[talula379]

I thought I'd throw my two cents into the ring. I work at an Animal Shelter that currently is housing around 75 cats and kittens (not to mention quite a few dogs as well). I've always been curious if those who breed their animals are oblivious to the statistics or truly don't care about the welfare of animals. Consider some of these facts released by the Humane Society of the United States:

-In seven years one female cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens.
-Every day in the US, tens of thousands of puppies and kittens are born. Compare this to the 11,000 human births each day, and you can see that there can never be enough homes for all these pets.
-Spaying and neutering help pets live longer and healthier lives, and reduces the risk of health problems cats can develop including certain types of cancer.

I urge you, if you consider yourselves true cat lovers, think of why you breed. Sure, kittens are cute and purebreds are beautiful. But take a trip down to your local animal shelter and think of all of the cats and kittens that already are waiting for homes. Think of what might happen to them if someone chooses to adopt from you rather than take home an older less-than-purebred cat from the shelter. Can you live with the fact that one of your kitten's kittens might end up in a place like that - loved by staff but ignored by the public and forever denied a loving home? I don't mean to get preachy but it just seems to me that breeders don't seem to understand the large-scale long-term consequences of their actions. I would love to hear back from everyone who reads this - I am not closed minded and want to hear what you think of this. Although I would love to change minds please try to change mine as well. I'd love to get a discussion going.

Thank you for listening,
talula379

 

[DylansMummy]

I agree and I don't agree at the same time...

Breeders breed cats not for the **** of it, they do so because of demand. I have yet to meet a breeder who doesn't find a home for a litter of kittens and if for some reason some of the litter cannot go to a new home they keep them (assuming they are good well established breeders anyway). The show ring and other breeders and lovers of breeds mean that purebreds will never NOT be in demand.

However I do not understand why some cat owners do NOT spay and neuter when they obviously have no intention of breeding legitmately.

I personally own a purebred and do so because of the nature of the breed and also because I would like to have a go at showing when he is older. I have previously owned a "moggy" cat and maybe will do again someday, but I think it's a tad unfair to start bashing breeders.

Good breeders care for the cats they own and wish to better the breed. Programmes are set and followed to ensure that no cat/kitten is harmed or left without a home. This I think should be respected.

and thats my tuppence worth lol

Hayley x

 

[jonsgirl]

I agree with with Dylansmummy....if you are NOT a legitimate breeder then you should spay or neuter your cat. Of course there are those "crazy" folks that run puppy mills and stuff like that but thats a whole different story.

The many points that talula brought up reiterate this. I dont see any reason for people to keep their animals unaltered.

 

[queen of the nile]

I just want to assert first that this is just my opinion. I honestly feel that *no one* should breed until the cat overpopulation problem is under control. I know that purebreds are beautiful, but I feel it is selfish for people to breed cats. I understand that it is noble for people to want to breed in order to better that breed of cat, but I feel it is far nobler to focus on animal rescue and finding the unwanted cats homes first. I feel that for every kitten produced by a breeder, that is one kitten from a shelter that is being denied a home. I understand that my opinion may seem harsh, but they put down 20 cats a week in my home town. All of them are wonderful, beautiful animals but there just isn't enough room.

 

[Payge]

I disagree, breeders perform a valuable service. With shelter cats (and no im not against shelter cats, I got Chaos from a very high-kill shelter) you don't know a lot of things about the cat you are getting, what their parents personalities and health inssues were for instance. With breeders (good breeders, I assume we arent discussing puppy and kitty mills) you get to actually see and meet the parents, you know what breed you are getting and what the typical behaviors/personalities etc they will most likely exibit.

I for one love the uniqueness of each and every cat breed, if breeders were to all stop doing what they do there really wouldnt be any cat "breeds" any more, they would all be a mish mosh of everything. As with dogs, cats usually have a certain temperment etc associated with the breed, someone looking for a laid back cat for instance would head towards the persians etc, someone looking for a kitteny cat thats always ready to play would go for a bengal.

I truly believe in what the shelters/humane societies are doing, I regularly donated to the humane society in charlotte, BUT I don't think its fair to start bashing the breeders and making them feel guilty for doing somthing to better a breed and preserve the uniqueness that is each breed of cat.

