And now with internet it is so very very easy to share information.

So I am going to say that in this situation - too bad if breeders want to keep quiet about this in their lines.  This is a matter of life and death with too many dead cats, and too many heartbroken owners and breeders (those that care).

I discovered that this killer is in my lines only a few months ago.  And it has weighed very heavily on my conscience.  At first I thought, well, I have stopped breeding...........But now I have heard of SIX CASES in SIX MONTHS in cats in Israel, the USA, Mexico and Europe.  This is too terrible.  And I was just reading Sally's posting where she lost her RB to HCM back in 1994 - which is 14 years ago.  If only breeders had started talking about this and testing for this back then and taken known carriers out of breeding pools - but they did not and now the HCM gene may be spread throughout the RB genepool worldwide. 

 

I am going to contact Dr. Susan Little of the Winn Feline Foundation about this.  They have been investigating  HCM in the Maine Coons and now they know for a fact that up to one third of all Maine Coons have this. The more facts I have to present to Dr. Susan Little of the Winn Feline Foundation the better so perhaps we can work together on this project. 

 

There is a very good article on their website about HCM and they have developed DNA tests for Maine Coons and now Ragdolls as well.  They have a great deal of information on their site. 

 

I will also write to all the breeders who have Brightlight cats and other breeders as well. 

 

I think it is going to have to be a case of writing to each and every breeder individually, particularly in the US where many of the RB breeders are denying the existence of HCM in Russian Blue lines.

 

I can work with you to help compose the letter and help with your organisation in other ways.
Are you a member of the RussianBlueBreedersWorldwide yahoo group - if not you will be most welcome to join.  In fact, I will be posting there about the HCM gene and you could post your information there too, so I will send you an invitation if you are not already a member.  THe group is very quiet and there does not seem to be much discussion but at least there are quite a few breeders registered who I know read postings when they are sent. The URL for the group is

 

We need to do the best for our cats and  now, one way we can do our best is to make the issue of the HCM gene known.  Pet owners whose pets have been diagnosed with HCM have every right to make the pedigree information available, regardless of what the breeder feels. So if we can't get the information from the breeder, we can get the information from the pet owners who have suffered the agony of the loss of their beloved. 

 

 

Rena Kalina

Brightlight Russian Blues