Devon Rex: genetic diseases

2023 Author: Alex Livingston | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 11:39

With its pronounced cheeks, large eyes, long legs and slender body, the Devon Rex it is certainly one of the most fascinating breeds in the feline world. Fortunately, he tends to be quite healthy, but there are still some genetic diseases to which it is particularly subject: let's see what it is.

All purebred cats have the potential to develop genetic disorders, just as humans risk inheriting some diseases. As for the Devon Rex, the most insidious ailment is the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is the most common heart disease in cats and causes the heart to thicken.

Sometimes it is said that it is caused by malnutrition, but it is not true: this disease is hereditary. If during a follow-up visit your vet notices a heart murmur in your Devon Rex, an echocardiogram performed by a cardiologist will be able to confirm or not the presence of this specific disease. Be wary of breeders who claim to have specimens immune to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: no one can know if a cat will develop it or not.

Similar in name but completely different in substance is the hereditary myopathy (or spasticity), characterized by widespread and neurological muscle weakness. This is a common ailment in Devon Rex and Sphynx.

It occurs from 4 to 7 weeks old, but i symptoms they appear even later. They include tremors, hunched shoulders, swallowing and regurgitation problems, muscle wasting, exercise intolerance, airway obstruction. Unfortunately there are no tests to detect this disease in time, very often it is the symptoms that signal its presence.

If in mild form, around 9 months of life it tends to stabilize and the cat learns to drink and eat despite these problems; to help them it is good to keep the food bowls raised, so that they do not have to go down.

There patella luxation it is also a hereditary problem in which the patella moves from its natural housing, forcing the animal to limp or not rest the paw at all. It usually returns to its place on its own, but in severe cases it can move frequently or even permanently, requiring surgery for an effective solution.

As also happens in other breeds such as the Burmese and the Abyssinian, the blood group by Devon Rex is the group B.. Although this should not automatically cause concern, it should be noted that in the case of surgery (especially emergency) care must be taken not to administer blood from a different group, as it can be fatal.

Breeders must also be very careful to avoid that the young born to a father of group A and mother of group B drink the colostrum of the mother at least for the first 24 hours of life, since otherwise they could develop Neonatal isoerythrolysis.