Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of a group of cardiomyopathies (heart diseases) that can affect any cat, and has been shown to affect some specific breeds, including the Sphynx breed. 

With HCM, the muscular walls of the heart thicken, making the chambers of the heart smaller.  This, in turn, causes diminished blood flow, circulatory problems, and clotting disorders.  While HCM cannot be cured, it can be treated with cardiac medications.  Diligent treatment and excellent veterinary care can allow a cat with HCM to live many happy years with the adoptive family.  Early detection is absolutely critical to the success of treatment.

Here at Playcat Mansion, we strive to educate our kitten adopters about the risks of HCM, in an effort to raise awareness and allow for early detection and treatment in affected cats.  In years past, when the Sphynx breed was fairly new, cardiac problems were dealt with as they arose, but the breeders at Playcat Mansion have taken this approach a step further.  We have done extensive research on the latest new and promising treatments for cardiac disease in our cats, as well as keeping abreast of the latest tools available for detection of this affliction.

ALL adult cats in the Playcat Mansion breeding program are screened yearly for cardiac disease via echocardiogram, which is the best tool we have available to us for early detection.  Any cat found to exhibit the beginning stages of cardiac disease is immediately spayed or neutered, and started on medical management protocols.  Although research has not conclusively proven that there is a genetic link involved with the development of HCM, we do not wish to take a chance, and choose to alter and treat any affected cats.

We strongly advise all prospective and adoptive kitten owners to develop a close, working relationship with their veterinarian, and to request that their veterinarian pay close attention to the possible development of cardiac murmurs, or other indicators of early cardiac disease, at every annual exam and every office visit.  Any questionable findings upon exam warrant further diagnostics ie. chest radiographs or echocardiogram. 

A search on Google under “feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy” will yield much more detailed information on this disease, and any prospective kitten owner with any questions is more than welcome to email Jenny at jenny@playcatmansion.com for more information.

The breeders at Playcat Mansion Sphynx wish to let their prospective kitten owners know that we are aware of this disease and are doing everything possible to utilize the best preventative and treatment protocols available to the veterinary community.