I told you that I sent Olivia’s swab to BasePaws Cat DNA testing. Well, I have received the report, and it’s very interesting. I learned that there’s some Maine coon in her heritage make-up as I suspected, also American shorthair and British shorthair and peterbald. Now the peterbald surprised me as this is a Russian hairless cat and Olivia certainly has a beautiful and lush 
coat. While she’s over 45% Western varieties of cats, she also has some exotic blood from the Savannah and the Egyptian mau and quite a bit of Thai Siamese (the old-style Siamese cats we knew some fifty years ago—the apple heads). Of all the wild cats, they say she most closely associates with the Cheetah. We can go along with that. Our little girl has speed like I’ve never seen in a kitten before.
And great news!!!! There are no signs of her being predisposed to any of the gene-induced diseases they test for. She’s “clear” on all of them.
How did I like dealing with BasePaws? It was interesting. It takes two to four weeks to get results (it was close to four for us). The report comes to your email address and it’s quite extensive. I wanted to print
it out to review off the computer. No can do. You can print it, but the entire thing doesn’t come through. I’m pretty sure that’s because there are links and things designed for you to click and get additional information on line.
T
hey offer discounts fairly often. So if you’re thinking about running your cat’s DNA to learn more about her heritage and health markers, you could save twenty dollars if you’re watchful. I believe I paid around $89 for Olivia’s report.
One thing we can be pretty sure of with regard to our little calico girl, she’s probably going to be a big girl with Maine coon in her genetic pool and the Savannah (which is related to the African serval)—a large and healthy cat. Already she’s growing big fast. According to experts, a six month old kitten should weigh around 4-5 pounds. Olivia is just over six months old and she’s pushing 7 pounds as we speak. Looking forward to many happy and healthy years with our beautiful, fun, affectionate, and smart cat.
What fun to see the genetic makeup of your new princess! I would love to do my two, but no way can I afford the test for one, much less for both. My black male has many aspects of the siamese breed, except he is very non-vocal. My orange & white female has the appearance of a Persian, but is so vocal as to be annoying quite often. It would be fun to see if their appearances actually match their genetics and what other breeds have become mixed in. Your articles are so much fun to read, and really demonstrate your love for felines. Thanks again.