Feline PKD

[mzjazz2u]

Hello and welcome. I'm coming to this forum a little late. I don't know why I didn't realize this was here earlier!

I just adopted a PKD+ female calico persian from a friend on this site (2 weeks ago). Hallie is my 5th persian in the house at this time.

I was told tonight, by the original breeder of this cat, that she has one + and one - parent. She told me that she didn't expect that Hallie would get real sick early in life because of this. Is there anything to that?

 

[hell603]

From what I understand PKD in Persian is a late onset renal disease that causes enlarged kidneys with renal dysfunction occurring at 7 years of age on average.

According to some research I found "The course of the disease is variable. Many cats with PKD will not die from kidney-related problems. The disease is unpredictable, and no one knows which cat will live a normal life-span and which cat will die early from kidney disease."

Hope this helps a little

 

[mzjazz2u]

Actually I already have that information and was kind of wondering specifically about the question I directed to Elizabeth. Thanks though!

 

[jasminecat]

Hi tammie, sorry to hear your worries over Tammie.

From what i know, (and i did alot of research on this, due to one of Rosie and Alfie's parents having possible PKD). If one parent is definately PKD positive then there is a fifty per cent chance that Hallie will have it too, this is due to it being an autosomal dominant gene.

You know you can get an ultrasound done on Hallie to see if she does have any cysts?

Just had a quick look on some sites, apparently if the posive parent is homozygous for the PKD gene then the offspring is 100% likely to have it. is there a way to know if the cat is homozygous or heterozygous for it? Elizabeth will have the answer to that.

Just another thing, i don't see how knowing if one of the parents are PKD positive has any relation to the age when the cat shows symptoms, again Elizabeth will be able to answer.

Interesting topic, and one all persian breeders and owners should be aware of.

Good luck Tammie

 

[mzjazz2u]

Thanks JasmineCat. Hallie has already been diagnosed PKD+ for one year now. She was so below weight when I got her I was worried she was already having symptoms of renal failure but she seems to be bouncing back. And her phosphorus level was normal. The only level that was alarmingly high was the BUN. Creat was slightly above normal. The report from the ultrasound 1 year ago said many cysts on each kidney and the largest size was something like 4.2mm. I want to have another ultrasound done but I can't find a PKD clinic around here yet. The original breeder has a notice on the CFA boards trying to find out for me.

 

[jasminecat]

oh sheeesh i'm sorry to hear that Tammie.

What confuses me is, some breeders out there still knowingly use PKD positive cats! To me that is totally unethical, the quest for a 'perfect cat' cannot be so strong as to compromise on the offspring health surely?

Anyway don't start me off on that one, i really hope you find a PKD testing clinic soon.

Let us know of any development

 

[mzjazz2u]

I totally understand your anger at irresponsible breeders. It makes me angry too.

Thank God the breeder that originally had Hallie doesn't do that. But Hallie was her first pos kitten. I guess Hallie's mom was tested and had an ultrasound but there was only one cyst and it was questionable if it was truly PKD. Since she had Hallie and Hallie tested pos. that queen is retired. I love her name, it's Cindy Lou Who!

 

[elizabeth a.]

It's flattering how much you think I can answer, but I'm not a veterinarian, I'm a Ph.D. Animal Scientist/geneticist, so I think there's not much I can add.

I agree it's unethical to breed a positive animal. The gene is dominant, so half the kittens will get it from a heterozygote, 100% from a homozygote. I'm sorry, but I don't know if there's a test to distinguish between the two yet, although this is a disease that is getting lots of attention in cats because of the parallels to its human equivalent. You can take some comfort from that, although it doesn't offer immediate help for Hallie. You know Hallie is a heterozygote because of her -ve parent, unless this trait is so variable in expression that we see some false negatives.

Good luck!

 

[mzjazz2u]

I'm sorry if you thought I was asking about treatment of Hallie. I wasn't. I was just respoinding to some of my fellow board members questions and comments! My original question had to do with more of the genetics part of having one negative and one positive parent and whether that makes a difference in degree of the disease. I supposed that could be both a genetic question and a question for a veternarian.

Just a side note. I've talked to 3 vets who didn't even know what PKD was. That isn't too comforting.

 

[bibby]

Mzjazz2u
I can suggest a couple of PKD support groups- one is through the
www.felinepkd.com site. You may have found these already. They can be a bit quiet at times. If I remember correctly- the felinepkd site has a genetics section.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PKD-list/?yguid=147950284
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PkdEtc/

I like the PKD etc list as there are regular updates on PKD from the Winn Foundation.

There are also a few owners of PKD cats on www.persian-cats.com- I found that site when I learned of my cat's PKD.
I have a nearly 10 year old Persian who I adopted 2 years ago- found out a few months later she had PKD.
She is healthy and her creatinine is still normal even if her BUN was a bit high last time it was tested.
My understanding of PKD is that you cannot predict the severity of the disease based on how severely the parents were affected.
Good luck
Catherine

 

[mzjazz2u]

Thank you for the links! I've tried joining a couple PKD lists and my emails asking to be added come back to me. I will definately check them out!

Thanks Again,

Tammie

 

[mzjazz2u]

One of those lists is not very active at all. Only one post in a couple of months. The other I'm waiting for approval. The list owner emailed me back asking if I was a breeder. So maybe you have to be a breeder.

 

[bibby]

If that was the PKD-list- Marie Thiers, the list owner (who also runs the Feline PKD site) does ask a few questions and they don't accept hotmail or other free addresses. She tries hard to keep the list 'nice'. PKD can be a bit of an emotional issue for owners and breeders.
You don't have to be a breeder- (I'm not) the main purpose of the list is to offer support for owners of cats with PKD.
Sometimes wish I didn't know my older Himmi had it- nothing worse than looking at a cat and wondering when they will start going downhill and whether you are doing the right thing with diet etc.
Good luck
Catherine