Before I begin, please bear with me as it may get a little complicated.
I am a member of several cat forums and last year helped with the rescue of 2 ragdolls from Edinburgh, my friend, Emma, took the cats on, originally as a foster but then the owner asked her if she would be happy to keep them. Ofcourse Emma had fallen in love with them and was delighted. We knew one of them was a latent carrier of the caliche virus. Both came from different breeders. The other went from breeder to breeder before being sold to the woman in Edinburgh. Thats the general background.
On saturday night my friend Emma called me to say that she was a little concerned about Abi, one of the cats. I asked all relevant questions, was she eating, toileting, vomitting etc. Emma said that she ok in all those departments but that she just didnt seem quite herself, I told her to keep an eye on her and if she was worried to call the vet. An hour later Emma called to say that her breathing had become laboured. I told her to call the emergency vet right away. I rushed up there, picked Abi up and got her to the vet. He did xrays, her lungs were filling with fluid and he suspected cardiomyopathy. Abiu was pts early sunday morning. Leaving us all very shocked and upset. We couldnt understand why a healthy young cat had become so seriously ill in the matter of a few hours and dead by next morning. Abi was only 2 years old, she had been spayed 7 months ago and no murmers or anything had come to light.
I contacted who I thought was the breeder to inform them of the situation, I was informed by this breeder that she want the original breeder but would pass on the details, she assured mke that this was not a hereditary condition and could have been caused by poor diet. She also assured me that no other cats/kittens had died in the same manner as Abi and that it was just oe of those things.
I assure you that Abi did not have a poor diet and was not taurine deficient, I also make it my business to get as clued up as I can about things when I feel all is not right with the world.
I am sure you will probably not be surprised to learn that cardiomyopathy IS hereditary and that there is a mutant gene in the ragdoll breed. I also located the original breeder only to discover that Abi's father died last year of a similar heart complaint at the age of 5 years. He has fathered at least 4 litters and i find it very difficult to beleive that all of those cats are still with us. Also Abi's sister is now up for rehoming, she had been kept for use as a breeding queen.
I have contacted both of the breeders, as I feel that they have a moral obligation to have informed owners and other breeders who have cats from this bloodline of what has happened. I have also contacted the Feline Advice Bureau, the Brittish Ragdoll Cat Club and the GCCF but sadly I do not have enough proof unless others come forward who have experienced the same sad story that I tell. I am sick to the pit of my stomache that these breeders can call themselves ethical.