Healthchecks on new kitten

[honeydish]

Our beloved 11 month old ragdoll kitten, Cloud, died on Friday from FIP. (I posted about this in other thread).

The vet told us that when scanning his abdomen, she had observed that Cloud had thin heart walls. Without a postmortem, it's not possible to get a definitive diagnosis.

I told the breeder who is registered with the GCCF, and she was as heartbroken as us. She does HCM testing as standard. I realise now that's not a guarantee of a healthy kitten but did think I was being as responsible as I could be in only considering breeders that were accountable to a governing body.

My vet said on Friday that it was possible to get a range of testing / screening done on a kitten to check for any potential issues. She said this was expensive so wasn't routinely done.

The breeder has offered us a new kitten (with different antecedents). I would be happy to pay for the screening if it meant peace of mind.

I would be very grateful for any views on whether you think it would be a good idea to get these diagnostics done? The last few days have been unbearably distressing and I feel I should try to protect myself against future heartbreak, in so far as it is predictable.

[booktigger]

Personally, I wouldn't get another kitten from that breeder - while it sounds like different parents, that means she does have at least two breeding queens, and the more cats/kittens in an environment, the higher the risk for coronavirus, which is what mutates into FIP. As Cloud was 11 months old, I'm assuming due to Covid you weren't able to visit him in the home before buying him?

[fjm]

How expensive are the tests? It sounds as if the breeder is doing her best to help, which is good, and I would not discount the offer because of one bad experience, although I would want to see the breeding set up if at all possible to see how many cats she has and how well they are separated (some of the things to ask about are described here: https://icatcare.org/advice/feline-infe ... nitis-fip/). Feline coronavirus is so common that it could be difficult to find a kitten from a breeder or rescue that was not at some risk - fortunately it usually causes only mild symptoms and does not mutate to FIP.

I think your vet is best placed to advise you on the heart and other tests offered, and how good they are at predicting future issues. It might be best to take a little time to think about it if you can - Cloud's loss is so very recent, and we are not always thinking very logically when in the first shock of grief. A baby in the house can be a great comfort though, and help to fill the aching void.

[honeydish]

Thank you both for such sympathetic and knowledgeable replies.

My vet wrote to me today noting that:

'Most cats carry feline coronavirus but it doesn't develop into FIP' and that even if you did test faeces of a kitten or cat 'it may be likely that this will be positive for coronavirus but never develop into FIP'.

She said to be on the safe side not to get another cat or kitten for 7 weeks to ensure any traces of the virus are gone.

The test is called a feline proBNP test (I think it's blood tests) and a heartscan is another diagnostic option.

Even if the kitten is healthy, it's a roll of the dice. Thank you again.

[Mollycat]

Even if the kitten is healthy, it's a roll of the dice.

I think this is the key right here. You can test for hereditary diseases and risk factors, but in the end there are no guarantees and I guess the prices people pay for paperwork means some action is expected should things go wrong.

My vet helps me keep perspective when we're looking at health and testing and this is the kind of thing -
If we do this expensive test, how will that influence our treatment plan?
What will we gain by having this knowledge?
So - if you accept a replacement kitten and have all these tests done, will the result make you refuse the kitten, or sign up for expensive treatment, or will you take it and love it regardless for whatever time you have?
Sorry if this hits a bit deep but if you had known in advance that Cloud was likely to have a shortened life, would you have done anything differently?

Your aim is to avoid a repeat of your heartbreak, but honestly, if you have tests done and refuse a kitten for health reasons, will that sit well with you or will you feel guilty imagining what a terrible life that kitten will now have because it is not healthy? I think that's where a lot of good decisions are made, when we follow consequences through to their logical conclusion.


PS my neighbour was handed a kitten that she didn't name because it wasn't expected to live more than a few weeks. Same kitten is now 5 years old, barely 3kg but every dog owner knows and avoids her and only this week I had to stop in my car and beep her to get out of the road. You never know, either way.