Create an account at basepaws.com and activate your CatKit upon its arrival. Shipping within the US is free.
Collect your cat's DNA sample by gently swabbing the inside of their cheek for 2-5 seconds.
Secure your sample within the return shipping box and mail it back to our lab. Free return shipping too!
We will send you a Basepaws CatKit for DNA sample collection. The kit consists of a single buccal swab for collecting your cat’s inner cheek cells. Detailed instructions on sample collection are printed on the inside of the kit. Please wait at least 1 hour after your cat has had anything to eat or drink before using the kit.
You will receive an email when your sample has reached our lab.
We will extract your cat’s DNA and perform quality checks.
We will prepare your cat’s DNA for WGS and perform a low-pass sequencing run to further assess the quality of the sample.
If your cat’s sample passes the sequencing quality check, we will proceed with high-depth whole genome sequencing of the sample.
Please allow up to 9 weeks to receive your data. If your sample fails any of our quality checks, you will be notified and advised on next steps.
High-depth WGS is the gold standard in genomics and is the most comprehensive way to obtain genetic information. It decodes 100% of the genome. In contrast, most commercially available DNA tests rely on a technology called DNA microarrays and typically decode only 0.01% - 0.02% of the genome. This means that with high-depth WGS, you will have access to ALL of your cat’s genomic data - a treasure trove for future discoveries as feline genetics progresses.
Technology used by most human and animal DNA testing services
A small, but consistent set of genetic markers is used for genotyping every sample
Missing genetic information
Low-pass whole genome sequencing + imputation
The genome is sequenced at a low depth, identifying a wide, but variable set of genetic markers
Genetic markers in areas of insufficient coverage are computationally imputed based on known patterns of marker co-inheritance
Computationally derived/ imputed genetic information
Technology used in Basepaws’ whole genome sequencing service
The complete genome is sequenced at a high depth (15X)
All genetic information is obtained
Available genetic information
Whole Genome Sequencing CatKit provides your cat's complete, future-proof genetic information, yielding roughly 10,000 times more raw data than other DNA tests. WGS captures complex genetic variants, many of which might be missed with other genotyping methods, for future exploration of your cat’s genetics. Once you received WGS CatKit in the mail, follow the detailed instructions for sample collection and barcode registration located on the inside of the CatKit box. After collecting your sample, send it back to us in the provided prepaid packaging. We will notify you via email once your sample is received.
Your report will be available in 6-9 weeks from the date your sample arrives at our laboratory. We are working on trying to shorten this time frame as much as possible. In the rare cases where a sample fails internal quality checks and needs to be reprocessed, we will contact you regarding the next steps.
Long-term, we plan to provide the results within 4 weeks.
Every sample helps us create the biggest database of feline genetic data and will contribute to new discoveries in feline health.
Breed is among our top priorities. We test by comparing your cat’s genetic DNA sample to our pedigreed cat database, as well as to all the other cat samples which we’ve received. Not all breeds are included (yet!), but we are working hard to quickly add as many as possible. As we expand our kitty community, your cat's report findings will continue to be refined. Take a look at our sample report to get an idea of what your cat’s report will look like, as well as our roadmap to see what your cat’s report will include in the future!
The wild cat index percentage is determined using the relative genetic similarity between all of the domestic cat samples we test and four big cats (Tiger, Leopard, Cheetah, Cougar). This means we measure how genomically similar your cat is to these wildcats when being compared to all other domestic cat samples in our database, not to the specific wildcat base pairs themselves. We plan to add additional big cats and expand this testing throughout the year.
Yes. For all orders in the continental U.S., a pre-paid return shipping label is included in every kit. Simply register your kit, swab your cat, and send it back to us.
*INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS outside of the U.S.: Return postage is NOT included.
Yes! We charge $15 for International shipping (return shipping NOT included).
PLEASE NOTE: We cannot guarantee that you will or will not be charged any customs taxes or duties. Any customs or import duties are charged once the parcel reaches its destination country. These charges must be paid by the recipient of the parcel. This applies only to International and Canadian orders.
Yes! Ping us at meow@basepaws.com and we will help you with that.
