounds on all their breeding cats.
For Persian and Himalayan Breeders, it means that each and every one of them should be committed to not breeding cats that show signs of HCM or have HCM and providing regular HCM scans on all their breeding cats. When a DNA test is available for HCM in Persians and Himalayans, it means being dedicated and committed to wiping out this disease in this breed. That means not breeding cats with a positive HCM DNA test. It also means that if a Breeder is notified that one of their cats offspring has HCM, that they do not let it go in one ear and out the other. It means that the Breeder should never breed known HCM Carriers together. I think the charts below should give everyone some trepidation about not caring. Please do not think it cannot happen to your cat or your breeding cats. I think Max’s parents will tell you it can happen.
As for my adoptive families and all Persian and Himalayan cat owners, please have your cats and kittens HCM ultra sounded from between 2 to 4 years of age. If you ever have a diagnosis of HCM or enlarged heart, please have the blood pressure checked and blood panel run, including a T4 blood test run to rule out the issue of High Blood Pressure, Hyperthyroidism and Anemia. If given Atenolol, please monitor your cat’s heart rate on a regular basis to ensure that it does not drop too low. Stethoscopes are very inexpensive and can be purchased on Ebay or Amazon. Please seriously consider providing your cat with Vetri-Science Cardio-Strength. It is a good support for your cat’s heart. This pill is very large so if you have trouble giving it to your cat, you may want to dissolve it in water and use a syringe to give it. Please keep stress at a minimum, including trips outside of the home, including stopping trips to the groomers. Please feed your cat with a high protein, low carbohydrate diet that does not contain any type of grain, especially corn. We feed EVO at our Cattery. Dr. Becker’s very information HCM video is available on our website for viewing. I greatly value Dr. Karen Becker's information, options and advise. Donna Riggins wrote an HCM article from her heart entitled "Toby and Fuzz's Persian HCM Story" and is available on our website. And lastly please give your Persian an Himalayan kitten and cat a special hug and kiss because you truly have no guarantees in life. Relish them and cherish them and in so doing, you will be greatly blessed.
You ask, “Why should I listen to you and what you say about HCM”? Yes, I am not a Veterinarian or a Vet Researcher. I am a professional Persian and Himalayan Breeder. For starters, I have a deep love for this very loving bred and don’t want it to go into extinction. I am doing everything I can, at great cost to my Cattery and myself to ensure I am breeding the healthiest cats and kittens around. I love my babies and want them all to live long and happy lives with their forever families. I care about my adoptive families and don’t want them heartbroken. If that is not good enough, here are some more reasons:
I was only the second Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to start providing HCM ultrasounds of all my Persian and Himalayan breeding cats on a regular basis. So that allows me a knowledge basis that is invaluable. The fact that my breeders had been all scanned negative, leaves me in a unique position to address these HCM Carriers because they are affecting my Cattery. In fact, I have done extensive research in HCM pedigrees provided to me from people all over the United States. People have sent me their pedigrees of HCM diagnosed cats and cats that have died of HCM. Several years back, I was able to find the common denominator in all those HCM cats' pedigrees. That one common denominator cat is in most Persian and Himalayan pedigrees. This cat was a CFA cat of Distinguished Merit (DM) and was inbred over and over again. In some Persian and Himalayan HCM pedigrees, I have counted this cat showing up over 200 times in 8 generations of one pedigree. Victorian Gardens Cattery was the first Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to offer a 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee. I created the idea of donating to the Persian HCM Fund at the Winn Feline Foundation for every kitten sale. I even created the logo for the Persian HCM Fund. I have spent many long travel hours to get my cats HCM scans for the last 4 years. At each visit, I gathered more and more information. I have been and will continue to be committed to bettering and strengthening the health of the Persian and Himalayan breed.
As of November 11, 2017, our Cardiac Ultrasounds are being performed by Dr. Kate Meurs, Cardiologist at NC State Veterinary School and Hospital. Dr. Kate Meurs is the head researcher who is trying to find the genetic markers for HCM in the Persian and Himalayan breed. We are thrilled that she is performing all our Cardiac ultrasounds on our breeders.
Dr. Kate Meurs has now opened up her schedule for Persian and Himalayan cat cardiac ultrasounds to the public on specific Saturday mornings. She charges $150.00 per cat. It is an excellent price for an ultrasound and your cat will be receiving it from the best. If interested in having your Persian and Himalayan cat scanned, please contact us so we can relay the contact information to you.
