We are proud to partner with pet parents and with pet health professionals on research that delivers actionable knowledge to help people make empowered, proactive decisions for the health and well-being of their pets.
Help Basepaws help all cats by participating in genetics research that supports the development of affordable screening tests that are painless for cats and easy for cat parents to use for earlier detection of disease. These screening tests could provide more opportunities to address issues sooner with a veterinarian and implement a treatment plan that addresses a cat’s unique health needs.
Review the programs below to learn more about how you can participate in research that has the potential to create a healthier, happier future for cats everywhere.
Please fill out this form if your cat has any of the following conditions: Cancer, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), Obesity, Osteoarthritis, Idiopathic Cystitis, Oxalate Urolithiasis, and Struvite Urolithiasis.
Feline atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as feline atopy or non-flea non-food allergic dermatitis, is the second most common allergy in cats (after flea allergy dermatitis). Estimates reveal that this disease affects 12.5 percent of the domestic cat population. If your cat has been diagnosed with AD, their oral swab sample could help us to better understand the biology behind this highly prevalent disease.
CKD is a major feline health issue from which one in 30 cats suffer, often going undiagnosed in cats until the illness reaches a more advanced stage. If your cat has been diagnosed with CKD, especially before the age of five, we welcome your participation in this study.
Feline diabetes (Type II) is the second most common endocrine disorder in cats. Our research aims to better understand the genetic and oral microbiome factors associated with a cat’s increased risk for the disease. If your cat has been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, please consider applying to this program.
Food allergic dermatitis often presents with year-round skin inflammation and itching-related discomfort. Unfortunately, this condition is an increasingly common problem seen in cats. If your cat is suffering from food allergic dermatitis, we welcome you to participate in our study to help us better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with food allergies in cats.
Feline GI lymphoma is a notoriously hard-to-diagnose disease that is often confused with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If your cat has been diagnosed with B cell (large cell) or T cell (small cell) GI lymphoma, their sample can really make a difference in the development of better early detection screening tools for this disease.
Is your cat healthy? Basepaws is looking for cats that have not been diagnosed with any dental, chronic, or systemic diseases, and do not currently present with an active illness (or have within the last month). If your cat is one year of age or older and has received a clean bill of health from the veterinarian within the past six months, you may qualify for this feline health research effort.
IBD is a non-cancerous condition which causes chronic irritation and inflammation of a cat’s gastrointestinal tract. If your cat has been diagnosed with IBD, especially the idiopathic form, their oral swab sample could help us uncover genetic and microbiome factors associated with increased risk of developing IBD and improve capacity for earlier detection and accurate diagnoses of IBD.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the oldest cat on record lived to be 35 years old! We believe that a deeper understanding of the genetic factors that contribute to feline longevity may help increase a cat’s lifespan, but more importantly, do so in ways that enhance enjoyment of their golden years with fewer instances of pain and illness. There are ongoing studies focused on canine longevity, but no such studies exist for cats. If you have a cat aged 17 or older, they could be a perfect candidate for this groundbreaking research to help us better understand the genetic health markers associated with feline longevity.
Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the tissues that comprise a joint, such as cartilage, joint capsule, and surrounding bone. The joints most commonly affected in cats are the hip, knee, ankle, and elbow.
Stomatitis, also known as Feline Chronic Gingivostomatitis (FCGS), is a poorly understood dental disease that affects 0.7% to 10% of the general cat population. Basepaws is gathering DNA from cats with a stomatitis diagnosis to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors linked to this painful and debilitating disease.
Research results will help us add a new stomatitis risk assessment to our oral health test so that the disease can be detected earlier and help improve the prognosis for cats suffering from this condition.
Pet parents of qualifying cats will get a free cat Breed + Health DNA test to collect a sample, and a free Basepaws report to help you get to know your kitty better—inside and out! Shipping of a test is free both ways; however, Basepaws can only accommodate free shipping for cat parents based in the U.S.
"Basepaws is so grateful for our pet parent community of citizen scientists! Their participation in our research is helping to change the future of early detection and diagnosis of diseases in cats, one DNA sample at a time."
Humans and cats share over 90% of their DNA! This makes cats a great model for understanding many human genetic conditions. However, the genomic connection works the other way around as well. We can use findings from human centenarian studies to inform our search for genetic variants associated with longer lifespan in cats.
Basepaws is a Zoetis company that provides DNA and oral microbiome screening tests for both common dental diseases and inherited genetic conditions. It also conducts clinical research on the state of the oral microbiome as a powerful indicator of dental conditions and other common diseases in both dogs and cats.
Basepaws is actively recruiting veterinary partners to help recruit pet DNA samples for the feline and canine programs listed below.
A simple swab of a patient’s mouth at the clinic collects genetic information on risk for potentially developing disease, as well as data on oral microbial communities that points toward a current, active disease state. The interplay between host genetics and the oral microbiome opens up a new area of research that can support earlier detection of disease in cats and dogs.
