Planning to breed 1 year old Maine Coon female; what can you tell us about bloodtyping prospective pair for compatability? Necessary or only done if history of disease, etc? Any other information would be welcome as this is our first attempt. Thank you.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 1999

Answers

Definitely the first two places I would go to ask questions are the breeder of your female and the owner of the prospective sire. :-)

That said, the breeds that worry the most about blood type compatibility are those where the B blood type is very common. This is NOT true of the MC. Incompatible blood type is the only reason I could think of to do blood tests before breeding: unfortunately, we don't have blood tests for the most common inherited problems (cardiomyopathy, hip dysplasia).

That said, though, I would recommend you visit the Fanciers web site and check the two links at the bottom which deal with blood type incompatibility. These pages between them should give you pretty much everything you need. I would add that blood typing cards for cats are now common enough that my vet has them -- it's possible yours does too, or can get them.

Best of luck!

Ambar
Ambar Maine Coons

-- Anonymous, June 03, 1999