Dog DNA Testing Kit - 330+ Breeds, 280+ Health Risks, and 30+ Traits - Comprehensive Mixed Breed Identification, Pet DNA Test kit, Canine Genetic Ancestry and Heritage

Easy to use and get results quickly.

My story is sad, about taking a sample in the last moments I had with my pet. But nothing about Basepaws is sad. Getting the data for your pet is worth doing just for fun, especially if you adopted your cat (or they adopted you) and you're curious what their genetic background might be. I'm describing the results of the process as of the date the review is posted. Check that it's still accurate for anything very important to you. I found that support is friendly and responsive to both practical and very technical questions. --- The Basepaw's webpage has advice on collecting a sample on a swab and storing it until your kit arrives. This made all the difference for us. Our cat Schala became ill very suddenly with no obvious cause. Alarmed, we took her to the emergency vet as soon as they opened. After an initial exam, the vet told us to be prepared for the worst, and we'd be called with changes later in the day. I had just enough time to look in to animal WGS (whole-genome sequencing) and see Basepaw's page on collecting a sample on a Q-tip when the vet called. Schala was suffering and strugging to stay alive even with support, so it was time to say goodbye. I grabbed a sterile swab and we drove to the vet to see our friend for the last time. I guess I was able to get an adequate sample even in my fraught satate, because Basepaws sent me an email indicating the sequencing was successful just a few days ago. Regardless of your background, I think most will like the beautiful report they produce on your pet. The design and illustration is very pleasant. It first describes degree of genetic similarity between your pet and exemplars of cats from specific breeds/regions. It goes on to describe if your pet has known genetic predispositions to illness, valuable in making lifestyle choices and worth sharing with your vet but nothing too dire. It ends in something I didn't expect -- an analysis of the varieties of bacteria on the swab. The sequencing equipment sequences all DNA that ends up in the reaction. In a lab, you're often taught to think of everything you didn't plan to sequence as an enemy, and agressively filter that data from what's used in later steps. But Basepaws does something clever-- in buccal swabs, those contaminants would most often be bacteria and food debris. Instead of ignoring that non-feline DNA,they keep track of the non-feline orginisms they observed, and use that to make some inferences about e.g. oral health that could be very valuable. As for the raw data, I have a background in genetics and can find some interesting things myself in the WGS data. Right now the raw data may not be of that much use to most people. But I think the WGS data is still valuable to have-- as science improves and data accumulates, the WGS data will only become more interesting, and more tools and services will be available to evaluate it.

As I read my cats results I saw the breed area. The main bred they classified my cat as was "Maine coon" (20.1 percent). That shocked me because my cat isn't even 8 lbs. She is short haired, no ear Tufts, small, non-muscular frame. She hates water. She is all white with a few black hairs on top of her head. Then I noticed this category called "Polycat" (not even a breed) with no defined breeds under it and said my cat was 21.22 percent this category. Um... I thought the reason people were doing these DNA tests was to find out what breeds their mixed cat was, not to just say the main breed is an unknown mixed breed with no characteristics about what that fake breed meant. Most people know their cats are a mixed breed and it's why they are having this test done. Why not call it unknown because that is basically what was done here. Since I actually did this test because my now 11 month old cat is having major health problems, it makes me not trust the results if they cannot even get the breed right. My now 11 month old kitten is having seizures, tremors, intension tremors, ataxia, vestibular issues, issues getting her claws stuck out, she struggles to walk after resting or sleeping and even push herself up, she has a head tilt, she goes to jump up and misses her mark jumping too short. She relies a lot on her claws by gripping the carpet to get around, but she walks and runs normally at times too. She has seen a neurologist who doesn't know what is wrong with her, but says Multifocal brain disease or vestibular disease are most likely based on her symptoms. Given she might also have kidney disease too, we didn't do an MRI or a spinal test because they cost thousands of dollars each and even the neurologist said they mights show her nothing or show her the symptoms of what is wrong without the actual cause and that most causes are likely incurable. How much life she has left is unknown, a seizure could take her any day (or kidney disease in a year), and she has short seizures almost daily that are not completely uncontrolled by the meds the neurologist put her on. I also have allergies to cats. My cat is white and doesn't bother me as much as some cats do (and I grew up with white cats who didn't eitherwho looked the same), so we decided to do the DNA test. At best result we would see a health marker that explains her issues, at worst we would at least know her hidden breed (since she is white) so we would know what cat to get in the future (when she passes) to know which cat might not bother my allergies. When I read the health report, I was amazed that there were actually like 7 conditions that were neurological in the report, however my cat didn't have any of the markers for them. I was excited reading the names because three of them were things I had found my cat might have when doing research based on the symptoms of the health conditions. So it's kind of disappointing my cat has neurological problems, but none of these came back as markers she has. Her condition could be infectious disease related though (even though the vet neuro tests all came back negative), so she could have other things going on to explain this beyond DNA tests. It also said she has genes for black fur, and that her coat is a gene that makes coats be faded or white (okay, anyone could get that just by looking at her or her picture, which I sent). The only oral health marker they noted her having was tooth resorption. She is too young to know if that will be a problem. The health issues she is noted to have is factor 12 deficiency, a blood clotting disorder. She had a surgery done no problems, so at least so far that doesn't seem to be a problem for her. I will take these results to my vet soon, but they don't explain anything she has going on, which is disappointing. The biggest disappointment though is not even trusting the breed results. Hopefully my baby passes before she has to struggle with any of these other painful conditions if these results are accurate. She shows no signs of being in pain to date even with the problems she has. She is very social and likes to be cuddled in blankets and sit in your lap. She likes to hunt and play. She walks and runs crazy and falls over all the time and gets her claws stuck in things, but she is our baby, she wants to be near us and play with us. She is also super smart. She isn't agile enough to do those word buttons, but when you say anyone's name, she knows who you mean by either going to their room or getting exited when you tell her that her favorite playmate is home. She knows words for "scratchy" (scratching post), mousie, food, play, treat, downstairs, and "go to bed". So even though her brain is failing her body, it isn't failing her intelligence. So she will be our cat as long as she isn't in pain or hasn't succumb to her unknown condition. So overall, this test didn't tell us health issues or breeds that make sense, which is disappointing. We didn't just do this test for fun, which seems to be the main thing people feel they get out of this by reading other comments.

