Basepaws, an at-home, feline-specific genetic test allows you to learn about breed and ancestry markers that are present in your cats DNA explaining the physical traits are in your cat’s genes. So if you’ve ever wondered where your cat gets the extra fluffiness in his or her tail, now you can find out! Using what we currently know, Basepaws can tell you how closely related your cat is to select cat breeds and wildcats. Launching in 2019 Basepaws will also be able to let any possible health and wellness risks that may be present in your cat’s DNA.
To send Basepaws the sample, you collect hair from your feline or use a mouth swab for cats without hair. After mailing the sample in you can expect results in 2 to 4 months. Once you are part of the Basepaws family, your cat will receive a lifetime of benefits. This includes report updates, personalized recommendations, membership in the Basepaws community, access to the latest research on cat science, tools to connect owners of similar cats, and discounts on future products that will be specifically formulated for your cat’s genetic needs.
As a pet owner, you want to know as much information as possible about any potential health risks for your beloved cat. With knowledge from your cat’s genetics, you can make more informed decisions about their health-care needs earlier—possibly mitigating or even preventing illness down the road.
I had a chance to do an interview with Anna Skaya, CEO & Founder to learn more.
1. Why was Basepaws created?
Basepaws came to be two years ago. The idea was actually born because of the recent boom in personalized medicine and DNA testing. Everyone seemed to be doing DNA tests, but the companion animal space was lagging behind. I [Anna Skaya] did my DNA test all the way back in 2011 and I was blown away by the information available to me. When we started with the idea for Basepaws, we couldn’t believe there wasn’t a cat product in the market yet. I remember thinking that there must be a lot more applications for these powerful tools beyond humans. In a way, DNA testing of pets is even more important than it is for us humans. We understand our own selves. We can speak, we can run tests. Our pets cannot. They can’t tell us who they are, what they’ve been through, and what hurts them. Sometimes I find myself closer to my pets than to my humans and I want to know them even better.
2. What makes it such a great gift for cat lovers?
Cat DNA test makes for a purrfect gift for any cat lover for several reasons. First and foremost, Basepaws' test offers a novel and unique approach to cat DNA testing which reveals your pet's background and origins. Which domestic and wild cat breeds contributed to making your cat the most wonderful companion you could ever wish for? It's captivating to find out! Furthermore, revealing the cat's genetic makeup will give you an insight into their genetic health predispositions in the segment of our report called health index. Grasping this knowledge is a gift of an immeasurable value. And lastly, this is a gift that keeps on giving. With the thriving growth of our database, the reports are rapidly evolving. Early adopters are rewarded with a lifetime of free report updates. This means that if you gift the Basepaws test this year, you will be gifting yourself (or your loved) one for the lifetime.
3. What are the benefits of genetic testing for cats?
Genetic analysis allows an insight into so many different things. Right now, our report consists of breed and wildcat indexes. Within the following year we are planning to introduce Health, Traits and Wellness segments to the CatKit too. Learning about the breed composition can help cat owners learn if there are any breed-specific predispositions of their cat regarding health, behavior and personality. The upcoming Health index will discover cat's genetics influences to their risk for certain health conditions, or if their DNA is carrying a genetic disorder. We’re planning to cover numerous health markers including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, polycystic kidney disease, factor XII deficiency, hemophilia B, hypothyroidism and polydactyly. If you find out that your cat is a carrier of a defect gene, you will be able to diagnose a disease early and, when possible, conduct preventive measurements. Additionally, you would be able to excluding your cat carrier from the breeding pool in efforts to prevent the passage of the defect to the offspring.
Beyond learning about your cat on a molecular level, by DNA testing your cat you are also contributing to the development of science of cats. Our aim is to build a database that will contain both genotype and phenotype information about as many cats as possible. The more data we have on our disposal, the more we can learn about the feline ancestry, evolution, lineage and health. We want to contribute to the discovery of unknown traits of our favorite pets, and in order to do this, we need a lot more information than the research world currently has on domestic cats. We need to discover as many variants as possible and make sense of these findings. Ideally, we would want every and each kitty’s voice to be heard. Every single piece of information we gather today will benefit all the cats’ futures tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment