[ad_1]
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of heart failure and death in Ragdoll cats. This disease is characterized by marked thickening of the left ventricle (heart muscle mass). This increased muscle thickness results in a reduction in chamber diameters, which means less blood flows through the heart and as a result your cat will have trouble breathing, eat less, be lethargic and weak, lose weight, experience abdominal swelling and vomit more often or lose it Ability to use its hind legs.
Cardiomyopathy is life-threatening for any cat, but especially for ragdolls as they are usually fairly quiet, lazy creatures, making early symptoms much more difficult to spot. If a specific cause can be identified and corrected, many (sometimes all) changes in the heart can be reversed. However, this only occurs in very rare cases, and it is usually assumed that Ragdoll HCM has an unknown cause (idiopathic HCM). Even in these cases, good treatment can relieve symptoms for a long time.
Recently, a genetic cause for this idiopathic form of HCM was found – the MYBPC3 gene (cardiac myosin-binding protein C gene), which also causes a human variant of HCM. Every gene occurs in two copies in the genetic material of every organism; these copies can be identical (homozygous) or different (heterozygous). The Ragdoll cats with a single copy of the defective MYBPC3 gene have a less severe outcome than those with two mutated copies. Some veterinary services already offer genetic testing for this gene, which is crucial for breeders as the frequency of these mutations is around 30%. Very important – if your cat has the gene, remember that half of her offspring will have it too; You should not use these cats in breeding programs unless you really have to.
This is Auto Posted article collected article from different sources of internet, EOS doesn’t take any responsibilities of this article. If you found something wrong in this article, please tell us.
[ad_2]