The biggest part of the problem is people who are irresponsible pet owners, the ones who get a cat out of a box outside the grocery store when its a kitten cause its cute, feed it supermarket off brand crap, never take it to the vet, never get it spayed/neutered, then dump it somewhere when they get tired of it and its no longer a kitten. Until you stop THOSE people, please don't even try and make me or anyone else feel guilty for wanting to be a responsible breeder.

 

[queen of the nile]

Please don't think I am trying to make reputable breeders feel guilty. I am not "bashing" anyone. I've already stated that it is just my opinion and in no way am I trying to change your mind. It's just how *I* feel and so *I* would definately never consider breeding or getting a purebred from a breeder. It goes against *my* values. I don't expect anyone else to feel the same as you are entitled to your own opinion.

 

[Padunk]

While some of your points may be sensible, I don't think it's fair to call out all breeders and say they don't care about the well-being of animals.

While it's true that breeders don't necessarily help the cat overpopulation problem, they really don't make a dent when it comes to the massive numbers of animals that are euthanized every day. I think more energy, time, effort, and money needs to be spent on educating the general public about spaying and neutering their pets rather than let them run free and breed many times over.

Besides, if breeders were to stop breeding, what happens if (that's a big if) the cat overpopulation problem is solved? What happens to all of those beautiful breeds?

On a personal note, while I absolutely adore certain purebred cats, (Siamese, Tonkinese, and Maine Coon's to name a few...) I'm not sure I could actually purchase one from a breeder. I know those cats will find homes simply because of how much they are "worth". I'd rather save shelter kitties and those poor cats that are "free to a good home". :?

 

[Sol]

I personally think that breeders do a lot of good. I breed myself, I live in Sweden and we do not have the same problems with homeless cats as you do do in the US.

Personally I breed healthy cats and I've adopted one homeless cat (I don't dare to adopt more moggies since I'm allergic, I breed Devon Rex). But I do help my local shelter with money and food and I inform all of my buyers that they have to neuter their cats and 'til this day all of the cats that's not been sold to breeders have been neutered.

Breeders don't only work in one way (producing kittens). I know many breeders who adopt cats from shelters and they help shelters in many other ways.

Breeders and shelters can work together and I believe that's the best solution.

 

[Ioana]

I agree with Queen of the Nile on this issue and just like her I don't mean to be harsh at all.
If the process stopped a lot of the people that adopt the purebreads will turn their heads and adopt from shelter. And as for the cat's background -when we adopt a pet we should take full responsability and work with them. They are as children - we need to impose limits by offering alternatives to destructive behaviour. There are so many sites, so much material with information on how to train our pets so it is all about the effort we are willing to put in in order to better our relationship with our pet
I also do not find any excuse for anybody that abandons or puts their animal to sleep unless it is an extreme situation and all possibilities of saving the pet are opted out - it is heartbreaking to see pets going from home to home and then back to the shelter because it didn't work out. Everybody should put into balance the pros and the cons before adopting so it would save the animal a lot of stress.

There is not enough money or interest at this point to invest into saving the cats at the shelters so while others are bread the unfortunate ones are being put to sleep or lead miserable lives because of irresponsible ownership that lead them to live in the streets or shelters.
After all this situation is solved the breeding process can be started over - especially in countries like the USA where there are so many "homeless"cats
Please have in mind that I am thinking about the cats while expressing my point of view - I don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings

 

[cheesensweets]

I also agree with the original poster as well. This has been a HUGE pet peeve of mine for quite a while. Personally, I would never "pay" for a cat and have always gotten my cats from a shelter. Sure, I don't know the parents or their behavior, etc. but I took my chances because my heart was in it to rescue them and provide a loving home. I had one rough experience with a cat I adopted from a shelter about 17 years ago. Upon bringing him to the vet's for a checkup soon after adopting him, it was discovered that he was infested with fleas and they were just about sucking the blood right out of him. After a one-day stay at the veternarian's office, he came home and grew to be a wonderful cat. Did I care that I spent money to get him the proper care he needed? Absoutely not. Did I care that he wasn't "perfect"? No way. Would I do it again? Most definitely. If it's in your heart to truly help animals, you will find a way. It doesn't matter where the cat has been, really, it matters where its future lies.

