· 2 min read
What health testing actually costs a Maine Coon breeder
The real per-cat cost of doing Maine Coon health testing properly — DNA panels, cardiologist echoes and hip evaluation — and why it shows up in kitten prices.
Anna Bronsky
Co-Founder of TrueKitten, a verified Maine Coon marketplace
Short answer: the DNA work is the cheap part. A single Maine Coon HCM DNA test is $44 at UC Davis, and SMA is a separate test. The recurring cardiologist echo — repeated for the life of every breeding cat — is what actually costs money, and it is the line most often skipped.
The one-off genetic work
DNA tests are per-cat, once, for life. The cat’s genotype does not change, so this is a one-time cost per breeding animal:
- HCM (A31P) — $44 per test at UC Davis.
- SMA — a separate test with its own fee.
- Additional breed-relevant panels depending on the lines.
Prices vary by laboratory and change over time; check the lab’s own current pricing rather than a figure quoted in a blog post — including this one.
The recurring work is where the cost lives
An echocardiogram read by a board-certified cardiologist is not a one-off. Because HCM is progressive, breeding cats are rescreened on a schedule, so the cost repeats annually or near-annually for every cat in the programme. Fees vary widely by region and specialist, so quote your own local cardiologist rather than a national average.
Hip evaluation through the OFA adds a further per-cat cost — the current fee schedule is published — plus the sedation and radiographs your own vet charges.
Why this ends up in the kitten price
A cattery running full testing carries: a one-off DNA cost per breeding cat, a repeating cardiology cost per breeding cat per year, hip evaluation, and the ordinary veterinary care of the queens and litters. Spread across a small number of kittens a year, that is a real number — and it is the honest part of why a properly tested kitten does not cost the same as one from a seller who tested nothing.
This is the arithmetic behind the price ranges in what a Maine Coon actually costs, and the reason buyers who understand it stop treating a bargain as a bargain.
Making the spend visible
Testing you cannot document is testing you cannot get credit for. Dated results, naming the cat, from a named lab or cardiologist — that is what a wary buyer is actually looking for, and it is the first item on the checklist buyers judge you against.
Keep reading
The bar reputable Maine Coon breeders clear — documented health testing, a written contract, transparency, a traceable identity, a verifiable record.
Yes. UC Davis puts HCM incidence at 5.4% in Maine Coons without the A31P mutation and 5.4% in cats with it — the DNA test cannot see the heart.
An echocardiogram is a snapshot, not a certificate. Why breeding cats are rescreened on a schedule, and how to tell whether a result is still meaningful.