So what does that mean for people looking to adopt one of these gorgeous and loving Persian and Himalayan kittens or cats? It means you have to get knowledgeable about HCM. You can not put your head in the sand and pretend it does not exist. A week does not go by here at the Cattery when I do not receive a call from someone I don’t know crying and grieving because they just lost their beloved cat to HCM. I can and do empathize and feel their pain and yes, I get upset at other Breeders for not scanning. If you rush in to adopt because you just have to have a kitten right now and don’t take the time to research HCM and the Cattery you will be adopting from, you may have heartbreak down the road. Even with researching, there are no guarantees at this time because there is no DNA test for HCM in Persians and Himalayans. It also means you have to be dedicated enough to get your Persian and Himalayan cat HCM ultra sounded. It means committing to adopt from Persian and Himalayan breeders who are trying to do the right and are committed to regularly providing HCM ultrasounds on their breeders. If and when the HCM DNA test is available, it means only buying a kitten from a Cattery that can prove they have had DNA HCM tests done on all their breeders and are a HCM negative Cattery. If you think it is fine to adopt a kitten from a non-scanning or non-DNA-testing Breeder, please realize you could be increasing your new kitten’s chances of having HCM by 50% to 100%. It also encourages that Persian and Himalayan Breeder not to provide Cardiac Ultrasounds on all their breeding cats.
For Persian and Himalayan Breeders, it means that each and every one of them should be committed to not breeding cats that show signs of HCM or have HCM and providing regular HCM scans on all their breeding cats. When a DNA test is available for HCM in Persians and Himalayans, it means being dedicated and committed to wiping out this disease in this breed. That means not breeding cats with a positive HCM DNA test. It also means that if a Breeder is notified that one of their cats offspring has HCM, that they do not let it go in one ear and out the other. It means that the Breeder should never breed known HCM Carriers together. I think the charts below should give everyone some trepidation about not caring. Please do not think it cannot happen to your cat or your breeding cats. I think Max’s parents will tell you it can happen.
As for my adoptive families and all Persian and Himalayan cat owners, please have your cats and kittens HCM ultra sounded from between 2 to 4 years of age. If you ever have a diagnosis of HCM or enlarged heart, please have the blood pressure checked and blood panel run, including a T4 blood test run to rule out the issue of High Blood Pressure, Hyperthyroidism and Anemia. If given Atenolol, please monitor your cat’s heart rate on a regular basis to ensure that it does not drop too low. Stethoscopes are very inexpensive and can be purchased on Ebay or Amazon. Please seriously consider providing your cat with Vetri-Science Cardio-Strength. It is a good support for your cat’s heart. This pill is very large so if you have trouble giving it to your cat, you may want to dissolve it in water and use a syringe to give it. Please keep stress at a minimum, including trips outside of the home, including stopping trips to the groomers. Please feed your cat with a high protein, low carbohydrate diet that does not contain any type of grain, especially corn. We feed EVO at our Cattery. Dr. Becker’s very information HCM video is available on our website for viewing. I greatly value Dr. Karen Becker's information, options and advise. Donna Riggins wrote an HCM article from her heart entitled "Toby and Fuzz's Persian HCM Story" and is available on our website. And lastly please give your Persian an Himalayan kitten and cat a special hug and kiss because you truly have no guarantees in life. Relish them and cherish them and in so doing, you will be greatly blessed.
You ask, “Why should I listen to you and what you say about HCM”? Yes, I am not a Veterinarian or a Vet Researcher. I am a professional Persian and Himalayan Breeder. For starters, I have a deep love for this very loving bred and don’t want it to go into extinction. I am doing everything I can, at great cost to my Cattery and myself to ensure I am breeding the healthiest cats and kittens around. I love my babies and want them all to live long and happy lives with their forever families. I care about my adoptive families and don’t want them heartbroken. If that is not good enough, here are some more reasons:
I was only the second Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to start providing HCM ultrasounds of all my Persian and Himalayan breeding cats on a regular basis. So that allows me a knowledge basis that is invaluable. The fact that my breeders had been all scanned negative, leaves me in a unique position to address these HCM Carriers because they are affecting my Cattery. In fact, I have done extensive research in HCM pedigrees provided to me from people all over the United States. People have sent me their pedigrees of HCM diagnosed cats and cats that have died of HCM. Several years back, I was able to find the common denominator in all those HCM cats' pedigrees. That one common denominator cat is in most Persian and Himalayan pedigrees. This cat was a CFA cat of Distinguished Merit (DM) and was inbred over and over again. In some Persian and Himalayan HCM pedigrees, I have counted this cat showing up over 200 times in 8 generations of one pedigree. Victorian Gardens Cattery was the first Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to offer a 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee. I created the idea of donating to the Persian HCM Fund at the Winn Feline Foundation for every kitten sale. I even created the logo for the Persian HCM Fund. I have spent many long travel hours to get my cats HCM scans for the last 4 years. At each visit, I gathered more and more information. I have been and will continue to be committed to bettering and strengthening the health of the Persian and Himalayan breed.
