Maine coon cats are known as great mousers, popular farm cats and, of course, for their enormous size. The New England breed is a really big cat and can weigh up to 19 pounds and grow up to 40 inches in length. Janson fell in love with these animals more than 25 years ago bringing them into her Cincinnati suburban home to become part of her family.

"Maine coon cats are beautiful animals," she says. "They have great personalities with dog-like characteristics, coming when called. They are intelligent, lovable lap cats. There is no cat like them in my estimation."

Her cats learned to open cabinets, fetch pens and one of her Maine coon cats she trained to use the toilet. "There was a book out about how to train your cat to do this," says Janson. "I worked with him and he just took to it. It sounds funny but he was unbelievable."

Janson became alarmed when one of her pets, Reggie, a blond purebred Maine Coon, was suddenly diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), commonly known as an enlarged heart, in March 2017. HCM leads to thickening of the muscle walls of the heart causing heart failure or other complications such as blood clots in major blood vessels over time. About 30% of Maine coon cats have a genetic mutation that predisposes them to HCM.

Desperate to save her beloved pet, Jason researched the topic and stumbled upon a research article discussing a drug known as Mavacamten (MYK-461) and a role it might play in addressing feline HCM. Sakthivel Sadayappan, Ph.D., professor in the UC College of Medicine and shown in the photo above, was listed as editor of the article. Sadly, Reggie died of congestive heart failure in April 2017 at age three. The Jasons owned a 10-year-old cat, Nigel, who was related to Reggie and they worried he might also have the HCM gene mutation.