Norwegian Forest — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Glycogen storage disease type IV (GSD IV)can shorten life or cause chronic pain
A recessive defect in the glycogen branching enzyme causes abnormal glycogen build-up in muscle, liver and neurons. Most affected kittens die at or shortly after birth; a minority appear normal until around 5 months old, when development stops and they decline rapidly. UC Davis developed this test specifically for the breed.
Ask to see: UC Davis VGL GSD IV DNA test on both parents.
UC Davis VGL — Glycogen Storage Disease type IV (GSD IV) in Norwegian Forest Cats (https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/gsd-iv-cat)
Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency
A recessive enzyme defect causing intermittent haemolytic anaemia, with highly variable age of onset and severity. Norwegian Forest Cat is one of the breeds UC Davis names as appropriate for this test.
Ask to see: UC Davis VGL PK deficiency DNA test on both parents.
UC Davis VGL — Erythrocyte Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PK Deficiency) (https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/pk-deficiency-cat) · PMC — Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency mutation identified in multiple breeds of domestic cats (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3534511/)