Cat DNA Testing: The Unique Challenges of the Feline Genome vs Dogs

Key Takeaways

• Cat DNA testing uses the same principles as dogs, but has its own challenges.
• Cat breeds have "less" genetic diversity than dogs, making breed separation harder.
• Most house cats are mixed (domestic shorthair/longhair), not purebred.
• Microarray is still a fitting tool for testing feline genetic diseases and traits.

When people think of pet DNA testing, dogs come to mind first, but cats can be tested too. However, the feline genome has unique characteristics that make testing differ from dogs in some ways. This article explains the challenges and what cat DNA testing can tell us.

How Does the Feline Genome Differ From Dogs?

Although the testing principle is the same, the genetic structure of cats differs significantly from dogs. Dogs underwent intense human selective breeding over thousands of years, making each breed genetically distinct. Cats, by contrast, have only been bred breed-specifically in the past few hundred years — most cat breeds are less than 75 years old (Anderson et al., PLoS Genetics, 2022) — so genetic differences between cat breeds are smaller.

Why Is Separating Cat Breeds More Challenging?

Because cat breeds have less genetic difference, separating a cat's "breed" by DNA is harder and more delicate than dogs. A study analyzing over 1,100 cats from 22 breeds and random-bred populations worldwide found that although founded breeds lost some diversity, overall genetic diversity remains broad (Lipinski et al., Genomics, 2008). Also, most house cats worldwide are mixed (domestic shorthair or longhair), not belonging to any single purebred line. Reporting cat breed results therefore requires careful interpretation. This connects with dog breed DNA testing.

What Can Cat DNA Testing Tell Us?

Even though breed separation is challenging, cat DNA testing is still very useful in other areas, especially genetic diseases found in cats, such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD) common in Persians, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in some breeds, plus specific traits like coat color, coat length, and blood type, which matter for health care and breeding. A large-scale study genotyping over 11,000 cats across nearly 100 breeds confirmed that DNA testing has effectively reduced disease-associated variants within pedigreed cat populations over time (Anderson et al., PLoS Genetics, 2022). This connects with genetic diseases in pets.

Why Microarray Fits Cat Testing

For testing feline genetic diseases and traits, the important positions are already discovered and validated, and Microarray tests them accurately and cost-effectively, just like in dogs. A 63,000-marker Feline SNP array has been developed and used to study differences between cat breeds and genomic regions under selection, such as genes linked to the flat face of the Persian (Alhaddad et al., PLoS ONE, 2021). Although the feline genome poses breed-separation challenges, for screening diseases and traits at known positions, the array remains the most fitting tool. This connects with Microarray vs Sequencing.

Author's Final Note

Cat DNA testing is a good example that the same technology must be adapted to each species' uniqueness. Although separating cat breeds is more challenging, the health and trait information is very valuable for caring for your cat. If you're interested in DNA testing for your pet, feel free to consult the Geneus Pet team.

References

1. Lipinski MJ, et al. The ascent of cat breeds: Genetic evaluations of breeds and worldwide random-bred populations. Genomics. 2008;91(1):12–21. NCBI PMC
2. Anderson H, et al. Genetic epidemiology of blood type, disease and trait variants, and genome-wide genetic diversity in over 11,000 domestic cats. PLoS Genetics. 2022. NCBI PMC
3. Alhaddad H, Abdi M, Lyons LA. Patterns of allele frequency differences among domestic cat breeds assessed by a 63K SNP array. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(2):e0247092. PLOS ONE