Your opinion on breeders..

[my5kitties]

Originally Posted by marie73

By your abstract reasoning, though, getting a cat from a shelter would be supporting irresponsible people and back yard breeders.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Kimiko]

More often than not, the average person has no idea that they are contributing to the
problem, or that there is even a problem in the first place. I'm assuming most breeders know better, though.
I personally consider all breeding to be an irresponsible act, but even more so if said breeding is done in full knowledge of the facts. Ignoring the facts because they are "not your problem" is not what I call being responsible.

[marie73]

So you're blaming the shelters being full of abandoned and ill-bred kittens the fault of the responsible breeders?

Brilliant. Somewhere, there's a village.....

[Blakeney Green]

Originally Posted by Kimiko

More often than not, the average person has no idea that they are contributing to the
problem, or that there is even a problem in the first place. I'm assuming most breeders know better, though.
I personally consider all breeding to be an irresponsible act, but even more so if said breeding is done in full knowledge of the facts. Ignoring the facts because they are "not your problem" is not what I call being responsible.

It's not the kittens of responsible breeders who are ending up in shelters, though.

Someone who has the knowledge to seek out a responsible breeder and the qualifications to be allowed to purchase one of the kittens is looking for something specific, and wouldn't necessarily simply go to the animal shelter and settle for a different pet if that desire was thwarted, so it's not as simple as a direct correlation between purchases and potential adoptions.

[MowMow]

Originally Posted by Kimiko

I didn't ask to be here and I would rather not be here.

This can't possibly be true, otherwise you wouldn't be around to type that. More like a comment of someone who loves drama.

If people stopped adopting and ONLY got cats from responsible breeders, after a time there would be no need for shelters.

• There's be less people with cats, buying from a great breeder is expensive.
• A responsible breeder would be sure the kittens going to pet homes were spayed/neutered.
• A responsible breeder would offer a return policy, no questions asked for the life of the cat

Simplistic and ridiculous, I know, but more so than saying good (and I stress good) breeders are contributing to the problem.

[marie73]

Great post, Krissy!

I am not okay with it. I didn't ask to be here and I would rather not be here. What right do you have, really, to impose life upon someone who might grow up to not think it's all so wonderful?

Are you saying your parents were irresponsible breeders???

[spirite]

Personally, I will always adopt, and I understand the anti-breeder sentiment. Every now and then, I feel that way for a couple of seconds. But I also realize that there are beautiful breeds that we wouldn't want to lose, and that some people are just drawn to a particular breed. It's not any different than being drawn to a particular color or size or shape of DSH. I'm partial to tabbies, so how can I judge someone who's partial to Abyssinians, or Bengals, or whatever other breed?

What makes me a little squeamish, though, is the thought of breeding to satisfy human desires at the expense of the animal's health. I could be wrong, but aren't there a couple of breeds of dog that suffer from particular medical conditions or illnesses, like Pekinese?

[marie73]

There are lots of breeds in cats and dogs which include major health issues. English Bulldogs and Munchkin cats come to mind first. I don't think I'd ever buy from a breeder (price!!!), I'd probably go to a breed-specific rescue if I wanted another Birman. But again, the Birman would only be at a rescue because of its former owner, not the breeder.

[Arianwen]

If people only got cats from breeders - even responsible ones - some marvellous owners would be priced out of the market and those of us who would actually prefer to have a generic cat would be in difficulty. On average "moggies" (excluding those where in-breeding has occurred e.g. with some hoarders) are less prone to health problems - especially genetic ones and have longer life expectancies in like conditions than most pedigree stains. I have no problem at all with pedigree breeds (except as I said previously I fear them going the same way as many dog breeds are starting to go) but if any breed standard is actually to the detriment of the cat than it should be changed.

[marie73]

Well, the OP hasn't bothered to post, I think he has enough "opinions" for a while.