Basepaws also collaborates on a range of custom research recruitment and discovery partnerships with veterinarians, labs, and universities that are tailored to specific parameters. Reach out to us at science@basepaws.com to learn more.
Basepaws is currently running a clinical recruitment trial to collect samples from cats with tooth resorption and/or stomatitis. The goal of this research is to improve the overall sensitivity and specificity of the Basepaws oral health test and to also include a new stomatitis risk assessment.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ stomatitis & tooth resorption program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline tooth resorption and stomatitis cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Basepaws is conducting clinical studies to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with feline and canine atopic dermatitis. Study results could inform the development of a a new oral swab test that could reliably distinguish between atopy and food allergic dermatitis in cats and dogs. Such a test has the potential to streamline clinical diagnosis so that pets can receive individualized treatment and experience improved quality of life sooner.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ atopic dermatitis program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine atopic dermatitis cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Basepaws is conducting clinical studies to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with feline and canine chronic kidney disease (CKD). The nonspecific symptoms of CKD in the early stages that are easily missed until the disease reaches an advanced stage underscores the need for screening tools that detect signs of active disease sooner, giving veterinarians a wider range of intervention and individualized treatment options for their patients.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ CKD program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine CKD cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Canine diabetes (mostly Type I) has increased 80 percent since 2006, and its prevalence continues to rise. Early stage symptoms can be easily missed and/or attributed to other causes, and as with cats, diagnosis relies on multiple tests to consistently track elevated blood and urine glucose levels. Early detection can lead to more timely treatment and improved life expectancy.
Basepaws is conducting clinical studies to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with canine Type I diabetes. The study complements our clinical research with Anivive Lifesciences (on Type II feline diabetes), which aims to advance the development of new, targeted and potentially disease-modifying therapies, as well as genetics-based screening tools for diabetes.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ diabetes program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of canine Type I diabetes cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Basepaws is conducting clinical studies to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with food allergies in dogs and cats. Study results could inform the development of a a new oral swab test that could reliably distinguish between atopy and food allergic dermatitis in cats and dogs. Such a test
has the potential to streamline clinical diagnosis so that pets can receive individualized treatment and experience improved quality of life sooner.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ food allergic dermatitis program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine food allergic dermatitis cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma is notoriously hard to diagnose and is often confused with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Basepaws is conducting clinical studies to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with feline and canine GI lymphoma.
Data from this research could inform development of new screening tools and yield new insights for more targeted interventions. Since it is challenging to accurately distinguish between IBD and GI lymphoma with physical exams and diagnostic procedures (e.g., ultrasounds) alone, research results could inform development of a new non-invasive and painless oral microbiome screening test. Such a test holds promise for streamlining diagnosis and implementing treatment that is appropriate and targeted for either IBD or GI lymphoma.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ GI lymphoma program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine GI lymphoma cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Basepaws is conducting clinical research to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with feline and canine inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since it is challenging to accurately distinguish between IBD and GI lymphoma with physical exams and diagnostic procedures (e.g., ultrasounds) alone, research results could inform development of a new non-invasive and painless oral microbiome screening test. Such a test holds promise for streamlining diagnosis and implementing treatment that is appropriate and targeted for either IBD or GI lymphoma.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ IBD program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine IBD cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Periodontal disease is a dental condition that is hard to detect in the early stages, making it difficult to diagnose and treat before it leads to tooth loss or other potentially serious health problems.
Basepaws is conducting clinical research on the state of the oral microbiome as a powerful indicator of periodontal disease in both dogs and cats. This research will help improve the overall sensitivity and specificity of the Basepaws oral health test for cats and inform the development of a new oral health test for dogs.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ periodontal disease program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine periodontal disease cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the tissues that comprise a joint, such as cartilage, joint capsule, and surrounding bone. The joints most commonly affected in cats are the hip, knee, ankle, and elbow.
According to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the primary cause of OA often cannot be identified in cats, and the disease is less well understood compared to dogs. Basepaws is conducting clinical research to better understand the genetics and oral microbiome factors that may be associated with feline and canine OA. Results could inform the development of a new early detection screening tool to detect signs of OA sooner, giving veterinarians a wider range of intervention and individualized treatment options for their patients.
3 Easy Steps to Participate
All oral swab kits are provided and compensation is offered for every sample that matches Basepaws’ osteoarthritis program criteria. We provides a straightforward process to participate with three easy steps:
- Follow a simple study protocol to collect oral swab samples from qualifying patients,
- Fill out basic screening form for each sample, and
- Share patients’ clinical records.
If you are a veterinary professional in a practice with a prevalence of feline and/or canine osteoarthritis cases, Basepaws welcomes you to join this clinical research program.
“Feline diabetes is a growing problem, but available treatments are expensive and rely mostly on symptom control through insulin therapy and dietary management. There is currently no clear understanding of the contribution of genetic factors to feline diabetes. Our work with Basepaws offers cat owners the opportunity to take a direct role in developing genetics-based precision medicine tools aiming to improve and extend the lives of diabetic cats.”
