Basepaws Review: Is the Cat DNA Test Worth It?

Basepaws legitimacy and licensing

Yes. Basepaws Inc. was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles by Anna Skaya and was bought by Zoetis, the world’s largest animal health company, in a deal that closed on June 22, 2022. Its terms of service now give its address as ‘Zoetis c/o Basepaws, 333 Portage St, Kalamazoo, MI 49007’, which is Zoetis’s global headquarters. The lab work, the swab kit and the online report are real, and the company has been selling cat tests for eight years.

What the public records show is a weak customer service track record rather than fraud. The BBB profile is not accredited and rated D+, with 8 complaints in the last three years and 5 customer reviews. Trustpilot shows 2.2 out of 5 from only 8 reviews, 88% of them one star, and the company has not replied to them. Complaints are about slow results, failed samples and breed results owners did not believe, not about charges without delivery.

Basepaws pricing explained

The Breed + Health Cat DNA Test lists at $159 and was on sale for $103.99 in October 2026. It includes breed similarity against 21 breeds, 64 genetic health markers linked to 43 conditions, 50 trait markers, genetic blood type and an oral health report. The Oral Health Test for Cats alone is $99. Whole Genome Sequencing is $499 ($100 off two kits, $250 off three) and adds raw genome data on a thumb drive and lifetime report updates, with a 9 to 12 week turnaround. The Breed + Health Dog DNA Test lists at $149 and was $74.99 on sale.

Sales run constantly, so the list price is rarely what people pay, and Basepaws will only price-match within 48 hours of your order. Amazon and Chewy also sell the kits; returns for those go through the retailer, not Basepaws.

What the Basepaws report does and does not tell you

The health section is the useful part. It screens 64 markers tied to 43 conditions, including polycystic kidney disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and progressive retinal atrophy, and reports whether your cat carries the variant. The oral health section estimates risk for periodontal disease, tooth resorption and bad breath from the sample’s microbiome. Blood type matters if your cat ever needs a transfusion.

The breed section is a similarity score, not ancestry. Basepaws compares your cat’s DNA with 21 breeds in its reference database and reports which it most resembles, grouped by region. Most domestic cats are not descended from any breed, so a ‘mostly Western’ result with small percentages of several breeds is normal and does not mean your cat has a Maine Coon grandparent. The company’s own terms say the service is ‘not designed or intended to identify the breed of a pet’, and its help center says it does not determine pedigree or purebred status. If breed is your question, that is the wrong product.

Everything is labeled educational. The terms say results are not a substitute for a veterinarian’s clinical judgment, and a positive marker should be confirmed by your vet with imaging or a targeted test before any treatment decision.

Complaints and how to avoid problems

Three complaint patterns show up across Trustpilot, the BBB and retailer reviews. The first is time: Basepaws quotes 4 to 6 weeks from the day the lab receives the sample, so with shipping both ways plan on two months, and reviewers describe waits of three to four months during busy periods. Register the kit online before mailing it and keep the tracking number so you can prove when it arrived.

The second is failed samples. Cheek swabs collect less DNA than blood, and a cat that just ate or drank gives a poor sample. Swab for the full time in the instructions, at least 30 minutes after food, and seal the tube right away. After two failed runs Basepaws sends a free replacement kit; if you decline, you get a refund less shipping, handling and processing.

The third is breed results owners do not believe, including purebred cats matched to other breeds. That is a limit of similarity testing against 21 breeds, and Basepaws will not refund an order because a breed or marker you expected was not tested. Decide before buying whether you are paying for health data or breed curiosity.

Returns and refunds

For kits bought directly from basepaws.com, the help center allows returns of unopened kits within 120 days of purchase, and refunds to the original purchaser within 120 days of the order. If you cancel before the full processing period is done, Basepaws keeps $15 per test for kit materials and shipping. Once a sample has been processed, a full refund ends your access to the online report. The terms of service give a shorter 30-day window for returning an unused kit at your cost, so email support first and get the window confirmed in writing.

Kits bought on Amazon are returned through Amazon. Purchases from unauthorized resellers are not covered at all.

What rules apply to pet DNA tests

Consumer pet genetic tests are not regulated as veterinary diagnostics by the FDA or USDA, and no US agency reviews their accuracy claims before sale. That is why Basepaws, like its competitors, labels results as educational and tells you to see a vet. Published research on pet breed tests is thin, and accuracy depends on how many reference cats of each breed are in the company’s database. The FTC’s ordinary rules against deceptive advertising still apply, and your state attorney general and the BBB take complaints about undelivered results or refunds.

Who should skip Basepaws

Skip it if the question is ‘what breed is my cat’, since the test compares against only 21 breeds and the company says it is not a breed identification or pedigree test. Skip it if you need an answer within a month, or if you already know the one condition you are worried about, because a single-gene test ordered through your vet is faster and cheaper. It fits owners who want a broad health and dental risk screen for a cat of unknown background and can wait.