Regarding breeding because it is "in demand", I personally think it's a shame. There are a lot of things in demand in this world but it doesn't make it right. Heroin is in demand - does that make it right for addicts to use it, buy it off the streets, etc? Designer babies are in demand. Again, does it make it right to do it just because of that reason? Talk a walk around an animal shelter and you'll see the word "demand" in a whole different perspective.

I also agree that not enough emphasis is out there regarding spaying and neutering animals. I think some people are just utterly clueless or just don't care at all. They think it's "cute" to have a kitten and then think it's "cute" that they let it go outside and the next thing you know, the cat comes home pregnant. Or the people who let their cat get pregnant so the cat can "experience motherhood". I personally want to choke these people.

For some people, perhaps it's monetary reasons that keep them from getting their cat fixed. Who knows. If the money spent on breeding was put towards efforts to help fix more cats perhaps we wouldn't have such over-populated shelters. It breaks my heart to think of how many cats are put to sleep each day because they're not "pure" and just not "good enough".


I think I'll go home and hug my "shelter" kitties extra tonight.

 

[queen of the nile]

Padunk, I hope you were not referring to my post when you stated this:

While some of your points may be sensible, I don't think it's fair to call out all breeders and say they don't care about the well-being of animals.

I never said they don't care about the well-being of animals, I just don't agree with breeding because the cat population is out of control. What I mean by selfish of course, is probably different than your definition. Just as I feel it is selfish to breed cats, I also feel it is selfish to not volunteer or to spend money on extravagant things when so many people are starving. (My boyfriend and I had an arguement where I refused to ever install expensive wood bannisters in a house because I'd rather use the money to feed the hungry :lol: )

 

[doodles]

[b]Re: Message to all breeders [/b]- PLEASE READ

I thought I'd throw my two cents into the ring. I work at an Animal Shelter that currently is housing around 75 cats and kittens (not to mention quite a few dogs as well). I've always been curious if those who breed their animals are oblivious to the statistics or truly don't care about the welfare of animals.

I urge you, if you consider yourselves true cat lovers, think of why you breed. Sure, kittens are cute and purebreds are beautiful. But take a trip down to your local animal shelter and think of all of the cats and kittens that already are waiting for homes. Think of what might happen to them if someone chooses to adopt from you rather than take home an older less-than-purebred cat from the shelter. Can you live with the fact that one of your kitten's kittens might end up in a place like that - loved by staff but ignored by the public and forever denied a loving home? I don't mean to get preachy but it just seems to me that breeders don't seem to understand the large-scale long-term consequences of their actions. I would love to hear back from everyone who reads this - I am not closed minded and want to hear what you think of this. Although I would love to change minds please try to change mine as well. I'd love to get a discussion going.

Thank you for listening,
talula379

I work at an Animal Shelter that currently is housing around 75 cats and kittens (not to mention quite a few dogs as well).

I wish our shelter could house that many cats. We have room for eight in cages and three or four in the small "play room". Of course, up to three kittens can be in a cage - but then that bumps the adults off the adoption floor.

I've always been curious if those who breed their animals are oblivious to the statistics or truly don't care about the welfare of animals.


Some are - some don't. Responsible, ethical breeders aren't among those.



I urge you, if you consider yourselves true cat lovers, think of why you breed.

Ethical, responsible breeders work to keep lines true, to further the advancement of a breed, and to offer quality pets and show hopefuls. If there were no responsible breeders how would any true, good breed line survive?



But take a trip down to your local animal shelter and think of all of the cats and kittens that already are waiting for homes.

Breeders do "make" animals, though it is rarely true that the breeder is responsible for placing an animal in a shelter because there was no home available for it. Sure, BYBs do, but I'm speaking of the responsible, ethical breeders. This is one of those grey areas: Should a breeder be responsible for an animal being put in a shelter? If so, should the euthanasia tech be responsible for the animals death? There is a "middleman" - namely, the owner of the animal.




