Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most important cause of heart failure and death in ragdoll cats. This disease is characterized by marked thickening of the left ventricle (myocardial block). An increase in muscle thickness determines a decrease in chamber diameters, which means that less blood will pass through the heart, and as a result your cat will have breathing problems, eat less food, be lethargic and weak, lose weight, have a swollen abdomen, and vomit more frequently, Or he will lose the ability to use his hind legs.
Cardiomyopathy is life-threatening to any cat, but especially so to cats, as they are usually quiet and lazy creatures, which makes any initial symptoms much more difficult to detect. If a specific cause is identified and can be resolved, many (sometimes all) changes in the heart can be reversed. This only happens in very rare cases and is usually considered a ragdoll HCM of unknown cause (idiopathic HCM). Even in these cases, good treatment can relieve symptoms for a long period of time.
A genetic cause for this idiopathic form of the HCM gene has recently been found – MYBPC3 (cardiac myosin-binding protein C gene), the same one that causes a human variant of HCM. Each gene in an organism’s genetic material comes in two copies; These copies can be identical (homozygous) or different (heterozygous). Cats with one copy of the defective MYBPC3 gene have a less severe outcome than those with two mutated copies. Some veterinary services already offer genetic testing for this gene, which is extremely important to breeders as the frequency of these mutations is around 30%. Very important – if your cat has the gene, keep in mind that half of her offspring will have it too; You should not use these cats in breeding programs if you do not have to.