Recently, I took Grand Champion Felisophic Sugar Daddy for a trip in his carrier. This time, it was not to a cat show. This time it was for an echocardiogram.  You see, an echocardiogram is the definitive way to ensure a cat does not have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). While RagaMuffin Sugar Daddy had a DNA test to rule out the gene that causes HCM in Ragdolls, I still want to dot the i’s and cross the t’s in order to make sure the breeding parents are as healthy as possible.

Sugar Daddy was a little nervous for the procedure, but purred and was amiable throughout. None of my cats have ever been problematic for this. It requires that a kitty lay on his or her side with front limbs outstretched. Sometimes they wiggle a bit as it gets uncomfortable for sure. Sugar Daddy needed a short break one time.

Generally the hair is wet down with alcohol. A gel is then used to help the transmission to the base unit via the ultrasound probe. It doesn’t hurt at all. No funny noises. The room is kept a bit dark to allow the doctor to better see the screen.

The bottom line is, the valves are checked along with measuring the thickness of the heart walls. Fortunately, Sugar Daddy was perfectly normal.