Can you live with the fact that one of your kitten's kittens might end up in a place like that - loved by staff but ignored by the public and forever denied a loving home?

I have to ask, without meaning to be harsh - why does the responsibility (as projected by your post and feelings shown) land on the breeder and not the owner that surrenders the animal?



I don't mean to get preachy but it just seems to me that breeders don't seem to understand the large-scale long-term consequences of their actions.

This is a VERY blanket statement that could be extremely offensive to many breeders. Why do you consider all breeders equal when it comes to the way they handle their breeding practices?

......

 

[doodles]

I just want to assert first that this is just my opinion. I honestly feel that *no one* should breed until the cat overpopulation problem is under control. I know that purebreds are beautiful, but I feel it is selfish for people to breed cats. I understand that it is noble for people to want to breed in order to better that breed of cat, but I feel it is far nobler to focus on animal rescue and finding the unwanted cats homes first. I feel that for every kitten produced by a breeder, that is one kitten from a shelter that is being denied a home. I understand that my opinion may seem harsh, but they put down 20 cats a week in my home town. All of them are wonderful, beautiful animals but there just isn't enough room.

I honestly feel that *no one* should breed until the cat overpopulation problem is under control.

While I rarely see a reason to compare animals to humans, in this case consider this:

How many people adopt children because of their love for a child? How many people refuse to adopt a child and resort to all measures to have their own because thats what they want?

If I were dead set on having a certian breed and knew it would be the *last* cat I'd ever have a chance to own noone would be able to convince me to take another kind. I would rather wait it out until what I wanted became available to me.

Surely I'm not the only one in the world that thinks that way - with people of that mindset, how many cats do you think would actually be adopted if a ban were temporarily put on breeding? How many of those adopted, do you suppose, would be abandoned or surrendered once kittens of breeds wanted were available again?

 

[doodles]

While some of your points may be sensible, I don't think it's fair to call out all breeders and say they don't care about the well-being of animals.

While it's true that breeders don't necessarily help the cat overpopulation problem, they really don't make a dent when it comes to the massive numbers of animals that are euthanized every day. I think more energy, time, effort, and money needs to be spent on educating the general public about spaying and neutering their pets rather than let them run free and breed many times over.

Besides, if breeders were to stop breeding, what happens if (that's a big if) the cat overpopulation problem is solved? What happens to all of those beautiful breeds?

On a personal note, while I absolutely adore certain purebred cats, (Siamese, Tonkinese, and Maine Coon's to name a few...) I'm not sure I could actually purchase one from a breeder. I know those cats will find homes simply because of how much they are "worth". I'd rather save shelter kitties and those poor cats that are "free to a good home". :?

On a personal note, while I absolutely adore certain purebred cats, (Siamese, Tonkinese, and Maine Coon's to name a few...) I'm not sure I could actually purchase one from a breeder.

Keep in mind, there are breed rescues and sometimes breeders truely adopt out retired cats - I've seen them let go for the cost of spay/neuter fees.

 

[Gabreilla Moushigo]

Doh... now I've got to say something, and keep in mind that my cat of 11 years is not a purebred animal... but I will be getting one soon.

I would never - EVER say to a breeder, a responsible breeder, to not breed any animals. I would hate it if suddenly we would lose all those beautiful cats. That is just punishing the people who actually CARE about their animals. The people who SHOULD be punished are people who let their cat or dog go unaltered and have kitten after kitten.

While I would never discourage someone from getting a pound kitty or puppy - I can't say I'll be heading there to get my next cat. I wouldn't mind rescuing an animal - as long as I knew and trusted the people who were giving her or him to me - and knew for certain that the cat was good.

As for banning purebred cats - which is pretty much the sugestion made from this post - how fair is it really? You would be FORCING people to get an animal - just because you wanted them to. What if I wanted to get a purebred kitty and someone said "No, sorry... how about this cat instead?" I'd probably wouldn't get one, because someone would be trying to MAKE me buy something I hadn't originally wanted. To be quite honest - I probably wouldn't own ANY pets if the government was telling me what animal to get and when to get it!

