Love Branch has begun genetic testing on our cats. This is something I believe will help us to breed healthier Highlanders. Genetic testing helps to rule out certain types of defects that could be life-threatening or cause problems in our bloodlines down the road. The DNA from your cat is isolated from the mouth swabs that you provide. Then the cat’s DNA is tested for over 100 DNA markers that have different DNA variants. The combination of these characteristics produces a unique genetic profile for your cat. This genetic profile is then compared to a database of profiles from cats from around the world to learn their ancestry, recessive and dominant genes, risks for certain health conditions and much more.

Since part of the Highlander charm is their curled ears and bobtails, which are technically mutations, we want to be as certain as possible that we get test results that show them to be ultra healthy. We can also use the information within the the cats’ genetic profile to choose good pairings for our breeders, which insures optimum results from our breedings. We are the 3rd highest breed to genetically test our cats and judges have been impressed by this.There are so many advantages to this kind of testing that I can not say enough good things about it.