An at-home cat or dog DNA test kit promises to give pet owners clarity on a heap of important health data, like breed ancestry, blood type, and health risks. To access this info, owners just swab the inside of their pet’s mouth, seal the sample in a prepaid-postage envelope, and wait (for up to five weeks) for results to be sent to their inbox. Each company has a testing lab, and the results live in your online account, where they can be downloaded and even shared with your vet.
But because of several factors, such as sample size and comparison, these tests often give dramatically different results for things like genetic ancestry and breed traits (more on that below).
I tested several at-home DNA test kits, including two of the most popular kits—Basepaws ($104) and Wisdom Panel ($97)—on my two adult cats and talked to several animal experts to get insights into these tests—and whether they are worth your money, given the large disparity in results. Think of this as the WIRED guide to the increasingly popular at-home pet DNA test.
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Easiest Interface
In my research, I've found that people widely consider Wisdom Panel the most trusted at-home pet DNA test kit (along with dog-only Embark, which former WIRED reviewer Julia Forbes tested below).
Wisdom Panel offers several kits for dogs (listed below) but only one test for cats. It can identify more than 70 breeds, includes 45 health tests, determines blood type, and screens for more than 25 traits. It even provides a genetic consult for “at-risk” health findings and shows what the pet's family tree might look like based on DNA results. I especially liked that it tests for the most common conditions seen in cats or dogs with a similar breed makeup to your pet (based on the DNA sample), including important markers like drug sensitivity, immune deficiency, and bleeding disorders. It also identified the cat’s blood type (both of my cats were A) and transfusion risk (both were moderate).
The results arrived live online in my Wisdom Panel account within three weeks of mailing them. I really appreciated the interface, which was organized into clickable tabs that made the information easier to access and navigate. Plus, based on appearance alone, my cat Clover's DNA results seemed most accurate with this test (below). I also tested my run-of-the-mill gray tabby cat, Basil, but on all tests—including Wisdom Panel—he was almost entirely labeled as an “American domestic cat” and “polycat/domestic shorthair." That's basically the mutt final boss, a result of many generations of mixed breeding among different cat types, where ancestry and origin are almost impossible to determine.
Most In-Depth Results
WIRED reviewed Basepaws over half a decade ago, and a lot has changed since then. Basepaws offers a single breed and health test for cats that identifies up to 21 breeds, 64 genetic health markers, 50 genetic trait markers, blood type, and oral health. The wait time for results is five weeks, and when I first sent my cat Basil's test in, they couldn't extract enough DNA, so I had to send another sample and wait another five weeks. Rather than an easily digestible interactive screen with information like Wisdom Panel, Basepaws gives you essentially a mini book PDF to scroll through to find information. It feels more in-depth than Wisdom Panel, but it is also harder to disseminate the large pile of information.
Basepaws tests genes for markers associated with disorders in musculoskeletal and connective tissue; eyes; metabolic, autoimmune, and endocrine systems; blood; and more. Both of my cats, Clover and Basil, were cleared of any genes that would mark them as potential carriers of genetic diseases. It also identified blood type and transfusion risk, which were A and moderate (the same results I got with Wisdom Panel’s test).
Basepaws tests for oral health by comparing against an oral microbiome database. In this regard, Basepaws wins out. Dental health is a major concern for me, and I love that Basepaws screens for it and provides an oral health report (I have since started brushing my cats' teeth). My cat Basil was at high risk for all dental markers like halitosis, tooth resorption, and periodontal disease. Basepaws developed a health plan for him: “Adopt a daily oral health care routine, consider supplementing Basil’s routine with products accepted by the Veterinary Oral Health Council, and schedule an appointment with your veterinarian in the next month.” Although I was alarmed by the results, I appreciated that Basepaws provided recommended next steps so I could develop a plan of action for care. And it’s important to remember that these results don’t necessarily mean a pet is guaranteed to develop the disease.
"These can be a helpful flag for your veterinarian to keep an eye on [...] but do not necessarily mean aggressive testing is needed at that moment,” says Jamie Richardson, head of veterinary medicine at Small Door Veterinary. “DNA tests are tools to support—not replace—veterinary care.”
Some of the other Basepaws results, particularly the genetic and physical markers, seem off. Like Wisdom Panel, white calico Clover was marked as “likely” to be black in color, and none of the ancestral DNA breeds matched across tests for Clover.
Another Cat DNA Test Kit I Tested
Koko Genetics was a new name to me, but it offers a similar service to the two major brands above, with tests for both cats and dogs in “starter” basic and “advanced” kits. I tested the latter, which provides additional health insights by screening for genetic disorders or abnormalities. The process is exactly the same as with the other kits, where you swab your cat's mouth, register your kit online, and mail the results. The Koko Genetics interface wouldn't allow me to register two kits with different cats under the same login/username, so I had to create two separate accounts with two different emails, which was a slight pain. The results also took surprisingly long—it took over five weeks from mailing to being acknowledged as received, and an additional five weeks to get results.
This interface was the least user-friendly of all I tested, and many of the default options were in Spanish with no English options. The site where you access results is a little bare-bones, with additional information available if you click the tab. I found that much of the health trait info was scientific jargon, and I had to do further research to understand it. Clover was flagged as having a copy of the Acute Intermittent Porphyria (Variant 3) gene mutation, which can cause discolored teeth and urine and may lead to other health problems. Luckily, Clover has just one copy of the mutation and will not develop the disease, but she can transmit the mutation to her offspring. (She's spayed, so that is not a potential issue.) Wisdom Panel also tests for this, and she was not flagged as carrying it in that test.
Both cats were negative for all physical traits except black coat (which neither has), and I didn't find the info really helpful or interesting. There's also a family tree option, like Wisdom Panel's, where you can see what the previous generations' breed or coloring might've been.
Best Dog DNA Test Kit
One of my family’s favorite pastimes is placing low-stakes bets on the breeds that make up our beloved rescue dogs. Usually we’re wildly off with our estimates. For my dog Randy, all we knew was that he was a Chihuahua mix. The Embark DNA kit is the dog equivalent of Ancestry DNA for humans, given how detailed it is. The test kit uses a saliva sample, and you ship it off for processing. Within three weeks, we found out Randy had quite the cocker spaniel lineage, with show-dog cousins across the country (Princess Elysia