It should be a choice! If you believe, or just find a cat that tugs at your heart at the pound - then purchase it. It shouldn't matter if the person next to you on the street has the same feelings or not. You made the difference by getting your cat neautered and saved him. You can only do so much - and if they want to get the cat population under control they are going to have to do one of two things: kill them off or spay/neauter them. Since killing is a poor solution - try putting the squeeze on idiots who don't get their cats spay/neautered. There is no reason to force people to stop breeding animals and keep responsible pet owners from owning pure breed cats.

Hope I made some kind of point - I get kind of ranty sometimes... *sigh* It just burns me up!

 

[Padunk]

Padunk, I hope you were not referring to my post when you stated this:

While some of your points may be sensible, I don't think it's fair to call out all breeders and say they don't care about the well-being of animals.

I never said they don't care about the well-being of animals, I just don't agree with breeding because the cat population is out of control. What I mean by selfish of course, is probably different than your definition. Just as I feel it is selfish to breed cats, I also feel it is selfish to not volunteer or to spend money on extravagant things when so many people are starving. (My boyfriend and I had an arguement where I refused to ever install expensive wood bannisters in a house because I'd rather use the money to feed the hungry :lol: )

No, I wasn't referring to you in the least bit. The original poster said "I've always been curious if those who breed their animals are oblivious to the statistics or truly don't care about the welfare of animals" That's what I was referring to.

 

[Padunk]

Please remember gang, this is a sensitive subject and both sides make valid points. Let's keep make sure it stays civil.

 

[CyberPet]

I'm not a breeder, but I've owned both "regular house cats" and now pure bred cats. I must say the experience with both is making me more and more sure I did a right choice to get a Siamese. The temperament on these cats we have are exactly the temperament we wanted in a cat. Almost all house cats we've had were more or less wild and even if they came from domesitacted homes they aren't the same cats as we have at home now.

I made a consious choice to get this breed and I would never have gotten a cat if it weren't for this type of temperament. The homeless cats would still be homeless in other words, I wouldn't have taken a cat or a kitten from a shelter. I have too many bad experiences with other cats. Sure, I might have found a pure bed Siamese at a shelter, but it's not likely since most breeders have the buyer to sign a paper that the cat goes back to the breeder if you can't keep the cat for some reason. This means that the breeder can rehome the cat into a loving home instead of the cat ending up in a shelter and might be put down.

I think the solution to the over population of cats has to be in other ways than distance yourself from breeders, especially responsible breeders of pure breed cats. That's not where you start. Information to those who gets a cat is more important and also make the cats valued more than they are valued today. Neutered cats are good cats... and it would be a dream if more cats could get fixed without having to pay an arm and a leg (I know for some it's not big money, but for others it is). And even if you have a pure bred cat and don't plan on breed with it, neuter it.

OK, end of my rant.

 

[Ioana]

I respect the other side of the story which is opposite to mine, however. My cats come from the yard, woods where they were found - and they have feral parents. Cheerio is still feral in some ways since we got her when she was well grown (as in not a little kitten). Plus I have a a huge experience from working with the ferals on this property and they can be tamed and worked with - with a lot of love and patience. But then again I have never had a pure bred so I don't know the difference in personality so cannot judge that. Plus I understand that people go for different looks as well.

I agree with you Petra that this is not where we start but at least reducing the list to only reputable breeders (the ones that study genetics, cats' personalities - the ones that do their homework) would be a big step

 

[Sol]

I'm curious. If breeding was banned and the plan would be that we start to breed once all homeless cats have founs new homes... what are we going to do with the breeding cats during that time? It's not healthy to keep a female fertile and not letting her have babies. To many "empty heats" causes pyometra (which I've just treated a cat for) and long term use of birth control pills for cats causes tumours. What should we do about this? Neuter/spay all fertile animals? We can't start breeding again if all cats have been neutered/spayed!

If we wanna keep our healthy blood lines we have to keep them active. Or is the plan that we start breeding moggies the day we have no homeless cats? We don't know anything about their genetical heritage. We don't know what hereditary defects or diseases they may carry.

I can assure you all that non of the cats I've bred have ended up in a shelter. I'm always ready to take a cat back if the owner can't or just don't want to keep the cat and the owners know this and they are greatful for that.