Pedigree analysis of Abyssinian cats with familial amyloidosis

Pedigrees of 62 Abyssinian cats with familial amyloidosis were compared with those of 100 Abyssinian cats registered with the Cat Fanciers Association. The inbreeding coefficients of the 2 samples of cats were not significantly different. Analysis of the pedigrees with respect to specific ancestors, however, showed that certain cats were significantly more common in the pedigrees of affected cats than in those of cats in the randomly selected sample. These data support a genetic basis for this disease, but do not allow determination of the mode of inheritance.