Diary of a Cat Mom

DNA Test for Cats: Beyond Cat Breed Results | Cat Health | Ep. 108

By Dagmar Gatell — Creator & Host of Diary of a Cat Mom Season 1 Episode 108

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0:00 | 3:23

Can a DNA test tell you about your cat's future health?

After a conversation about pet insurance with a friend, I started wondering whether there was any way to prepare for possible health issues before they happen.

In this Diary of a Cat Mom podcast episode, I explore how cat DNA testing may reveal cat breed information that could point to potential genetic health risks. While it can't predict the future, it may help cat parents make informed decisions about preventive care, insurance, and long-term planning.

I'd also love to hear your experiences if you've ever tested your cat's DNA.

What You'll Learn In This Cat Podcast Episode

  • Can a DNA test predict your cat's future health?
  • What a cat DNA test can—and can't—tell you.
  • How breed information may reveal potential health risks.
  • Why planning ahead may give you more options.
  • My biggest realization about preparing for my cats' future. 🐾💛

Timestamps & Chapters

00:00 Can a DNA test predict your cat's future health?
00:30 A conversation about pet insurance sparked a new question.
01:10 How DNA tests may reveal more than your cat's breed.
01:55 Using breed information to prepare for possible health risks.
02:38 My biggest realization: We may not be able to predict the future, but we can prepare for it.
03:08 Have you ever done a DNA test for your cat? I'd love to hear your experience.

This is where I’ve gathered everything that supports me and my cats:
https://diaryofacatmom.com/cat-care-resources/

About the Diary of a Cat Mom Podcast

Diary of a Cat Mom is a personal cat podcast created by Dagmar Gatell, sharing real moments from life with cats. Everything shared comes from lived experience as a cat mom and is not intended as professional veterinary advice. Every cat is unique, and for health concerns, it’s always best to consult your trusted veterinarian.

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SPEAKER_00

Diary of a cat mom. Can you predict your cat's future health? Welcome to Diary of a Cat Mom. The other day, as I was talking with my friend about cat insurances, she shared that if the cat already has an health issue, the cat insurance probably wouldn't check the cat. And I'm, yeah, but then is really when you need one. So is there a way to predict your cat's future health? And when I was thinking through it, I remembered another friend told me that she had one dog, an older dog. She just lost this doggy, and the doggy had cancer, a huge mess, and they treated the doggy, and for many, many years it helped. But then finally the dog passed and went over the rainbow bridge. And then she made the decision to do a DNA test for other dog because she heard about that in the DNA test, it's not just that you can see the breeds, but you also can see, depending on the breeds, future health issues. And I'm wow. So there's no prediction, unfortunately, I know about, but there's for sure something that we can do to prepare for possible future health issues. So that means if you have a healthy kitty today and you want to invest in a DNA test to see what breeds the kitty has, the benefit of it is that you then know what possible health risk the kitty would have. And then you can make a conscious decision about do you want to get the cat health insurance at this point while the kitty is still healthy or not? And I thought that was just a great opportunity from a very practical and logical way to approach that. So, like if you have a cat family of one or two cats and you want to make sure you can take care of your kitties in the best possible way, knowing what possible health issues a breed can create or come with, I think it's an awesome opportunity. I will explore that further and then share another episode where I'll learn more about DNA tests. But at this point, I think my biggest aha moment was really that yeah, for a non-10% breed cat, you can still figure out a way and help her to stay healthy and do the best you can. If you know what breeds are within your cat, and then what health issues come with these breeds. I would be very curious to hear if you ever did a DNA test for your cat and what it says about the health issues your cat possibly could experience, and if you went further, you got a cat insurance, or if you went further and started supplements to prevent that. Please leave in the comments. I cannot wait to read. Thank you so much for joining me here at the Diary of a Pet Mom. There's always another story, another lesson, another insight waiting to be shared right around the corner. So watch my next video above and join me for the next entry.

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Bye.

SPEAKER_00

Diary of the catmom.