Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Cooper & Peanut on October 28, 2010, 09:59:48 AM
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Hi All,
Apologies if this type of question has been answered to death, but I couldn't find anything recent on the boards...
As some may know, my mum has very recently adopted a persian. She took him to the vet to be checked out and was informed that because he had a spell of cystitis in the past, there is a risk of him developing PKD (especially if he carries the gene).
The vet doesn't yet know if Darcy is genetically prone and he will be performing an U/S scan to check his kidneys in the very near future.
My mum is freaking out. Darcy drinks water and his diet consists of dry food. She has offered him all sorts of wet food/meat but he won't touch it. He won't even attempt a lick and she desperately wants to give him as much moisture as possible to prevent further cystitis outbreaks.
She knows that if he does end up with PKD, that there is no cure :(
There must be at least one person on Purrs to have experienced this, and my mum (Gill) would be grateful of any hints or tips....
She loves Darcy to bits and it upsets her that he could potentially be very poorly and wants to give him the best chance possible.
Many thanks
Hayley & Gill :hug:
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As far as I'm aware there's no link between cystitis and PKD. I've had 2 cats with PKD and they both lived to good ages (both 14 yrs). An ultrasound will show if he has any PKD cysts present at the moment. Do you know his background? does your mum have his pedigree certificate? if so it may be possible to check back through the lines/get in touch with his original breeder to see if it was a PKD negtive cattery. :hug:
I would definitely get your mum to perservere with the wet food though - it will help if he is prone to cystitis and of course, help his kidneys.
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Just wondering if she has tried raw food with him?
Gillian is an expert on this.
And have to say that there is just plain to many people with my name :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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Just wondering if she has tried raw food with him?
Yes, he won't touch it.
And have to say that there is just plain to many people with my name :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:rofl: :rofl:
As far as I'm aware there's no link between cystitis and PKD. I've had 2 cats with PKD and they both lived to good ages (both 14 yrs). An ultrasound will show if he has any PKD cysts present at the moment. Do you know his background? does your mum have his pedigree certificate? if so it may be possible to check back through the lines/get in touch with his original breeder to see if it was a PKD negtive cattery. :hug:
I would definitely get your mum to perservere with the wet food though - it will help if he is prone to cystitis and of course, help his kidneys.
I'll find out about the ped cert, reassuring to know that yours lived to a grand old age! Will pass that on for sure! ;)
As far as the link goes, this is just what the vet told my mum :-:
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And have to say that there is just plain to many people with my name :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Just as well I don't shorten my name then LOL! :evillaugh: :evillaugh:
Hayley, has you mum tried adding just a teeny bit of wet food to his usual biscuits and mixing it in so that its hardly noticeable? If she could do this and he eats it, she could gradually built up the amount, until he's eating majority wet food - she could do it very gradually, over a period of weeks. :)
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Hayley, has you mum tried adding just a teeny bit of wet food to his usual biscuits and mixing it in so that its hardly noticeable? If she could do this and he eats it, she could gradually built up the amount, until he's eating majority wet food - she could do it very gradually, over a period of weeks. :)
No she hasn't, but I shall pass this advice on too! :thanks: :hug:
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I've never heard of the link either between cystitis and PKD either. Unfortunatly persians are more prone to this disease according to my vet. I've lost quite a few to this diseaseas well but they've all been around 13-14 years usually. However my much missed Shona my first ever persian was PTS last year at aged 17 1/2 suffering from it. Hopefully Darcy will be equally as long lived. Could your mum crush up his usual dry to a powder and use it to coat the wet food for him?
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My genetics lecturer said that if cats were tested and carriers were neutered, the problem wouldn't exist. She said the vast majority of breeders haven't got the first idea about genetics. She also hates what breeders call 'faults' and it is just an excuse to destroy perfectly healthy animals because they don't conform to a rigid standard. She is very against how animals are bred to look a certain way which causes them health problems such as difficulty breathing, hip dysplasia etc. I had no idea about pugs. She said they have been bred over the years to have smaller heads and they have terrible problems where their brain can barely fit in their skull.
Her PhD is in genetics so I guess she knows what she is talking about
btw - it is still possible to breed if one parent is PKD negative and the other is heterozygous. Bad breeders have a lot to answer for.
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My genetics lecturer said that if cats were tested and carriers were neutered, the problem wouldn't exist.
Reputable breeders already do this and have been doing for quite a few years now.
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Actually Mark, the majority of the breeders on the US forum I am a member of know a lot about genetics,and what to test for (and it is more indepth than just PKD in Persians).
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It is easy to check for recommended tests for cat or dogs. If all the breeders were doing it, these problems wouldn't exist. Maybe there should be ways of punishing breeders that don't comply? - hefty fines and they lose the ability to register cats if they continue.
I don't think people on forums are a representation of typical anything. It's like saying people on Purrs on CC are the typical cat owner - it just isn't so. I'm sure there are lots of responsible breeder but also enough bad ones for bad genetics to continue.
I think her biggest beef is with dog breeder. She was saying the kennel club have been taken to task in recent years for allowing/encouraging certain traits in dogs to be seen as desirable, so as sloping backs which = hip dysplasia. She said they are now beginning to mark on healthy traits rather than phenotypes.