Haven’t got the info back. It takes 4 to 6 weeks

Very interesting

I ordered the Basepaws Cat DNA Test Kit to learn more about my tabby’s ancestry and screen for potential health issues, and overall I’m impressed. The swab-and-send process was straightforward—just gently rub the swab inside your cat’s cheek for 30 seconds, seal it up, and drop it in the mail. Basepaws kept me updated via email, and I received the detailed report in right around five weeks, well within their 4–6 week window. The ancestry breakdown was fascinating, identifying my cat’s primary breed group and even estimating wildcat heritage. The health section flagged one variant linked to a common condition, which prompted me to discuss preventive care with my vet—definitely a valuable heads-up. The trait insights (like coat color genetics and predicted personality tendencies) were a fun bonus, though I’d take those with a grain of salt. My only quibbles are the price—it’s a bit steep compared to human DNA kits—and the occasional delay in customer support responses. Otherwise, the online dashboard is user-friendly, and the downloadable PDF makes sharing results with my veterinarian easy. If you’re curious about your cat’s background or want a proactive look at genetic health, this kit is a great resource.

Easy to use. It breaks down the different breeds of cats that makes up my cat’s total genetic profile. Because most cats have not been selectively bred over hundreds of years like dogs have, my cat’s profile generally states “72 percent Western”, 0 percent Eastern, and the rest Persian, Exotic, and 17 percent “Polycat”, which means generations of mixed breeding. Under each category it gives a few of the specific breeds, like Maine Coon and Siberian under Western, and British Shorthair and Himalayan under Persian, but oddly 0 “Broadly Persian” under Persian. The health report reassures me that my cat has no underlying genetic dispositions to a particular disease or oral issue. I thought Basepaws had the Wildcat Index analysis, which would have made it much more fun and interesting, but a customer service representative at Basepaws told me they no longer offer that analysis, which is a bit disappointing. The Wildcat Index indicated the kind of wildcat (mountain lion, cheetah, tiger, etc) your cat has most in common with genetically. Too bad it’s no longer offered. Overall, not a bad DNA kit to use if you want to find out more about your cat, but it’s overpriced at $200 plus. Wait when there’s a sale. Also, give at least a month for the results to come back to you. After sending the specimen of my cat’s mouth swab to California in mid-June (I live in Canada), I finally got the results back in about 6 weeks (at the end of July). That’s pretty normal, as I read most results come back in 4-6 weeks.

Scam!! Never got my results after 5 months still. DO NOT RECOMMEND

Super long time waiting results about 4 weeks. Paid over 60$ to ship it for ups Not impressed Also my mainecoon it's only 92% mainecoon when both his parents tested with basepaws too tested 99.93% mainecoon so something fishy there.

I’ve seen these done for dogs and the results are amazing. However, when I got my cat done, it didn’t really divulge a lot of information (that I didn’t already know). I think if you’re looking for basic information with cats this is ‘just okay’ and I don’t think it’s worth the money, and didn’t meet up to the anticipation I had waiting for the results.