I held my breath as the vet slowly moved the ultrasound transducer over the abdomen of our first Scottish Fold Grand Champion. My heart sank even before the vet spoke the words. I recognized the irregular outline of his kidneys and saw the cystic shadows. His kidneys were moderately affected. They resembled a moonscape instead of the regular outline and smooth appearance of a normal kidney. His scan indicated PKD. He was altered the same day.

We had first heard about PKD at cat shows. I started researching the disease on the Internet. I learned about the disease and found that there was a lot of controversy surrounding PKD testing and what to do if a cat had a positive scan.

We took an aggressive stand and chose to alter because we did not have years invested in breeding Scottish Folds and felt it would be wiser to try stop the disease in its tracks. Our grand champion had sired one litter of kittens with a female that had a negative PKD scan. All his offspring have been altered. We had hoped to keep one straight ear girl. She scanned negative at 6 months, but we re-scanned before breeding at 1 year and she was positive, so she was also altered. PKD can be successfully bred out of a valuable line of purebreds, but it takes patience and diligence.

Our GC's sire tested positive after several negative ultrasounds and was altered. His dam tested negative along with her offspring from other sires. His siblings were tested and the positives altered. Luckily there were negative siblings to carry on his lines.

PKD is an inherited kidney disease. If a cat has PKD, it has the gene. If a heterozygous PKD positive is bred to a PKD negative, the offspring will have a 50% chance of inheriting the gene that causes PKD. If a homozygous PKD positive is bred to a PKD negative, the offspring will have a 100% chance of inheriting the gene that causes PKD. A PKD free cat does not have the PKD gene.

PKD is a progressive disease and often shows up later in life. The condition is inherited and cysts are present from birth. The complications of PKD are noted when the cysts continue to grow and progressively enlarge the kidney. Kidney failure is certain when the cysts rob the kidney of the area needed for normal function. There is not a cure for PKD.

The good news about PKD is most cats with PKD do not die from PKD. I do not know of any Folds that have died from PKD. The problem is that no one can predict which PKD positive feline will be severely affected. Will it be the valuable tom that has just the perfect ear set? Will it be the queen who has wonderful mothering instincts and has the most typy kittens?

PKD is normally diagnosed by ultrasound. Ultrasound is a technique by which sound waves are bounced into the body, and their reflections captured by a machine which transform them into an image that can be read. However, the ultrasound is not the perfect diagnostic tool. False positives have been reported. The sonographer may recommend that a narrow strip of fur be shaved from the abdominal area for an optimal view. It is very important that the sonographer be experienced and the proper equipment utilized for accuracy. The frequency of the transducer has to be at least 7.5 MHz with a 256 gray scale. The higher frequency, the better details. A DNA test for PKD is not available at this time.

Our GC is almost 6 years old and is doing well living with our daughter at college. His one litter is almost 5 and they are also doing fine. The one straight ear girl that we hoped would escape the genetic PKD roulette lives in a pet home and was an International winning HHP in TICA. Although PKD is a genetic nightmare and the prognosis may be dire in a few cases, we have made it though and we feel we have a healthier cattery because of it.

This article was not written to diagnose or treat PKD, but as a report of our personal experience with PKD. Consult your veterinarian for information on the diagnosis and treatment of any disease.

Shirley Little shows and breeds Scottish Folds. C-Gemz Scottish Folds started with the purchase of a sweet 16 birthday gift for daughter Crystal. Crystal is now away at college as a junior with that first GC, DGC Fold as her pillowmate. Shirley is proud to boast of multiple RW's, Grands and Supremes in both TICA and CFA and proudly exclaims the C-Gemz motto "breeding for health, beauty, and personality...not sacrificing one for the other”.