As of November 11, 2017, our Cardiac Ultrasounds are being performed by Dr. Kate Meurs, Cardiologist at NC State Veterinary School and Hospital. Dr. Kate Meurs is the head researcher who is trying to find the genetic markers for HCM in the Persian and Himalayan breed. We are thrilled that she is performing all our Cardiac ultrasounds on our breeders.
Dr. Kate Meurs has now opened up her schedule for Persian and Himalayan cat cardiac ultrasounds to the public on specific Saturday mornings. She charges $150.00 per cat. It is an excellent price for an ultrasound and your cat will be receiving it from the best. If interested in having your Persian and Himalayan cat scanned, please contact us so we can relay the contact information to you.
Winn Feline Foundation Progress Report
On Persian HCM Research
June 9, 2017
The Winn Feline Foundation has provided me with a progress report on how Dr. Meurs research is going into the markers for HCM Disease in the Persian and Himalayan breed. Sadly, they have not been able to find the markers. Please see the following from Winn Feline Foundation:
"W16-034: EVALUATION OF DNA VARIANTS ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY IN THE PERSIAN CAT
After completing sequencing from the DNA of 7 affected Persians, Dr. Meur’s research group identified 274,202 DNA variants that could be associated with the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the Persian. They sorted these variants based on genetic importance and the importance of the gene in the heart. They also evaluated the most promising variants in the laboratory by looking at them in additional affected Persians, unaffected Persians and unaffected non-Persians.
Unfortunately they have not identified a single variant that explains the presence of this disease in all affected Persians. The research group has found many that might explain the disease in some but not all Persians. This suggests that the breed very likely has at least two separate mutations that both can lead to the development of this disease. Although this does make this a more complicated problem, it is not insurmountable. They are now relooking at all of the data and trying to identify variants that are solid enough to believe they develop the disease in at least some cats. At this time they have not requested any additional funding but will continue to manipulate the data. As always, Dr. Meur’s greatly appreciates the support and dedication of the Winn Feline Foundation and the donors. They are very optimistic that somewhere within the data that they have exists a few Persian Cat HCM variants. They just need to be able to put the puzzle together."
On Persian HCM Research
June 9, 2017
The Winn Feline Foundation has provided me with a progress report on how Dr. Meurs research is going into the markers for HCM Disease in the Persian and Himalayan breed. Sadly, they have not been able to find the markers. Please see the following from Winn Feline Foundation:
"W16-034: EVALUATION OF DNA VARIANTS ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY IN THE PERSIAN CAT
After completing sequencing from the DNA of 7 affected Persians, Dr. Meur’s research group identified 274,202 DNA variants that could be associated with the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the Persian. They sorted these variants based on genetic importance and the importance of the gene in the heart. They also evaluated the most promising variants in the laboratory by looking at them in additional affected Persians, unaffected Persians and unaffected non-Persians.
Unfortunately they have not identified a single variant that explains the presence of this disease in all affected Persians. The research group has found many that might explain the disease in some but not all Persians. This suggests that the breed very likely has at least two separate mutations that both can lead to the development of this disease. Although this does make this a more complicated problem, it is not insurmountable. They are now relooking at all of the data and trying to identify variants that are solid enough to believe they develop the disease in at least some cats. At this time they have not requested any additional funding but will continue to manipulate the data. As always, Dr. Meur’s greatly appreciates the support and dedication of the Winn Feline Foundation and the donors. They are very optimistic that somewhere within the data that they have exists a few Persian Cat HCM variants. They just need to be able to put the puzzle together."
