Cat Genetics 101

- Lucy Drury, Roger Brown

In our last installment, oh quality cat breeder, we covered some of the basic terminology and concepts in the mysterious world of genetics. In this issue, we will cover some of the basics of feline genetic testing: what is currently available; how the tests are performed; some dos and don’ts; and what to do with the information once you have it. If you haven’t read the prior article and genetics is a new and/or confusing topic to you, you may want to dig out the last edition of Cat Talk and review Part I, as this information will be helpful in understanding Part II.

Genetic Testing: What is it?

Genetic testing, fundamentally, is an attempt to determine an organism’s genotype, particularly when observing the phenotype does not reveal all that one needs or wants to know about the genotype. The ability to test for a specific genetic trait, though, has only been available to the general public for about a decade, and is the product of the investment, over the last 70+ years, of billions of dollars and countless hours by researchers focused on deciphering the genetic code.