Devastating news. Yesterday we have learned that our beloved Tino has two genes for PK-Deficiency (this is NOT PKD, the kidney-disease!) which makes him PK-deficiency positive.

We are heartbroken. Even though he is perfectly fit now, it is certain that he will die of this horrible disease. Nobody can predict when, but it is inevitable. Even the mental and physical strains of neutering him could cause it to flare up and that could be lethal.
We will make sure he lives the rest of his life as a very much loved and pampered boy with his cat- and dog-friend in my home.

Please, everyone, test your cats!!
http://www.fabcats.org/owners/pk_deficiency/info.html
http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/pkdeficiency.php

I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't know much about PK deficiency other than what I've read on here. Is Tino just a carrier or does him having 2 genes mean he will definitely develop the symptoms?

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It is tragic, such a beautiful cat.

From the FAB site:-


As Naomi has said 2 genes means he has the disease.
He is the "+ + PK def" offspring in the diagram. He got the genes from both sides, so his parents are either carriers or are affected.
All Tino's offspring will be carriers, some may be affected too if their mother is a carrier or is also affected.

It is a simple straightforward test and a horrible disease.
Valentino's pedigree contains cats common to many, many Bengal lines including those in the UK and in the US, so is not a disease to be overlooked.

Elaine is correct, sadly. Tino is affected and will, at one time or another, show symptoms. Luckily the three females that have litters fathered by Tino are all PK-Def negative. The kittens will be carriers, but won't get sick.

UCDavis has asked us to submit DNA samples of Tino's parents to hopefully validate the DNA-test for Bengals. His breeders will submit those samples and test their other cats to avoid this happening again in the future.

Tino's pedigree: http://www.bengalpedigrees.com/showone. ... icanum=(ES)ASFEL046138&jid=13781
But there are many more lines that are affected. PK-Deficiency originated in Abyssinians and they were used in the Bengal breed. There have been quite a few Dutch breeders who have tested their cats for PK Deficiency. No other PK-Def positive cats so far apart from Tino, but more carriers (cats with one PK-Def gene) than I had expected.

I can't thank Renate Mock enough for informing us breeders of this disease and the posibility of DNA-testing our cats for it.

This test for PK deficiency can be carried out on young kittens, ie before they leave for their new homes, it is a test that is a one off, it does not need repeated, as the cat's status will not change as it ages, it either is Affected or it isn't and that can be determined at a very young age.

It is thus simple for breeders to choose only Normal or Carrier kittens to breed from.

It is a disease where it is possible to breed a Carrier to a Normal cat and have no Affected kittens at all, only Carriers.
So breeders only need to test their cats once and manage their matings ie Normal to Normal or Normal to Carrier so that no Affected kittens are ever born.

Normal - no PK deficiency genes
If bred to a another Normal cat the offspring will not get PK deficiency nor pass the disease on to their offspring.

Carrier - one PK defic gene, will not be affected by the disease but can pass the PK defic gene on to half of its offspring.
If bred to a Normal - 50% will be Carriers and 50% Normal
If bred to a Carrier - 25% will be Normal, 50% will be Carriers and 25% will be Affected with the disease.

Affected - 2 PK defic. genes - will be affected by the disease.
If bred to a Normal - all offspring will be Carriers
If bred to a Carrier - 50% will be Affected and 50% will be Carriers
If bred to an Affected cat -100% of offspring will be Affected.

The Percentages quoted are statistical and are the probability that an individual kitten will be Affected or Carrier or Normal.
So for instance in an Carrier/Carrier mating each individual kitten runs a risk of 25% that it will be Normal, 50% risk that it will be a Carrier and a 25% risk that it will be Affected.

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It is NOT expensive to have your cat tested at Langford Vets. It is £31.50 and all you need to do is send swabs in the post, so there is no need to transport your cat there. All the information you need is on the Langford website as in previous post.
I'm sure that for every Bengal owner, the small cost of the test will be well worth it for the sake of the breed. If everyone tests, both breeders and pet owners, and acts on the results, then there is less likelihood of many more Bengals being infected in the future.

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http://www.bengalcat-ziggianshowcats.co.uk

My Alfie's father is a carrier for PKDef but I don't think his mum was tested, so I've got a testing kit from Langford Vets to see what his status is. I'm not sure I'll manage to get a sample properly (it needs to be cells from the cheek rather than just saliva) so I plan to ask the vet to do it when he goes for his boosters. I'll do the others when their boosters are due as well.

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