PKD with Cats
What is Polycystic Kidney Disease-( PKD)?
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a hereditary disease which can be found especially with Persian and Exotic Short-haired (short-haired Persian) cats, but it can also be found with other cat breeds and house cats. PKD with cats has sporadically been found in literature since 1967. Real research only started in 1990. Then, a Persian cat with a failing kidney function was referred to the clinic of the Ohio State University. Her kittens were used in order to start up a breed colony and research.
How is PKD diagnosed?
PKD is diagnosed the easiest by means of echographical kidney research, which can trace the disease from 10 months if cysts are found in the kidneys. You only need to shave the hairs over the middle of the belly and a short scanning period (a few minutes) in order to diagnose the presence of cysts. You rarely need an anaesthetic. It is very important that the scan is executed with the right equipment and that the results are interpreted by veterinarians who are used to make echograms of kidneys. If this is the case, the diagnose is certain for 98%. The transducer of the echogram equipment needs to have a frequency of 7.5 until 10 MHz. The higher the frequency, the more detailed and therefore better the scan. A DNA test for diagnosing PKD isn’t yet available.
What causes this disease with cats?
PKD is a slowly going progressive disease with finally always a mortal end. The cat only becomes ill pretty late in his life, although the cysts have been present longer. The problems start with an enlargement of the kidneys, a disturbed kidney function and starts on average when the cat is about 7 years old. The disease is hereditary (this has been proved) and the cysts have been present since birth. The size of them varies from less than a millimeter to several centimeters. Older animals have larger and more cysts. The problems start when the cysts start growing and because of this the functional kidney tissue gets into hot water. The kidneys cannot function right anymore. The cat finally dies due to chronically kidney failure. Clinical characteristics are amongst others: listlessness, emaciating, lack of appetite, lots of extra drinking and extra urinating. There is a huge difference between individual animals and between how fast they become ill and how long it takes before they will die. It is also possible that an older animal dies due to another disease, before the kidney function is reduced that dramatically due to PKD that the course of the disease starts. It is however certain, that a cat which has cysts will always become ill and will finally die.
How should a breeder eliminate PKD from a breeding group?
Since PKD is the result of 1 autosomal dominant gene, it is pretty ease to trace this gene and eliminate it from a breeding group in 1 generation. All breeding animals must be scanned in order to diagnose the presence of cysts. The fastest way to eliminate the problem is to castrate/sterilize all affected animals and only continue breeding with PKD-negative animals. A cat without PKD is always genetically PKD-free and can therefore not pass the disease to the offspring.
If a certain cover tom cat or breeding cat is extremely valuable for breeding, it is possible to breed a PKD-free offspring of it. In that case the partner with whom the animal is crossed must be PKD-free and the cat itself must be heterozygous for the disease (you know this if the cat has become a parent before of a PKD-free kitten).
What can you do?
It is assumed that PKD occurs more often with Persians and Exotic short-haired (short-haired Persian) cats than recorded at the moment. With more research and more published information concerning this hereditary disease, breeders, veterinarians and scientists can cooperate in order to start PKD-free breeding programs. You can help. You can have your breeding animals scanned and start breeding only PKD-free animals as soon as possible.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a hereditary disease which can be found especially with Persian and Exotic Short-haired (short-haired Persian) cats, but it can also be found with other cat breeds and house cats. PKD with cats has sporadically been found in literature since 1967. Real research only started in 1990. Then, a Persian cat with a failing kidney function was referred to the clinic of the Ohio State University. Her kittens were used in order to start up a breed colony and research.
How is PKD diagnosed?
PKD is diagnosed the easiest by means of echographical kidney research, which can trace the disease from 10 months if cysts are found in the kidneys. You only need to shave the hairs over the middle of the belly and a short scanning period (a few minutes) in order to diagnose the presence of cysts. You rarely need an anaesthetic. It is very important that the scan is executed with the right equipment and that the results are interpreted by veterinarians who are used to make echograms of kidneys. If this is the case, the diagnose is certain for 98%. The transducer of the echogram equipment needs to have a frequency of 7.5 until 10 MHz. The higher the frequency, the more detailed and therefore better the scan. A DNA test for diagnosing PKD isn’t yet available.
What causes this disease with cats?
PKD is a slowly going progressive disease with finally always a mortal end. The cat only becomes ill pretty late in his life, although the cysts have been present longer. The problems start with an enlargement of the kidneys, a disturbed kidney function and starts on average when the cat is about 7 years old. The disease is hereditary (this has been proved) and the cysts have been present since birth. The size of them varies from less than a millimeter to several centimeters. Older animals have larger and more cysts. The problems start when the cysts start growing and because of this the functional kidney tissue gets into hot water. The kidneys cannot function right anymore. The cat finally dies due to chronically kidney failure. Clinical characteristics are amongst others: listlessness, emaciating, lack of appetite, lots of extra drinking and extra urinating. There is a huge difference between individual animals and between how fast they become ill and how long it takes before they will die. It is also possible that an older animal dies due to another disease, before the kidney function is reduced that dramatically due to PKD that the course of the disease starts. It is however certain, that a cat which has cysts will always become ill and will finally die.
How should a breeder eliminate PKD from a breeding group?
Since PKD is the result of 1 autosomal dominant gene, it is pretty ease to trace this gene and eliminate it from a breeding group in 1 generation. All breeding animals must be scanned in order to diagnose the presence of cysts. The fastest way to eliminate the problem is to castrate/sterilize all affected animals and only continue breeding with PKD-negative animals. A cat without PKD is always genetically PKD-free and can therefore not pass the disease to the offspring.
If a certain cover tom cat or breeding cat is extremely valuable for breeding, it is possible to breed a PKD-free offspring of it. In that case the partner with whom the animal is crossed must be PKD-free and the cat itself must be heterozygous for the disease (you know this if the cat has become a parent before of a PKD-free kitten).
What can you do?
It is assumed that PKD occurs more often with Persians and Exotic short-haired (short-haired Persian) cats than recorded at the moment. With more research and more published information concerning this hereditary disease, breeders, veterinarians and scientists can cooperate in order to start PKD-free breeding programs. You can help. You can have your breeding animals scanned and start breeding only PKD-free animals as soon as possible.
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