Havana Brown care: urinary stones, heart health and grooming

Havana Browns were one of eight breeds with an increased risk of calcium oxalate urinary stones in 17 years of records from the Minnesota Urolith Center, which compared more than 7,800 cats with oxalate stones against over 150,000 cats without urinary disease. For a breed this rare, that finding shapes feeding more than anything else. The Cat Fanciers' Association describes the Havana Brown as a medium-sized, moderately active and people-oriented cat. It traces the breed to English fanciers who crossed Siamese with black domestic shorthairs after the Second World War, looking for a solid brown cat of Siamese type. The CFA accepted it for registration in 1959.

Calories and feeding

Nutritionally a Havana Brown is an ordinary medium-sized cat. The Merck Veterinary Manual estimates a cat's resting energy requirement (RER) as 70 × body weight in kg to the power 0.75 and multiplies it by 1.2 for a neutered adult, 1.4 for an intact adult and 1.0 for a cat prone to obesity. Kittens get 2.5 × RER or can be fed free choice.

A neutered indoor adult usually belongs toward the lower column, and the right amount is whatever keeps the ribs easy to feel under a thin layer of fat with a visible waist. Because of the stone risk, a large share of the diet as wet food makes sense for this breed even before any problem appears. Water fountains, several water bowls and water added to kibble all raise intake further.

Calcium oxalate stones

Cats form two main types of urinary stone, and they behave very differently. Struvite can often be dissolved with a special diet. Calcium oxalate cannot. The ACVIM consensus recommendations on uroliths state that oxalate stones are not amenable to medical dissolution and that more than 90% of kidney and ureteral stones in cats are made of calcium oxalate. Small bladder stones can sometimes be flushed out or retrieved without surgery. Larger ones, and stones blocking a ureter, need procedures, so the aim for an at-risk breed is to make stones less likely in the first place.

For cats that have had oxalate stones, the consensus panel recommends:

• Dilute urine. High-moisture food (over 75% water), or enough water added to dry food to match it, aiming for a urine specific gravity below 1.030.
• No urine acidification. Diets that produce acidic urine in cats (pH below 6.25) have been associated with oxalate stones, so urinary foods designed to dissolve struvite are the wrong choice here.
• No excess protein. In one study, raising dietary protein in cats from 35% to 57% of dry matter increased urine calcium by 35% and cut urine citrate, which helps inhibit stones, by 45%.
• Potassium citrate for cats whose urine stays acidic, prescribed and monitored by the vet.
• Salty dry food is not a substitute for wet food. It increases urine output, but the effect appears to fade within months.

The panel also advises checking blood calcium in any cat with oxalate stones, since high blood calcium is one of the drivers. Calcium supplements have no place in a complete diet. Straining in the litter box, frequent small urinations, blood in the urine or peeing outside the tray need a vet visit. A cat, especially a male, that strains and produces nothing may be blocked and needs emergency care the same day.

Heart health

Evidence that Havana Browns are especially prone to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is lacking. Cardiomyopathies are common in cats generally, though, and the ACVIM consensus statement on feline cardiomyopathies notes that the disease ranges from cats that live a normal lifespan to cats that develop heart failure, blood clots or sudden death. A murmur, a gallop sound or an irregular rhythm found at a check-up is a reason to ask about an echocardiogram.

Taurine is often linked with heart health in cats, but its role is specific. Cats must get it from their diet, and a deficiency causes dilated cardiomyopathy, a weak and enlarged heart, rather than HCM. Clinical cases have fallen markedly since the link with taurine-deficient diets was recognized, and complete and balanced commercial foods contain enough. Omega-3 supplements, L-carnitine and sodium restriction may be part of treatment for a cat with diagnosed heart disease. Evidence that they protect a healthy cat is lacking.

The brown coat and grooming

The Havana's coat is short, silky and a rich, even brown, and the CFA notes that even the whiskers are brown. Coat color depends on melanin, which the body makes from the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. In feeding trials with black cats, diets low in tyrosine turned black hair reddish-brown, and diets high in tyrosine or phenylalanine kept or restored the black color. The researchers concluded that the amounts needed for full melanin production are higher than the recommended minimums for cats. Those trials used purified experimental diets in black cats, not Havana Browns on commercial food. Still, a Havana whose coat turns rusty is worth discussing with the vet, together with a look at the diet.

Grooming is light. The CFA says the coat is not prone to heavy shedding and suggests a soft bristle brush, a rubber brush for a full rubdown two or three times a month, and a chamois cloth for shine. Regular bathing is not needed unless the cat is shown.

Dental care

Nothing specific is published about dental disease in Havana Browns, but periodontal disease and tooth resorption are common in cats of all breeds. Brushing with a cat toothpaste, introduced gradually while the cat is young, is the most effective home care. Dental treats and diets can help, but they add calories that need counting. A yearly dental check is sensible, and drooling, bad breath, pawing at the mouth or dropping food point to a painful mouth that needs attention sooner. A mostly wet diet for urinary health does not rule out good dental care; brushing works regardless of food texture.

A small gene pool

The Havana Brown started from a limited pool of early crosses, and it remains rare enough that, as the CFA breed profile notes, finding a breeder at a local show may not be possible. To widen the gene pool, the CFA put a regulated outcrossing program in place in 2019. It allows Havanas to be bred to certain Oriental Shorthairs, seal point or chocolate point Siamese, and unregistered black or blue domestic shorthairs, with offspring bred back to Havanas, and it relies on genetic testing of breeding cats. Anyone buying a kitten can ask which health and genetic tests the parents have had and how related they are.

Sources

1. Association between patient-related factors and risk of calcium oxalate and magnesium ammonium phosphate urolithiasis in cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2000.
2. Havana Brown. The Cat Fanciers' Association.
3. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
4. ACVIM small animal consensus recommendations on the treatment and prevention of uroliths in dogs and cats. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2016.
5. ACVIM consensus statement guidelines for the classification, diagnosis, and management of cardiomyopathies in cats. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2020.
6. Echocardiographic evidence for myocardial failure induced by taurine deficiency in domestic cats. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, 1994.
7. Effect of low levels of dietary tyrosine on the hair colour of cats. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 2001.