Basepaws Cat DNA Test | Breed + Health + Dental Report | Top Cat Breeds & 114 Health & Trait Markers | As Seen On Shark Tank

This was easy enough to use if your pet is okay with you putting things in their mouth and not chewing on them, which fortunately mine was. The pdf I got back seems to be an exhaustive amount of data, though I did question one quirky result: It said the most recent thing my cat had eaten was dog, and we don't have one of those and don't often visit with people who have one (though I do love to see a pup, we just dont happen to know a lot of people who have dogs) and my kitty was an indoor kitty so there was little chance of her sneaking out and eating the neighbor's dog. I reached out to to Basepaw to ask about the result, mostly out of amusement, and was pleasantly surprised that not only did they answer back pretty quickly, but gave me some more information on what the result could mean, basically trouble shooting it with me. In the end, the dog thing still remains a mystery, but the other information of what her make up was, health concerns and more was very interesting to note and I was able to share the file with her vet so they could see the list of concerns she might be more predisposed to. Over all I was very happy with the product. Cons: Price-wise its not super cheap, and as to how accurate or effective testing this way is, well, I'm no scientist so impossible for me to say. It seemed to line up well with what I already knew about her, so I think at the very least I liked having it for some guidance on what might be the issue if she wasn't feeling well. I enjoyed going over it with friends and just having it, very similar in the way I think people enjoy things like 23 and me or other DNA testing kits for humans, so for me, it was worth the price, but I did wait for a Black Friday sale or similar discount. If you're getting a new pet, this might be a cool gift to ask for. If you've had your pet for years and just want a deeper dive into their specs, this again might be for you. If you do get it, sending it along to your vet might be helpful in their long term health letting them know what to look out for. Its not a fast process, you take the sample, then you send it in, and then you wait for them to receive it and then process it and get the results back to you. It takes the time it takes, but it does tell you as much on the box. It would be really cool if there was a data base to check so you find out a bit about the pet's family line if it was out there. Not information on the owners, but say how long they lived, if there were health concerns, if they had quirks like cat that really likes water, dog that figured out doors without being taught, etc, your dog's great great grand uncle was that dog that starred in Airbud or something. I'd love to see something like that as a future part of this type of product.

As a first time (and obsessed) cat mom, I was so excited to purchase a basepaws cat DNA kit for Helix (as appropriately named). I wanted to know what I was getting in for with my little guy healthwise since I’ve always had dogs. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an easy to use kit, support a localist business in Kalamazoo area, and get thorough and I mean thorough DNA analysis. I also loved seeing how he was made up of various breeds but the health aspect was out of this world. I appreciated seeing his oral health piece and will start seeing how I can do better for him and his oral health. I loved this kit so much I purchased it for our other cats (who aren’t originally mine, spare human probs) who are a brother/sister pair. I can’t wait to send it off to see and compare their DNA to Helix’s. If you’re on the fence about it, just do it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and your cat may or may not thank you long term.

Well, I love genetics so as soon as I found out about Basepaws cat DNA tests I immediately wanted to have my 2 cats tested. I'm quite satisfied with the results. Basepaws compares your cat's DNA to the DNA in their database and then tells you which breed groups your cat has the most similar DNA to. And they rank the breeds in that group by how similar the DNA of your cat is to that breed. It's not like the dog DNA breed tests which are much more black & white because DNA breed testing for cats hasn't been around as long and cat's did not go through the same process of domestication that dogs did. Basepaws also tests for a number of diseases which can be very useful. Both my cats came back as carriers for a gene mutation that causes a hemophilia-like bleeding disorder, but they only have one copy of the gene so they don't have the disease, so that was a relief. Basepaws was really good about keeping you up to date on the progress of the DNA sample. I got numerous emails letting me know when the samples were being processed and analyzed. I does take a while after mailing in the samples for the results to be reported so it was nice to get the updates. All in all, this DNA test is definitely worth it. It seems pretty accurate and with more time and more DNA samples I expect Basepaws will continuously update their algorithms and send clients their updated DNA results. For now my cats came back as...Hazel is the torbie and she came back as a polycat (mixed breed) and Norwegian Forest Cat mix, and Ruby the orange tabby came back as a Ragdoll, polycat mix with a little Persian. Both had a small amount of Bengal. (I was told that Ruby is Hazel's mother, but not 100% sure.) I was expecting them to be Maine Coon mixes and I suspected Ruby had a tiny bit of Persian because she has such a pretty profile, so I was right about the Persian, but surprised to see the Ragdoll and NFC instead, but I can see it now that I know what to look for. NFC is so close to Maine Coon, anyway. The tests results have simply fascinated me. I recommend getting your cat tested through Basepaws. It's not just fun, it can be very helpful as far as health issues, too. And the more samples they get, the more their database will increase, thus making the tests more accurate and informative. We will actually all help each other to help our cats the more we get them tested. It's a snowball effect type thing.

I appreciated the health screening portions of this DNA sequencing, however I was a bit disappointed at the official gene sequencing and breed determination. I understand that cats come from a long line of mixed breeding so it is very difficult to pin point "purebreds" as it's a newer concept. Basically my cat and probably many others are a combination of many cats (poly cats, mixed western, etc.)... I kinda wish this information was available before purchase, as I might have not gone through with it. The health screen and genetic markers are helpful and may help prepare for potential illnesses in your cats, so from that aspect, this kit is beneficial. Just be prepared your cat will likely be a mix of multiple breeds, and won't have a specific breed like a dog would.

Easy to use. It breaks down the different breeds of cats that makes up my cat’s total genetic profile. Because most cats have not been selectively bred over hundreds of years like dogs have, my cat’s profile generally states “72 percent Western”, 0 percent Eastern, and the rest Persian, Exotic, and 17 percent “Polycat”, which means generations of mixed breeding. Under each category it gives a few of the specific breeds, like Maine Coon and Siberian under Western, and British Shorthair and Himalayan under Persian, but oddly 0 “Broadly Persian” under Persian. The health report reassures me that my cat has no underlying genetic dispositions to a particular disease or oral issue. I thought Basepaws had the Wildcat Index analysis, which would have made it much more fun and interesting, but a customer service representative at Basepaws told me they no longer offer that analysis, which is a bit disappointing. The Wildcat Index indicated the kind of wildcat (mountain lion, cheetah, tiger, etc) your cat has most in common with genetically. Too bad it’s no longer offered. Overall, not a bad DNA kit to use if you want to find out more about your cat, but it’s overpriced at $200 plus. Wait when there’s a sale. Also, give at least a month for the results to come back to you. After sending the specimen of my cat’s mouth swab to California in mid-June (I live in Canada), I finally got the results back in about 6 weeks (at the end of July). That’s pretty normal, as I read most results come back in 4-6 weeks.